Why we need a unified approach to Kubernetes environments

Challenges Managing Multiple Technologies Deploying Holistic Solutions to Drive Better Outcomes Meeting the Demands of Modern Application Architectures Today, organizations struggle managing disparate technologies for their Kubernetes networking and network security needs. Leveraging multiple technologies for networking and security for in-cluster, ingress, egress, and traffic across clusters creates challenges, including operational complexities and increased costs. For example, to manage ingress traffic for Kubernetes clusters, users cobble together multiple solutions from different providers such as ingress controllers or gateways and load balancers for routing traffic, as well as Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) for enhanced security. Despite the challenges it brings, deploying disparate technologies has been a “necessary evil” for organizations to get all the capabilities needed for holistic Kubernetes networking. Here, we’ll explore challenges this proliferation of tooling introduces, and provide actionable tips for today’s platform and security teams to overcome these issues. The fragmented approach to networking and network security in Kubernetes leads to challenges and inefficiencies, including: Operational overhead: Each technology comes with its own learning curve, setup, configuration, integration, and maintenance requirements. This leads to a challenging user experience. Increased costs: Licensing and operational costs accumulate as more tools are deployed. Scaling challenges: As clusters grow or spread across diverse environments, ensuring consistent and secure networking becomes harder. Security gaps: Disjointed solutions impair visibility and may create security gaps. Troubleshooting issues: Without a single pane of glass, troubleshooting and understanding latency issues across clusters is a common problem operators face. Take managing ingress traffic, and everything that goes with it.