New Kubernetes certification program helps deliver consistency in the cloud

Over the last three years open source container platform, Kubernetes has been adopted by a diverse community of providers including some of the biggest names in the cloud.

Now the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) is launching a Kubernetes Software Conformance Certification program, which ensures Certified Kubernetes products deliver consistency and portability.

"The new Kubernetes Software Conformance Certification gives enterprise organizations the confidence that workloads that run on any Certified Kubernetes Distribution or Platform will work correctly on any other version," says Dan Kohn, executive director at the CNCF. "The interoperability that this program ensures is essential to Kubernetes meeting its promise of offering a single open source software stack supported by many vendors that can deploy on any public, private or hybrid cloud."

A Certified Kubernetes product guarantees that the complete Kubernetes API functions will work as specified, so users can rely on a seamless, stable experience. Certified implementations are permitted to use the new Certified Kubernetes logo and also are allowed to use the Kubernetes mark in combination with their product name.

Development of the certification program involved close collaboration between CNCF and the rest of the Kubernetes community, especially the Testing and Architecture Special Interest Groups. The Architecture SIG is the final arbiter of the definition of API conformance for the program.

The program also includes strong guarantees that commercial providers of Kubernetes will continue to release new versions to ensure that customers can take advantage of the rapid pace of ongoing development.

"From the day Google first open-sourced Kubernetes, the goal has been to provide a highly portable cloud native platform for developers to quickly deploy services on premises, in public cloud, and in hybrid environments," says Eyal Manor, VP engineering at Google Cloud. "The Kubernetes Software Conformance Certification is a way for vendors to prove they are offering pure Kubernetes, with continuous, seamless upgrades, giving users assurance that they can continue to benefit from the innovation and portability Kubernetes offers. We continue to provide that experience in Google Kubernetes Engine."

Vendors can run a conformance test suite and submit their results for review and certification by CNCF.

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