Kubernetes is a cloud operating system
This is a pretty ok framing. The author&#x27;s already had to reply to some backblow against the idea but generally the big picture rings true enough, isnt horrifically wrong.<p>But while true &amp; a reasonable framing, this view doesnt cover the most important thing about the kubernetes &quot;operating system&quot;. Yes unlike many other cloud systems Kubernetes has pretty wide coverage of concepts it has under it&#x27;s roof. Versus serving a purpose or two well, it, like an OS is a fairly general &amp; comprehensive platform, with the capabilities you&#x27;d need for most tasks, &amp; built in OS extensibility via CRDs. This is all trye enough but still shy of how we ought think about Kubernetes versus other things, what came before, cloud or no cloud, os or other.<p>Kubernetes is autonomic. Kubernetes, through a variety of controllers&#x2F;operators, enacts all changes to the system. Rather than being, as most automation or other aoftware, a tool wielded by the user to make ends happen Kubernetes wields itself, &amp; the user is simply stating what they want, makes their intent known, &amp; Kubernetes makes sure that happens &amp; stays that way. Taking people out of the loop of having to learn how to do computers, how to build a house themselves- Kubernetes knows how to build what you tell it. It&#x27;s something so unlike software of any sort which came before, this ongoing (as opposed to single shot), autonomic (self maintaining), self-operating system, and I cannot contrast strongly enough how liberating it is to have the machines working for you, adjusting themselves, based off the manifest of inventory you&#x27;ve told it you want.<p>It&#x27;s a totally different operational paradigm, beyond just a system &amp; having developed a weak internal agency (a control loop &amp; it&#x27;s suite of tools to stay on happy paths through the loop), and it means way way less figuring out how to run the dozens of various whirligigs and gizmos that comprise the computing environment. Kubernetes is more than an operating system; it is a self-governing control loop.