Is it a smart or dumb idea to entrust your data to containers and Kubernetes? It’s not just lifting and shifting; you need a new mindset!
Implementing databases on Kuberbetes requires a careful approach.

Here are essential best practices:

✅ Embrace Operators: Automate provisioning, scaling, backups, and upgrades. Don’t use Helm Charts!
✅ Automated Backups AND Tests: Implement automated backups, and schedule automated tests to validate backup integrity! It’s no good having backups if you can’t restore them!
✅ Security is Non-Negotiable: Strict access control, encryption, and regular patching. Implement least privilege.
✅ Monitoring and Alerting: Track performance and resources. Proactively identify and address potential issues. Latency is your enemy!
✅ Prioritize Resource Management: Carefully configure resource requests/limits, and choose an appropriate QoS class (Guaranteed is often best!) for database pods to ensure predictable performance. Use resource quotas to limit consumption by database instances.

Are you contemplating running your database on Kubernetes? Is it worth the complexity? Are you actually testing your backups regularly? Or is using a managed database service a better choice? What do you think?