Just as with any other open source project, the community plays a vital role in Kubernetes. The community decides the roadmap of the projects and works towards it. The community gets engaged in different online and offline forums, like Meetups, Slack, Weekly meetings, etc. In this chapter, we will explore the Kubernetes community and see how you can become a part of it, too.
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
- Understand the importance of Kubernetes community.
- Learn about the different channels to interact with the Kubernetes community.
- List major CNCF events.
With more than 33 thousand GitHub stars, Kubernetes is one of the most popular open source projects. The community members not only help with the source code, but they also help with sharing the knowledge. The community engages in both online and offline activities.
Currently, there is a project called K8sPort, which recognizes and rewards community members for their contributions to Kubernetes. This contribution can be in the form of code, attending and speaking at meetups, answering questions on Stack Overflow, etc.
Next, we will review some of the mediums used by the Kubernetes community.
A weekly community meeting happens using video conference tools. You can get a calendar invite from here.
There are many meetup groups around the world, where local community members meet at regular intervals to discuss Kubernetes and its ecosystem.
There are some online meetup groups as well, where community members can meet virtually.
Community members are very active on the Kubernetes Slack. There are different channels based on topics, and anyone can join and participate in the discussions. You can discuss with the Kubernetes team on the #kubernetes-users channel.
There are Kubernetes users and developers mailing lists, which can be joined by anybody interested.
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) focus on specific parts of the Kubernetes project, like scheduling, authorization, networking, documentation, etc. Each group may have a different workflow, based on its specific requirements. A list with all the current SIGs can be found here.
Depending on the need, a new SIG can be created.
Besides Slack and mailing lists, community members can get support from Stack Overflow, as well. Stack Overflow is an online environment where you can post questions that you cannot find an answer for. The Kubernetes team also monitors the posts tagged Kubernetes.
CNCF organizes numerous international conferences on Kubernetes, as well as other CNCF projects. For more information about these events, please click here.
Three of the major conferences it organizes are:
- KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe
- KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America
- KubeCon + CloudNativeCon China.
Now that you have a better understanding of Kubernetes, you can continue your journey by:
- Participating in activities and discussions organized by the Kubernetes community
- Attending events organized by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and The Linux Foundation
- Expanding your Kubernetes knowledge and skills by enrolling in the self-paced LFS258 - Kubernetes Fundamentals or the instructor-led LFS458 - Kubernetes Administration, paid courses offered by The Linux Foundation
- Preparing for the Certified Kubernetes Administrator exam, or for the upcoming Certified Kubernetes Application Developer Program, offered by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation
- And many other options.
You should now be able to:
- Understand the importance of Kubernetes community.
- Learn about the different channels to interact with the Kubernetes community.
- List major CNCF events.