Kubernetes 1.8: CRDs, Alpha Features, Release Team, and User Highlights

[Custom Resource Definitions](/docs/concepts/api-extension/custom-resources/) (CRDs) remain in beta for Kubernetes 1.8. A CRD provides a powerful mechanism to extend Kubernetes with user-defined API objects. One use case for CRDs is the automation of complex stateful applications such as [key-value stores](https://github.com/coreos/etcd-operator), databases and [storage engines](https://rook.io/) through the Operator Pattern. Expect continued enhancements to CRDs such as [validation](/docs/tasks/access-kubernetes-api/extend-api-custom-resource-definitions/#validation) as stabilization continues. ## Spoilers ahead Volume snapshots, PV resizing, automatic taints, priority pods, kubectl plugins, oh my! In addition to stabilizing existing functionality, Kubernetes 1.8 offers a number of alpha features that preview new functionality. Each Special Interest Group (SIG) in the community continues to deliver the most requested user features for their area. For a complete list, please visit the [release notes](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#v180). #### Availability Kubernetes 1.8 is available for [download on GitHub](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.8.0). To get started with Kubernetes, check out these [interactive tutorials](/docs/tutorials/kubernetes-basics/). ## Release team The [Release team](https://github.com/kubernetes/features/blob/master/release-1.8/release_team.md) for 1.8 was led by Jaice Singer DuMars, Kubernetes Ambassador at Microsoft, and was comprised of 14 individuals responsible for managing all aspects of the release, from documentation to testing, validation, and feature completeness. As the Kubernetes community has grown, our release process has become an amazing demonstration of collaboration in open source software development. Kubernetes continues to gain new users at a rapid clip. This growth creates a positive feedback cycle where more contributors commit code creating a more vibrant ecosystem. ## User highlights According to [Redmonk](http://redmonk.com/fryan/2017/09/10/cloud-native-technologies-in-the-fortune-100/), 54 percent of Fortune 100 companies are running Kubernetes in some form with adoption coming from every sector across the world. Recent user stories from the community include: - Ancestry.com currently holds 20 billion historical records and 90 million family trees, making it the largest consumer genomics DNA network in the world. With the move to Kubernetes, its deployment time for its Shaky Leaf icon service was [cut down from 50 minutes to 2 or 5 minutes](https://kubernetes.io/case-studies/ancestry/). - Wink, provider of smart home devices and apps, runs [80 percent of its workloads on a unified stack of Kubernetes-Docker-CoreOS](https://kubernetes.io/case-studies/wink/), allowing them to continually innovate and improve its products and services. - Pear Deck, a teacher communication app for students, ported their Heroku apps into Kubernetes, allowing them to deploy the exact same configuration in [lots of different clusters in 30 seconds](https://kubernetes.io/case-studies/peardeck/). - Buffer, social media management for agencies and marketers, has a remote team of 80 spread across a dozen different time zones. Kubernetes has provided the kind of [liquid infrastructure](https://kubernetes.io/case-studies/buffer/) where a developer could create an app and deploy it and scale it horizontally as necessary.

Kubernetes 1.8 keeps Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) in beta, enabling the extension of Kubernetes with user-defined API objects. It introduces alpha features like volume snapshots and kubectl plugins, driven by Special Interest Groups (SIGs). The release team was led by Jaice Singer DuMars, highlighting the community's collaborative nature. Noteworthy user stories include Ancestry.com reducing deployment time, Wink running workloads on Kubernetes, Pear Deck deploying configurations rapidly, and Buffer achieving liquid infrastructure for developers.