Kubernetes Deployments provide an easy way to scale up an application's Pods and to roll out new versions. However, the built-in rolling deployment strategy may not always suit your requirements. Other common deployment strategies include:

• Canary deployments - A small subset of traffic is sent to the new version to build confidence in it before fully deploying the new version
• Blue/Green deployments - All traffic is cut over from the existing version, referred to as the "blue" environment, to the new version, referred to as the "green" environment. Traffic is not simultaneously served by old and new versions with the blue/green strategy, in contrast to rolling deployments and canary deployments.

Kubernetes can support these alternate deployment strategies by utilizing multiple Deployments, Services, and Labels. This lab will teach you how.

This lab is valuable to anyone working with Kubernetes, but the content has been prepared considering topics described in the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) Exam Curriculum. Completion of the lab will help you get hands-on experience, which is essential for passing the CKAD exam.

Learning Objectives

• Understand how to use combinations of Kubernetes primitives to implement common deployment strategies

Intended Audience

• Kubernetes admins and operators
• Application developers and DevOps engineers deploying applications in containers and using or considering Kubernetes
• This lab is recommended for Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) examinees

Prerequisites

• Knowledge of Kubernetes Pod Design (Pods, Deployments, Services)
• Experience with kubectl

You can complete the Kubernetes Pod Design for Application Developers lab series to satisfy the prerequisites.

Updates

September 6th, 2022 - Updated to run Kubernetes 1.24