How Kubernetes Deployments, ReplicaSets, and HPAs coordinate

This is the third post in my Kubernetes Controllers series. In the first post, we explored what controllers are and how they maintain your desired state through continuous reconciliation. In the second post I walk through how to build stable controllers from scratch. Now we’ll examine how three critical controllers interact to manage your applications. We were rolling out a new version of an application. 100 pods, all running about 25% hot on CPU. ...

May 3, 2025 · Tony

Fundamentals for solid kubernetes controllers

This is the second post in my Kubernetes Controllers series. In the first post, we explored what controllers are and how they maintain your desired state through continuous reconciliation. In the last post, I explained the utility and purpose of Kubernetes Controllers. This post will explain how to build them, and how to think about designing them. We’ll go into Controller patterns, anti-patterns, and sharp edges of the model that you’re bound to run into. ...

December 13, 2024 · Tony

Kubernetes controllers explained

This is the first post in my Kubernetes Controllers series. In the second post I walk through how to build stable controllers from scratch. Controllers aren’t just add-ons to Kubernetes - they’re fundamental to how the whole system works. They’re the caretakers of your cluster, overseeing and orchestrating processes to ensure your defined resources stay on track. Whether it’s maintaining pod replicas, managing rolling updates, or handling node lifecycles, controllers are there making sure things run smoothly. ...

December 13, 2024 · Tony

My home gym primer

Recently a friend asked for my recommendations for home gym equipment as they wanted to start building out theirs. Little do they know I’ve spent way too many hours thinking about this. My home gym is nothing special but it keeps me healthy, out of commercial gyms, and never leaves me wishing I had more equipment. I like to think that’s due to making the right choices on how to fill it. ...

August 28, 2024 · Tony

First half of 2024 ruled

in roughly chronological order… got convinced by friends to start a magic the gathering team. took it from 6 -> 20 people not everyone pictured got engaged to my college sweetheart and the love of my life been waiting a while for this one. took a trip to Japan where I played in 12+ magic tournaments, got invited to dinner with locals, and found my best man left to right: new tokyo magic friend, me, best man ...

July 23, 2024 · Tony