Kubernetes Best Practices

Resource Management

• Always set resource requests/limits
• Use Horizontal Pod Autoscaler
• Set appropriate QoS classes
• Use PodDisruptionBudgets

Deployments

• Use rolling updates
• Set proper readiness/liveness probes
• Use init containers for setup
• Configure proper termination grace period
• Use anti-affinity for HA

ConfigMaps & Secrets

• Use ConfigMaps for config
• Use Secrets for sensitive data
• Mount as files, not env vars
• Use external secret managers
• Version configs with checksums

Networking

• Use Services for internal traffic
• Use Ingress for external traffic
• Implement NetworkPolicies
• Use service mesh for complex routing

Security

• Use RBAC
• Run as non-root
• Use PodSecurityPolicies/Standards
• Scan images in CI
• Use namespace isolation

Observability

• Implement structured logging
• Export Prometheus metrics
• Use distributed tracing
• Set up alerting