12 Best Kubernetes Books in 2023

This is a list of the best Kubernetes books in 2023.

Kubernetes is an open-source system for managing containerized applications across a cluster of nodes.

Kubernetes is a complex system, and there are many books available that can help you get started with understanding and using Kubernetes.

Here are the best Kubernetes books in 2023:

1. Kubernetes in Action

Kubernetes in Action is a comprehensive guide to effectively developing and running applications in a Kubernetes environment.

Before diving into Kubernetes, the book gives an overview of container technologies like Docker, including how to build containers, so that even readers who haven't used these technologies before can get up and running.

The book then dives deep into Kubernetes, teaching you how to use Kubernetes to deploy container-based distributed applications.

As you navigate this comprehensive guide, you'll explore high-value topics like monitoring, tuning, and scaling.

By the end of this book, you'll be well-versed in Kubernetes and able to confidently deploy and manage applications in a Kubernetes environment.

Authors: Marko Luksa

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Use Docker and its use in containerization
Understand the basics of Kubernetes and how it works
Gain experience in creating, deploying, and managing applications on Kubernetes
Apply best practices for developing apps for Kubernetes
Explore ways to extend Kubernetes' functionality

Marko Luksa: About the author

Marko Luksa is a software engineer and author. He is currently a Software Engineer at Red Hat. His latest book, Kubernetes: Up and Running, examines how to use Kubernetes to deploy and manage containerized applications.

2. Cloud Native DevOps with Kubernetes: Building, Deploying, and Scaling Modern Applications in the Cloud

2. Cloud Native DevOps with Kubernetes Book Cover

Cloud Native DevOps with Kubernetes book shows developers and operations staff how to apply industry-standard DevOps practices to Kubernetes in a cloud-native context.

You’ll learn all about the Kubernetes ecosystem and discover battle-tested solutions to everyday problems.

In this friendly, pragmatic book, cloud experts John Arundel and Justin Domingus show you what Kubernetes can do—and what you can do with it.

You’ll build, step by step, an example cloud-native application and its supporting infrastructure, along with a development environment and continuous deployment pipeline that you can use for your own applications.

Authors: John Arundel, Justin Domingus

Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the basics of Kubernetes
Run your own clusters or choose a managed Kubernetes service from Amazon, Google, and others
Optimize clusters for cost, performance, resilience, capacity, and scalability
Gain an understanding of containers and their benefits
Deploy an application on Kubernetes
Understand how to manage clusters and applications in a production environment

3. Kubernetes Patterns: Reusable Elements for Designing Cloud-Native Applications

Kubernetes Patterns is a focused guide that provides common reusable elements, patterns, principles, and practices for designing and implementing cloud-native applications on Kubernetes.

Each pattern includes a description of the problem and a proposed solution with Kubernetes specifics. Many patterns are also backed by concrete code examples.

This book is ideal for you if you are a developer already familiar with basic Kubernetes concepts.

It covers the following pattern categories:

Foundational patterns cover the core principles and practices for building container-based cloud-native applications.
Behavioral patterns explore finer-grained concepts for managing various types of container and platform interactions.Structural patterns help you organize containers within a pod, the atom of the Kubernetes platform.
Configuration patterns provide insight into how application configurations can be handled in Kubernetes
Advanced patterns covers more advanced topics such as extending the platform with operators.

Authors: Bilgin Ibryam, Roland Huß

Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Learn about the basics of Kubernetes
Design cloud-native applications using Kubernetes
Implement common patterns for designing and running cloud-native applications on Kubernetes.
Find out how to use Kubernetes to manage application configurations.
Discover advanced topics such as operators and extending the Kubernetes platform.

4. Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) Study Guide

This is the best book to prepare for CKAD.

"The Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) exam is different from the typical multiple-choice format of other certifications. Instead, the CKAD is a performance-based exam that requires deep knowledge of the tasks under immense time pressure.

This study guide walks you through all the topics you need to fully prepare for the exam. Author Benjamin Muschko also shares his personal experience with preparing for all aspects of the exam.

Authors: Benjamin Muschko

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand when and how to apply Kubernetes concepts to manage an application
Understand the objectives, abilities, tips, and tricks needed to pass the CKAD exam
Explore the ins and outs of the kubectl command-line tool
Demonstrate competency for performing the responsibilities of a Kubernetes application developer
Solve real-world Kubernetes problems in a hands-on command-line environment
Navigate and solve questions during the CKAD exam

5. Kubernetes: Up and Running : Dive Into the Future of Infrastructure

5. Kubernetes: Up and Running Book Cover

Kubernetes: Up and Running is a comprehensive guide to Kubernetes, the popular container orchestration system.

