Everyone and their uncle has decided to use Kubernetes for cloud container management. Even Kubernetes’ former rivals, Docker Swarm and Mesosphere, have thrown in the towel. Mesosphere came over in early October and Docker added Kubernetes support later the same month. There was only question: Would all these Kubernetes implementations work together? Thanks to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation(CNCF), the answer is yes.
CNCF, which is Kubernetes’ parent organization, announced that at least 32 companies will support the Kubernetes Software Conformance Certification program. Others are joining even as I report the story. The question isn’t “What Kubernetes company is supporting this new initiative?” but rather “Which ones aren’t?” The answer is no company of any real significance in the Kubernetes space isn’t supporting it.
This certification ensures that every vendor’s Kubernetes version supports its required application programming interfaces (APIs). For Kubernetes users, this guarantees interoperability from one Kubernetes installation to the next. It gives them flexibility and vendor independence.
The Kubernetes Architecture SIG is the final arbiter of the definition of the program’s API conformance. This SIG maintains and evolves the Kubernetes’ design principles.
The initial certification is based on Kubernetes 1.7 and higher versions. The program also includes strong guarantees that commercial Kubernetes products and services will continue to release new versions to ensure that customers can take advantage of the rapid pace of ongoing development. Kubernetes is one of the highest velocity, open-source software projects ever. New releases come out approximately every two months.