Enforcing Bespoke Policies in Kubernetes [I]

Kubernetes enables fully-automated, self-service management of large-scale, heterogenous deployments. These deployments are often managed by distributed engineering teams that have unique requirements …

Kubernetes enables fully-automated, self-service management of large-scale, heterogenous deployments. These deployments are often managed by distributed engineering teams that have unique requirements for how the platform treats their workloads, but at the same time, they must conform to organization-wide constraints around cost, security, and performance. As Kubernetes matures, extensibility has become a critical feature that organizations can leverage to enforce their organization’s bespoke policies. In this talk, Torin explains how to use extensibility features in Kubernetes (e.g., External Admission Control) to enforce custom policies over workloads. The talk shows how to build custom admission controllers using Initializers and Webhooks, and shows how the same features lay the groundwork for policy-based control through integration with third party policy engines like the Open Policy Agent project.