You'll learn how to use Kubernetes to build and manage containers at scale, improving the efficiency and reliability of your applications.

This book is ideal for developers, engineers, and architects who want to get practical experience with Kubernetes.

The book provides comprehensive coverage of Kubernetes, from basic installation instructions to more advanced topics like deploying applications using Kubernetes. In addition, the author's note at the beginning of the book provides some great advice on choosing a book on Kubernetes.

Authors: Brendan Burns, Joe Beda, Kelsey Hightower, Lachlan Evenson

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand how Kubernetes works
Deploy an application using Kubernetes
Understand specialized objects in Kubernetes
Explore deployments that tie together the lifecycle of a complete application
Gain practical examples of how to develop and deploy real-world applications in Kubernetes

6. Hands-On Kubernetes on Azure - Third Edition : Use Azure Kubernetes Service to Automate Management, Scaling, and Deployment of Containerized Applications

Best for Kubernetes Book fo Azure

6. Hands-On Kubernetes on Azure - Third Edition Book Cover

Hands-On Kubernetes on Azure - Third Edition is a guide that will help you understand the fundamentals of containers and Kubernetes deployment on Azure. You'll learn how to deploy containerized applications using the Kubernetes platform, scale your workloads, and secure your application running in Azure Kubernetes Service.

The book also covers advanced integrations with Azure services like databases and serverless functions.

By the end of this book, you'll be able to proficiently deploy containerized workloads on Microsoft Azure.

Authors: Nills Franssens, Shivakumar Gopalakrishnan, Gunther Lenz

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the fundamentals of containers and Kubernetes
Deploy containerized applications using the Kubernetes platform
Understand how to scale your workloads and secure your application running in Azure Kubernetes Service
Get to grips with the specifics of Kubernetes by deploying a sample guestbook application on AKS
Install complex Kubernetes apps using Helm
Overcome common challenges in AKS and secure your applications with HTTPS
Secure your clusters and applications in a dedicated section on security
Understand about advanced integrations, which give you the ability to create Azure databases and run serverless functions on AKS
Integrate AKS with a continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline using GitHub Actions.

7. Kubernetes Cookbook: Building Cloud Native Applications

The Kubernetes Cookbook provides you with hands-on recipes for automating the deployment, scaling, and operations of application containers across clusters of hosts.

You'll find recipes for installing Kubernetes, working with the API and API groups, and deploying and managing applications.

The book also includes chapters on monitoring and troubleshooting your Kubernetes environment.

By the end of this book, you will have gained practical experience in using Kubernetes to manage your containerized applications.

Authors: Sébastien Goasguen, Michael Hausenblas

Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand about Kubernetes
Understand how to schedule and run application containers using Kubernetes
Understand how to use tools and APIs to automate scalable distributed systems

8. Mastering Kubernetes : Large Scale Container Deployment and Management

Mastering Kubernetes book will show you how to run complex stateful microservices on Kubernetes using advanced features such as horizontal pod autoscaling, rolling updates, resource quotas and persistent storage back ends.

It also covers custom resource development and utilization in automation and maintenance workflows. by the end of this book, you'll know everything you need to know to go from intermediate to advanced level.

This book mainly focuses on the advanced management of Kubernetes clusters.

Authors: Gigi Sayfan

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the guiding principles of Kubernetes design
Explore best practices in security, high availability and cluster federation
Operate and troubleshoot a Kubernetes cluster
Develop custom Kubernetes resources
Automate application deployment using Kubernetes

9. Hacking Kubernetes : Threat-Driven Analysis and Defense

Kubernetes is a powerful system for managing containerized applications, but it's also complex and can be difficult to secure.

Hacking Kubernetes provides a detailed, threat-based guide to Kubernetes security that will help you harden your clusters from possible angles of attack.

You'll start with a vanilla Kubernetes installation and work through an abstract Threat Model of a distributed system running arbitrary workloads.

Then you'll progress to a detailed assessment of each component in a secure Kubernetes system.

You'll learn how to configure pods, secure your cluster and workload traffic, define and enforce policy with RBAC, Kyverno, and OPA, and dive deep into sandboxing and isolation techniques.

If someone breaks into your Kubernetes system despite your best efforts, the book concludes with chapters on what you can do about it.

With this book, you'll have everything you need to secure your Kubernetes system against a wide range of potential threats.

Authors: Andrew Martin, Michael Hausenblas

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the basics of Kubernetes
Configure a secure Kubernetes system
Harden clusters from possible angles of attack
Define and enforce policy with RBAC, OPA, and Kyverno
Understand where your Kubernetes system is vulnerable with threat modelling techniques
Secure your cluster and workload traffic
Detect and mitigate supply chain attacks
Explore filesystems, volumes, and sensitive information at rest
Discover what can go wrong when running multitenant workloads in a cluster
Know what you can do if someone breaks in despite you having controls in place.

