Vertical Pod Autoscaling in Kubernetes

1. Introduction

Vertical Pod Autoscaling (VPA) is a Kubernetes feature that automatically adjusts the CPU and memory requests for your pods based on usage. This lesson covers key concepts, installation, configuration, and best practices for using VPA effectively.

2. Key Concepts

VPA Components

• VPA Controller: Monitors the resource usage of pods and updates their requests.
• VPA Admission Controller: Prevents pods from starting with requests that are below recommended levels.
• Recommendations: VPA provides recommendations on optimal resource requests based on historical data.

3. Installation

To install Vertical Pod Autoscaler, follow the steps below:

1. Clone the VPA repository:

git clone https://github.com/kubernetes/autoscaler.git

2. Navigate to the VPA directory:

cd autoscaler/vertical-pod-autoscaler

3. Deploy the VPA components:

kubectl apply -f deploy/vpa-crd.yaml

4. Deploy the VPA controller:

kubectl apply -f deploy/vpa-controller.yaml

4. Configuration

To configure VPA for your application, create a VPA object in your Kubernetes cluster. Below is an example YAML configuration:

apiVersion: autoscaling.k8s.io/v1
kind: VerticalPodAutoscaler
metadata:
  name: my-app-vpa
spec:
  targetRef:
    apiVersion: apps/v1
    kind: Deployment
    name: my-app
  updatePolicy:
    updateMode: Auto

This configuration will automatically adjust the resource requests for the pods managed by the `my-app` deployment.

5. Best Practices

• Monitor VPA recommendations regularly.
• Combine VPA with HPA for optimal resource management.
• Test VPA in a staging environment before production deployment.
• Use resource limits to avoid over-committing resources.

6. FAQ