Kubernetes explained

Suggest edits

Kubernetes is an open-source system for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It has become the de facto standard for running modern cloud-native workloads across diverse environments—whether in public cloud, private cloud, on-premises data centers, or hybrid environments.

Kubernetes is a foundational technology used in the EDB Platform architecture. While EDB does not sell Kubernetes itself, we rely on it to provide a consistent, resilient, and portable foundation for running core services, including Hybrid Manager and EDB-managed Postgres database services. Kubernetes enables EDB to support flexible deployment models, allowing customers to run our platform in the cloud, on-premises, or across hybrid environments based on their needs.

This section of the documentation is provided to help you understand the core Kubernetes concepts and patterns that EDB’s platform builds upon. It is not intended as a Kubernetes sales pitch, but as a helpful reference for understanding how Kubernetes is used under the hood—and what that means for how you operate and interact with EDB Platform services.

What is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes helps you:

Run and manage containers at scale across multiple servers (Nodes)
Automate deployment and scaling of applications
Maintain availability and recover from failures
Abstract infrastructure details so workloads can run consistently across environments
Integrate with cloud-native tools for networking, monitoring, storage, and security

Kubernetes does this by letting you describe your desired system state through APIs and configuration files (YAML), and then actively manages that state for you.

Why use Kubernetes?

Organizations adopt Kubernetes to:

Increase automation and reduce operational overhead
Support DevOps and GitOps workflows
Improve resiliency and availability of applications
Enable portability across clouds and hybrid environments
Leverage the rich Kubernetes ecosystem of tools and extensions

For EDB and our customers, Kubernetes enables Hybrid Manager to deliver scalable, cloud-agnostic services while supporting flexible deployment models. Customers can run Hybrid Manager and EDB Postgres database services entirely on public cloud Kubernetes services (EKS, GKE, AKS), on-premises Kubernetes clusters, or across hybrid environments that blend both.

Kubernetes and common roles

Different roles interact with Kubernetes in different ways. Understanding what Kubernetes offers for each role helps teams collaborate more effectively.

Role	Typical interaction with Kubernetes
Decision makers	Evaluate Kubernetes as part of platform strategy, assess TCO, align adoption with business outcomes
Platform engineers	Design and manage Kubernetes clusters, automate CI/CD, integrate observability and security tools
Software engineers	Deploy applications to Kubernetes, define application configurations, manage scaling and observability
DBAs	Manage database services on Kubernetes, monitor resource usage and storage, tune performance and backups
Site reliability engineers (SREs)	Observe cluster and application health, manage availability and capacity, automate recovery processes
Security engineers	Define access controls, enforce network and security policies, monitor security posture of Kubernetes workloads
Cloud architects	Design scalable, portable architectures leveraging Kubernetes, align Kubernetes use with cloud and hybrid strategy
Operations and support teams	Monitor system state, respond to alerts, investigate issues using Kubernetes-native tools and observability pipelines

How Kubernetes fits into cloud-native platforms

Kubernetes is often part of a larger cloud-native platform stack. By providing a consistent orchestration layer, it enables EDB and other organizations to build scalable, reliable platforms that integrate with modern cloud services and tooling.

Typical components in a Kubernetes-based stack include:

GitOps-based deployment pipelines Declarative, version-controlled application and platform configuration.
Observability stacks Metrics: Prometheus Dashboards: Grafana Logs: Loki or Fluent Bit Traces: OpenTelemetry
Service mesh and advanced networking Istio, Linkerd, or other service mesh technologies to provide fine-grained control over traffic flow and security.
Cloud-native storage CSI drivers and dynamic provisioning for block and file storage across Kubernetes environments.
Secure workload management RBAC, NetworkPolicies, PodSecurityStandards to enforce security controls across workloads.

In the EDB Platform, Kubernetes enables these patterns and provides the orchestration layer for Hybrid Manager’s core services—including UI, API services, Operators, database clusters, observability tooling, and backup/restore pipelines.

Next steps

Explore Kubernetes concepts and terminology to build your understanding:

Explore explained topics

Kubernetes terminology Key terms and platform-specific concepts.
Kubernetes in Hybrid Manager How Kubernetes powers core capabilities in Hybrid Manager.
Kubernetes at EDB How EDB uses Kubernetes across its product portfolio.