10. Kubernetes in Production Best Practices : Build and manage highly available production-ready Kubernetes clusters

10. Kubernetes in Production Best Practices Book Cover

Running a Kubernetes cluster that is optimized for production workloads can be a challenge, especially for users with basic or intermediate knowledge.

This book explores Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS), the AWS-managed version of Kubernetes, for working through practical exercises.

As you get to grips with implementation details specific to AWS and EKS, you'll understand the design concepts, implementation best practices, and configuration applicable to other cloud-managed services.

Throughout the book, you'll also discover standard and cloud-agnostic tools, such as Terraform and Ansible, for provisioning and configuring infrastructure.

By the end of this book, you'll be able to leverage Kubernetes to operate and manage your production environments confidently.

Authors: Aly Saleh, Murat Karslioglu

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand best practices for Kubernetes infrastructure design
Understand how to configure a Kubernetes cluster for production workloads
Discover standard tools for provisioning and configuring infrastructure
Get to grips with implementing observability stacks for monitoring and logging
Secure your Kubernetes environment

11. The Kubernetes Bible : The definitive guide to deploying and managing Kubernetes across major cloud platforms

If you're looking to get started with Kubernetes, this book is for you.

We'll show you how to set up and configure a secure Kubernetes system, as well as how to harden it against attacks.

You'll also learn about the different components of Kubernetes and how they work together. Additionally, the book will give you a tour of some of the more advanced features of Kubernetes so that you can start using it effectively in your own projects.

By the end of this book, you'll be equipped with battle-tested knowledge of basic Kubernetes topics and be ready to work with Kubernetes on cloud platforms.

Authors: Nassim Kebbani, Piotr Tylenda, Russ McKendrick

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Learn the basics of Kubernetes
Deploy an application in Kubernetes
Understand how to manage a Kubernetes cluster on a cloud platform
Automate the deployment of containerized applications with Kubernetes
Get to grips with advanced Kubernetes topics, such as Pod scheduling and traffic routing

12. Quick Start Kubernetes

If you want to figure out what Kubernetes is all about, Quick Start Kubernetes is for you.

It assumes no prior experience and gets you started with deploying and managing a simple app.

You'll learn the fundamentals of Kubernetes architecture and perform hands-on tasks like building a cluster, containerizing an app, and deploying it to Kubernetes.

Nigel Poulton explains everything as clearly as possible and busts every piece of jargon. When you're done, you'll be in love with Kubernetes and ready to use your skills in the real world.

Authors: Nigel Poulton

Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Grasp the basics of Kubernetes
Deploy and manage a simple app on Kubernetes
Understand why Kubernetes was created
Grasp the fundamentals of Kubernetes architecture
Gain experience with hands-on tasks such as building a cluster, containerizing an app, and deploying it to Kubernetes
See how Kubernetes can self-heal a broken app
Scale an app using Kubernetes
Perform a rolling update on an app in Kubernetes

Conclusion

Kubernetes is a powerful tool for managing containerized workloads and services, but it can be difficult to set up and configure.

The best Kubernetes book is Kubernetes in Action. It covers the basics of Kubernetes and dives into more advanced topics, such as running multi-tenant workloads and securing your cluster.

About Josip

Josip Miskovic is a software developer at Americaneagle.com. Josip has 10+ years in experience in developing web applications, mobile apps, and games.

Follow @JosipMisko

1. Kubernetes in Action

Topics covered

Marko Luksa: About the author

2. Cloud Native DevOps with Kubernetes: Building, Deploying, and Scaling Modern Applications in the Cloud

Topics covered

3. Kubernetes Patterns: Reusable Elements for Designing Cloud-Native Applications

Topics covered

4. Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) Study Guide

Topics covered

5. Kubernetes: Up and Running : Dive Into the Future of Infrastructure

Topics covered

6. Hands-On Kubernetes on Azure - Third Edition : Use Azure Kubernetes Service to Automate Management, Scaling, and Deployment of Containerized Applications

Best for Kubernetes Book fo Azure

Topics covered

7. Kubernetes Cookbook: Building Cloud Native Applications

Topics covered

8. Mastering Kubernetes : Large Scale Container Deployment and Management

Topics covered

9. Hacking Kubernetes : Threat-Driven Analysis and Defense

Topics covered

10. Kubernetes in Production Best Practices : Build and manage highly available production-ready Kubernetes clusters

Topics covered

11. The Kubernetes Bible : The definitive guide to deploying and managing Kubernetes across major cloud platforms

Topics covered

12. Quick Start Kubernetes

Topics covered

Conclusion

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