Video: Cloud computing: Limited progress on multi-cloud strategies
At Red Hat Summit[1] in San Francisco, Red Hat[2] introduced Kubernetes Operators[3] to the Red Hat OpenShift[4] ecosystem. This provides an easy path for independent software vendors (ISVs) to deliver tested and validated Kubernetes[5] applications on OpenShift.
Red Hat picked up Kubernetes Operators as part of its CoreOS acquisition[6]. Kubernetes Operators are application-specific controllers that extend the Kubernetes application programming interface (API). It can create, configure, and manage instances of complex stateful applications. This takes the "human knowledge" of managing a Kubernetes application and builds it into software, thus making typically challenging Kubernetes workloads easier to deploy and maintain.
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Developed with the Operator Framework[8] open-source toolkit, an Operator helps to remove the barriers to building complex, stateful applications for Kubernetes, resulting in services designed to "just work" across any cloud where Red Hat's OpenShift Kubernetes variant runs.
At launch, over 60 software partners have committed to the Kubernetes Operator Framework initiative. It's easy to see why. Building and maintaining cloud-native applications[9] isn't easy. They must address significant complexities during the initial build and provide maintenance across siloed cloud footprints. Operator is meant to make packaging, deploying, and managing a Kubernetes application much easier.
A Kubernetes program is an application that is both deployed on Kubernetes and managed using the Kubernetes APIs and kubectl tooling. Kubernetes Operators simplify application development by abstracting away complexities and coding human operational knowledge into applications. These services can then function without human intervention.
This service automation can