KUBERNETES Removal of Dockershim and Its Impact

1. KUBERNETES Removal of Dockershim and Its Impact www.urolime.com

2. The Dockershim Kubernetes component lets you use Docker as a runtime container for Kubernetes. The built-in Dockershim component was removed in version 1.24. According to Kubernetes consulting companies the latest change means Kubernetes nodes will no longer use Docker as their built-in runtime container. Users are familiar with such changes and many have used alternative runtime instead of Docker. To remove the built-in support for the Docker Engine container runtime in new versions of Kubernetes, the popular container orchestration system, users must switch to an alternative runtime to keep up with future releases of Kubernetes. The change requires users who want to run the latest version of the container orchestration system to switch to another Kubernetes Container Runtime Interface (CRI) or use Dockershim’s external replacement if they don’t have it. Developers and administrators who do not make the necessary changes risk breaking the cluster and its applications. But for most users, Dockershim removal should be relatively easy, according to James Laverack, who heads the Kubernetes 1.24 release team. The previous versions of Kubernetes only worked with Docker Engine as the container runtime, the software that can run the containers that makeup Kubernetes pods. Software developers use containers for their development process, as it allows them to build an application without an operating system. In 2016, CRI was introduced as a plug-in interface by Kubernetes, it supports interoperability with different runtime containers, and Kubernetes. The Docker engine itself is not CRI compliant. CRI- compliant runtime alternatives include the open-source container, which is the core component of Docker, and the CRI-O, which hosts CNCF. According to Kubernetes Consulting Services company, now is the perfect time to move. This alternative runtime has already been tested in production, so users should not be afraid of this change. We need to start a new era of CRI -based runtimes that will help people integrate new features. Moving away from the dock In December 2020, kubernetes project depreciated dockershim in Kubernetes 1.20 indicating then that it will be removed from Kubernetes at a later date. It allows you to make adjustments to avoid breaking the cluster. The Open Container Initiative will work in clusters with CRI - www.urolime.com

3. compliant runtimes. Since CRI is an open standard, there are several runtime implementations provided by businesses and the community at large. It is assumed that this will work in current and future releases and Kuberbetes will support it. Dockershim, built on the Kubernetes kubelet code base, has always been considered a workaround and defined as an overhead to maintain. The agent running on each cluster node, the hub, ensures that the container runs on the pod. Using the CRI standard, you can simplify maintenance by separating the runtime container from the kubelet code base. Kubernetes has been very diligent in providing guidance and information on these changes over the past few years. Kubernetes must interact at the runtime itself, and CRI must use this interface. But what if you have a particular workload when talking directly to a Docker socket, which says "perform builds", and so on. This is something that users should confirm. After determining whether the Kubernetes cluster uses the Docker engine, the mechanism modifies the kubelet configuration to point, for example, to a socket in a container or CRI-O so that the kubelets interact with its runtimes and that manage runtime. The good thing is that upstream Kubernetes is already doing end-to-end testing during that runtime. Now when new code is added to Kubernetes, all testing is done against this runtime. Cluster operators should ensure they have Kubernetes code behind them that talks directly with Docker. Developers can use Docker to build or test containers locally, regardless of the runtime container they use for their Kubernetes cluster. You can push the OCI-enabled registry, and Kubernetes can pick it up and run the program. Not to be lost OCI has standardized all of these runtime containers and the way these images are stored and distributed. The Cloud readiness Clarifying what Kat Cosgrove's blog post on the company website, Kubernetes consulting company, Urolime said, users of Kubernetes services managed by cloud providers can only stay if they do not explicitly change the runtime container. If you have node customizations, make sure they don't require updates. Google Kubernetes Engine, Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Services, and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Services are now set by default. www.urolime.com

4. According to Cosgrove, cluster operators who want to upgrade to Kubernetes 1.24, and maintain compatibility with Docker as a runtime environment, the risk option is less, compared to the previous versions of Kubernetes. Users who want to continue with the latest version of Kubernetes with dockershim should stop using it without security patches, while only missing out on new features. According to the current Kubernetes project policy, support is provided for the latest three releases. Finally, with the support of Dockershim, Kubernetes 1.23 is getting patch support till the release of Kubernetes 1.26. Security is one of the most important things to consider when managing Kubernetes. If you don’t switch to one of the CRI’s recommended runtimes, you are in danger. Conclusion What Kubernetes wants to achieve is to eliminate the need to install Docker and use only a fraction of the Docker technology stack. The Docker engine internally uses the containerd and runc engines, and what they removed is the proxy layer between Kubernetes and containerd. Stopping Docker means to remove support for Dockershim, which serves as a bridge between the Kubernetes CRI and Docker API. www.urolime.com