Kubernetes Namespaces: Use Cases and Insights

--- title: " Kubernetes Namespaces: use cases and insights " date: 2016-08-16 slug: kubernetes-namespaces-use-cases-insights url: /blog/2016/08/Kubernetes-Namespaces-Use-Cases-Insights author: > Mike Altarace (Google Cloud Platform), Daz Wilkin (Google Cloud Platform) --- _“Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know's on third” _ _[Who's on First?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg) by Abbott and Costello_ **Introduction** Kubernetes is a system with several concepts. Many of these concepts get manifested as “objects” in the RESTful API (often called “resources” or “kinds”). One of these concepts is [Namespaces](/docs/user-guide/namespaces/). In Kubernetes, Namespaces are the way to partition a single Kubernetes cluster into multiple virtual clusters. In this post we’ll highlight examples of how our customers are using Namespaces.  But first, a metaphor: Namespaces are like human family names. A family name, e.g. Wong, identifies a family unit. Within the Wong family, one of its members, e.g. Sam Wong, is readily identified as just “Sam” by the family. Outside of the family, and to avoid “Which Sam?” problems, Sam would usually be referred to as “Sam Wong”, perhaps even “Sam Wong from San Francisco”.   Namespaces are a logical partitioning capability that enable one Kubernetes cluster to be used by multiple users, teams of users, or a single user with multiple applications without concern for undesired interaction. Each user, team of users, or application may exist within its Namespace, isolated from every other user of the cluster and operating as if it were the sole user of the cluster. (Furthermore, [Resource Quotas](/docs/admin/resourcequota/) provide the ability to allocate a subset of a Kubernetes cluster’s resources to a Namespace.) For all but the most trivial uses of Kubernetes, you will benefit by using Namespaces. In this post, we’ll cover the most common ways that we’ve seen Kubernetes users on Google Cloud Platform use Namespaces, but our list is not exhaustive and we’d be interested to learn other examples from you. **Use-cases covered** - Roles and Responsibilities in an enterprise for namespaces - Partitioning landscapes: dev vs. test vs. prod - Customer partitioning for non-multi-tenant scenarios - When not to use namespaces **Use-case #1: Roles and Responsibilities in an Enterprise** A typical enterprise contains multiple business/technology entities that operate independently of each other with some form of overarching layer of controls managed by the enterprise itself. Operating a Kubernetes clusters in such an environment can be done effectively when roles and responsibilities pertaining to Kubernetes are defined.  Below are a few recommended roles and their responsibilities that can make managing Kubernetes clusters in a large scale organization easier. - Designer/Architect role: This role will define the overall namespace strategy, taking into account product/location/team/cost-center and determining how best to map these to Kubernetes Namespaces. Investing in such a role prevents namespace proliferation and “snowflake” Namespaces. - Admin role: This role has admin access to all Kubernetes clusters. Admins can create/delete clusters and add/remove nodes to scale the clusters. This role will be responsible for patching, securing and maintaining the clusters. As well as implementing Quotas between the different entities in the organization. The Kubernetes Admin is responsible for implementing the namespaces strategy defined by the Designer/Architect.  These two roles and the actual developers using the clusters will also receive support and feedback from the enterprise security and network teams on issues such as security isolation requirements and how namespaces fit this model, or assistance with networking subnets and load-balancers setup. Anti-patterns 1. Isolated Kubernetes usage “Islands” without centralized control: Without the initial investment in establishing a centralized control structure around Kubernetes management there is a risk of ending with a “mushroom farm” topology i.e. no defined size/shape/structure of clusters within the org. The result is a difficult to manage, higher risk and elevated cost due to underutilization of resources.

This blog post introduces Kubernetes Namespaces as a way to partition a single Kubernetes cluster into multiple virtual clusters. It draws an analogy to family names to illustrate how namespaces provide logical partitioning, enabling multiple users, teams, or applications to coexist without unwanted interaction. The post outlines several use cases, including defining roles and responsibilities within an enterprise, partitioning environments (dev, test, prod), and customer partitioning for non-multi-tenant scenarios. It emphasizes the importance of roles like Designer/Architect and Admin for managing Kubernetes clusters effectively and avoiding anti-patterns such as isolated Kubernetes usage without centralized control.