Behind the Scenes at Edixos: Our Journey with Kubernetes
Introduction
In the vast landscape of technology, where constant evolution is a given, every once in a while, a transformative tool captures our collective imagination. For us at Edixos, that tool was Kubernetes. Our founders’ rendezvous with the Kubernetes ecosystem began as early as 2015, a time when container orchestration was still taking its baby steps.
These foundational experiences, rich with trials, errors, and revelations, laid the very groundwork for Edixos’s inception. Today, as we formally step into the industry with Edixos, we’re not just another consultancy.
We are a testament to years of hands-on learning and dedication. Dive in with us, and let’s revisit those early days, the profound moments that led to the birth of Edixos, and our unwavering commitment to excellence in the Kubernetes domain.
The early days
In the midst of a technology-driven world, where every day was filled with coding and configurations, a single moment remains etched in my memory. That moment? Running the kubeup.sh file, waiting with bated breath, and then witnessing the birth of our very first master node. It's not often that the digital scribbles of code yield such profound emotions, but that day, as I looked at the screen, there were undeniable tears of achievement in my eyes.
This was no mere experiment. I was then part of a startup, navigating the ever-evolving corridors of technology, where I spearheaded the move to adopt Kubernetes 1.2 for production. The term ‘Third Party Resources (TPR)’, now reminiscent of ancient history with the advent of Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs), was our tool of choice. We plunged into the challenge of installing Kubernetes on AWS using kops and began the intricate process of migrating a generic SaaS solution onto this new platform.
And oh, the joys of creation! We crafted environments using TPR resources, complemented by a custom Kubernetes controller, hand-made and written in Python. This was a time before tools like kubebuilder graced the Kubernetes ecosystem, making our endeavor both pioneering and arduous.
Yet, as with all journeys, there came a crossroad. In 2016, I bid farewell to the startup that had been my Kubernetes playground and ventured into the realm of consultancy. France beckoned, and I embarked on missions assisting prominent companies in their Kubernetes adoption. From the tactile feel of bare-metal clusters to the ephemeral clouds of cloud-based services, I immersed myself, hands-on, into every fragment of the Kubernetes puzzle.
Those days, brimming with trials, triumphs, and endless learning, formed the bedrock of my expertise and the ethos of Edixos.
Nauticus: Our Brainchild
In our deep dives into the Kubernetes universe, as we journeyed from one project to the next, an underlying pattern began to emerge. While Kubernetes boasted unparalleled capabilities in container orchestration, there was a persistent gap, a subtle void in its management capabilities that often made seamless operations elusive. This realisation wasn’t a mere observation on a whiteboard; it was felt in the trenches, experienced firsthand as we crafted solutions for diverse business needs.
It was out of this palpable need that the idea of Nauticus was born. We envisioned a tool that would not only bridge the existing gaps but also amplify the strengths of Kubernetes, making it more intuitive and accessible for both seasoned developers and newcomers. Nauticus wasn’t conceived as just another add-on in the vast Kubernetes ecosystem; it was our answer to a very specific set of challenges we had grappled with.
With Nauticus, our goal was clear: to create an open-source Kubernetes controller that simplified cluster management. We wanted to empower users to effortlessly manage Kubernetes namespaces and resources, incorporating features like RBAC, network policies, resource quotas, and cloud provider-specific bindings.
The journey of developing Nauticus was emblematic of Edixos’s spirit. Drawing from our rich reservoir of experiences and insights, we meticulously designed Nauticus to be both robust and user-friendly. And as we introduced it to the world, it wasn’t just a product we were offering; it was a piece of our journey, a testament to our commitment to addressing real-world challenges in the Kubernetes space.
For more details, you can read our article about Mastering Kubernetes Spaces with Nauticus.
Client Chronicles
In the rapidly evolving landscape of Kubernetes, abstract challenges often find concrete manifestations. Through our journey at Edixos, we’ve faced an array of complex scenarios with our clients, but our expertise in Kubernetes has consistently paved the way for innovative solutions. Let’s delve into some of these chronicles:
1. Gateway to Open Banking:
In the wake of France’s adoption of the second Payment Services Directive (DSP2) in 2018, Open Banking underwent a significant transformation. This directive, bolstering data sharing amongst banks, revolutionized how banking data was perceived and shared. Amidst this change, we were entrusted with integrating a gateway API — WSO2, on Openshift, streamlining the management of banking APIs. The objective was twofold: harness this innovation to tap into new revenue streams and enhance customer loyalty amidst growing competition.
2. Digital Cities — The Kubernetes Way:
The vision was grand: a holistic Kubernetes platform for digital cities. From stateless applications, databases, to intricate brokers like Kafka, everything found its place in Kubernetes. Retrievers and fetchers of vast volumes of data were seamlessly integrated, offering a robust platform that was not just about digital transformation, but also a testament to the versatility of Kubernetes in handling massive data translations.
3. A Clearer Perspective on Water Consumption:
Water, our most invaluable resource, found a digital ally. With sensors meticulously tracking water consumption and potential leaks, the challenge lay in processing this real-time data. Incorporating Kafka within Kubernetes, we crafted a real-time dashboard. Every droplet counted, every anomaly detected — the convergence of technology and sustainability.
4. Driving Digital Transformation in the Automobile Sector:
One of France’s leading automobile companies was on the cusp of a monumental shift — migrating over a thousand applications from traditional datacenters to the expansive realm of the cloud. Kubernetes emerged as the keystone of this transformation. With home-made controllers managing multi-tenancies and the Platform team leveraging Crossplane as a universal control plane, we ensured that end users had seamless access to infra services.
Conclusion
In the vast tapestry of technology, Kubernetes emerges as a potent thread, weaving together possibilities and solutions. At Edixos, our journey with Kubernetes is not just about navigating its intricacies but also about harnessing its potential to craft real-world solutions. Through our narratives, from open banking gateways to digital city platforms, we’ve showcased just a fraction of what’s possible when expertise meets innovation.
Yet, this is merely the first chapter. The world of Kubernetes is expansive, and our tales with it are far from over. Stay tuned for our next installment, where we’ll delve deeper, explore further, and continue to chart the course of Edixos’s adventures in the realm of Kubernetes.
Thank you for joining us on this journey. Here’s to many more tales of tech, trials, and triumphs!
