How to Optimize Kubernetes Costs with Kubecost and Other Tools

Kubernetes is an open-source system for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. While Kubernetes can be used for free, it does have associated costs that can quickly add up if not managed effectively. In this blog post, we’ll explore some strategies for optimizing Kubernetes costs, including making cost-conscious choices, utilizing automation tools, and employing containers and serverless options. We’ll also show how Kubecost can be used to help optimize Kubernetes costs.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels

Overview of Kubernetes Costs and Why They Need to Be Optimized.

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that can be used to manage containerized workloads and services. Kubernetes costs can vary depending on the size and complexity of the deployment, but typically include the cost of the underlying infrastructure, Kubernetes management software, and support fees.

There are several factors that contribute to the total cost of a Kubernetes deployment, including:

• The number of nodes in the cluster

• The types of nodes (e.g., master, worker)

• The cloud provider or infrastructure provider

• The region or data center where the cluster is deployed

• The level of support required

Kubernetes costs can also vary depending on the way it is used. For example, if Kubernetes is used to manage a large number of small workloads, the per-workload cost may be higher than if it was used to manage a smaller number of larger workloads. Additionally, if Kubernetes is used to manage highly available applications, the cost may be higher due to the need for additional hardware and software redundancy.

Reasons to Optimize Kubernetes Costs.

While there are many benefits to using Kubernetes, such as improved application uptime and scalability, optimizing costs should also be a key consideration when deploying this technology. There are several strategies that can be employed to optimize Kubernetes costs, which will be discussed in more detail in

There are several reasons why optimizing Kubernetes costs is important, including:

• Save money on infrastructure and support fees

• Improve ROI by reducing wasted compute resources

• Reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a Kubernetes deployment

• Free up budget to invest in other areas of the business

Strategies for Optimizing Kubernetes Costs.

One way to optimize Kubernetes costs is to make cost-conscious choices when configuring and deploying your applications. For example, you can use lower-cost storage options for data that doesn’t need to be highly available, or you can use smaller compute instances for applications with low resource requirements. By making thoughtful choices about the resources your applications need, you can reduce your overall Kubernetes costs.

Set Alerts

For most cloud service providers should you want to go the hosted route of GKE, AKS, EKS you’ll likely already be familiar with setting up alerts for utilization you’ll want these also applied to your budgetary for your project, account, subscription. The nuance of these settings will differ from the cloud provider but essentially the pillar is to control cost and be aware ahead of time of over utilization by meeting thresholds such as CPU Usage. Think of in addition to security you’ll likely be concerned with a spike in demand at variable times that could also be seen as malicious depending on context.

Utilizing Automation Tools.

Another way to optimize Kubernetes costs is to utilize automation tools like Ansible or Terraform to provision and manage your Kubernetes infrastructure. Automation can help you avoid mistakes that can lead to wasted resources, and it can also help you apply best practices for cost optimization across your entire infrastructure. Provision as needed and delete as you’ll need to optimize actions that can be reused.

Employing Containers and Serverless Options.

Yet another way to optimize Kubernetes costs is to employ containers and serverless options wherever possible. Containers and serverless technologies can help you reduce the amount of resources required to run your applications, which can lead to significant savings on your Kubernetes bill. However, serverless might not always meet your overlying objective.

Leveraging Kubecost for Kubernetes Cost Optimization.

Kubecost is an open-source tool that provides cost visibility and optimization for Kubernetes. It offers a wide range of features to help organizations save money on their Kubernetes deployments, including:

* Detailed cost analysis and breakdowns: Kubecost gives users detailed insights into where their Kubernetes costs are coming from, allowing them to identify areas where they can save money.

* Cost optimization recommendations: Based on the analysis of an organization’s Kubernetes costs, Kubecost provides recommendations on how to optimize spending.

* Automated cost tracking and reporting: Kubecost automatically tracks an organization’s Kubernetes costs over time, making it easy to monitor progress and identify trends.

How to Get Started with Kubecost.

Getting started with Kubecost is easy. Simply install the tool on your Kubernetes cluster, and then follow the instructions in the documentation to set up cost tracking and start generating reports.

You’ll need to enter your email at kubecost.com to get the API token your command should look like this

• You’ll need Helm Installed
• The API Key that would be able to communicate to the service

helm install kubecost cost-analyzer \
--repo https://kubecost.github.io/cost-analyzer/ \
--namespace kubecost --create-namespace \
--set kubecostToken="-xxx-xx-xxx-x"

Prior to starting the service in port-forwarding we will wait for the pods to be ready we can view this progress running the command below

kubectl get pods -n kubecost

We can see prometheus is running in the name space likely to help with collecting metrics along with grafana for visualizations and the kubecost-cost-analyzer.

Digging into the kubecost-cost-analyzer pod as pending to see what is the status we’re able to see the labels out of the box along with some more information.

kubectl -n kubecost describe pod kubecost-cost-analyzer-847d74696c-blfjv

Once you are ready expose the port 9090 to view the dashboard

kubectl port-forward --namespace kubecost deployment/kubecost-cost-analyzer 9090

Issues I did run into were initial launch I’m going to retest on another cluster but after 30 minutes this was still in pending.

The documentation calls out a higher number of memory to be used such as 32GB on the node itself so I’ll relaunch on AKS and continue exploring this area further.

Conclusion

Kubernetes is a powerful tool that can help organizations save money on infrastructure costs. However, it is important to be aware of the potential costs of running Kubernetes and to take steps to optimize those costs. There are several strategies for optimizing Kubernetes costs, including making cost-conscious choices, utilizing automation tools, and employing containers and serverless options. One tool that can be particularly helpful in optimizing Kubernetes costs is Kubecost. Kubecost is one of the tools that provides valuable insights into Kubernetes usage and can help identify areas where cost savings can be achieved. Getting started with Kubecost is easy and the benefits it provides can help organizations realize significant savings on their Kubernetes infrastructure costs. Additionally understand the landscape of cost optimization is observing metrics gathered from your workloads to give you visibility but also insight on your spend. Like anything in security and operations cost are always a crossroads you’ll encounter.