Posted on September 10, 2024
Kubestraonaut in Orbit - Daiki Takasao social card

Get to know Daiki

This week’s Kubestronaut in Orbit, Daiki Takasao, is a Japanese IT infrastructure engineer at NRI. He works with CNCF technologies to build financial IT systems and has been using Kubernetes, Linkerd, and Prometheus since 2021

If you’d like to be a Kubestronaut like Daiki, get more details on the CNCF Kubestronaut page.

When did you get started with Kubernetes–what was your first project?

In 2021, I was assigned to a project to build a microservices infrastructure for a Japanese financial institution using Kubernetes. That was when I started using Kubernetes for the first time. Before that, I had done some research on Kubernetes for our own R&D, but this project was the first time I started using Kubernetes in earnest.

In addition to Kubernetes, this project used many other CNCF technologies such as Linkerd and Prometheus. It was very difficult to learn these technologies and design the architecture, but the system is still running stably and I now have a lot of confidence in the high quality of Kubernetes and CNCF technologies.

What are the primary CNCF projects you work on or use today?  What projects have you enjoyed the most in your career?

Here are some of the CNCF projects that I have used:

               – Kubernetes

               – Linkerd

               – Prometheus

               – Fluentd

               – gRPC

               – Keycloak

               – OPA/Gatekeeper

The most enjoyable project is Kubernetes. There are so many components that I had a hard time understanding at first, but now that I have a better understanding of it, the scalability of Kubernetes really amazes me.

Prometheus is another project that I have a lot of fondness for. When I learned that I could automatically monitor pods generated by service discovery, I was surprised at how different it was from the static monitoring I had been doing.

I’m also very attached to Linkerd. Linkerd automatically injects itself into application pods without having to prepare a special manifest, and it automatically handles mTLS and gRPC communications. I think it is a good OSS that configures a service mesh without any hassle.

How have the certs helped you in your career? 

The Kubernetes certifications, CKS, CKA, and CKAD are hands-on exams. Therefore, studying for the certification requires not only theoretical study, but also hands-on learning. Through the certification, you will acquire not only the knowledge of Kubernetes, but also the basic skills to build and troubleshoot application environments on Kubernetes by actually doing the work. It was very valuable for me.

The certification is also a way for me to prove my skills in Kubernetes. I believe that the certification was very effective in gaining more trust from my clients.

How has CNCF helped you or influenced your career?

Because Kubernetes and CNCF technologies are not dependent on a specific cloud vendor, I have been able to form a multi-cloud skill set by becoming familiar with these technologies.

Particularly in the Japanese financial industry, I believe that the introduction of Kubernetes and CNCF technology systems is in a transitional state. In this context, I believe that the fact that I was able to develop these skills was very effective in increasing the scarcity value of my skills as an IT infrastructure engineer.

What are some other books/sites/courses you recommend for people who want to work with k8s?

Here are some websites and learning courses that have been very helpful to me in learning Kubernetes.

Websites

Online Learning Courses

What do you do in your free time?

I enjoy going out with my family. I especially like to go camping with my family. 

We have two daughters, ages 9 and 6, and I am thinking that as they get older, they may not want to go out with their father. Therefore I always want to go on many outings while I can.

What would you tell someone who is just starting their K8s certification journey? Any tips or tricks?

When I first started learning about Kubernetes, I was overwhelmed by the complexity of the many components and API objects that make up Kubernetes and the relationships between them. I believe this is why Kubernetes is often referred to as an OSS with a high learning cost.

From there, I read the documentation and executed kubectl commands to repeatedly manipulate API objects. I think my understanding of Kubernetes has gradually increased.

In that sense, I think that studying for the Kubernetes certification is a very efficient way to learn Kubernetes skills. This is because the CKS, CKA, and CKAD are hands-on exams and require repeated hands-on Kubernetes operation to achieve certification.

Besides, Kubernetes has a very fast evolutionary speed in addition to the many learning elements. It is important to be prepared to learn Kubernetes in a steady and continuous manner without being in a hurry. Otherwise, you will lose heart and will not be able to enjoy learning.

Today the Cloud native ecosystem is way more than Kubernetes. 

Do you plan to get other cloud native certifications from the CNCF?

I am currently interested in the following certifications from CNCF. I have already applied for PCA and am currently studying for the certification. I have also recently become interested in Cilium and would like to focus my studies on acquiring certifications with an eye toward future system implementations.

How did you get involved with cloud native and Kubernetes in general?

Previously, as an infrastructure engineer, I designed and maintained infrastructure for a number of mission-critical systems. Then I had the opportunity to design and maintain infrastructure using Kubernetes and other cloud-native technologies.

At first, I was very puzzled by the big change in the way of thinking about infrastructure. In the past, infrastructure design usually involved carefully designing and taking care of each server individually. The cloud-native infrastructure is constantly in flux, and the software automatically tracks and repairs these changes. This requires a more holistic approach to management than managing each individual server separately.

I would like to continue to educate Japanese engineers about the fundamental differences in the way of thinking when building cloud-native systems and the great benefits that can be gained from such systems. There are still many Japanese systems with legacy architectures. I would like to contribute to improving the productivity of Japanese companies by promoting the shift to cloud-native systems.

In addition, the progress of CNCF technologies, especially Kubernetes, is very fast, and it is very difficult to keep up with them. However, it is always an interesting task that stimulates my curiosity. I would like to continue to actively introduce these latest technologies to Japanese companies and develop their systems.

Some final thoughts

As other Kubestronauts have said, Kubernetes is an OSS that honestly takes time to learn. There are many elements that make up a Kubernetes cluster and many API resources that can be created on top of it. In addition, you can create your own API resources with Custom Resource Definitions, and the Kubernetes ecosystem is endless with these resources.

However, there is a huge benefit to learning these resources in acquiring portable skills that are applicable across multiple clouds, independent of a specific cloud vendor.

There are no shortcuts to learning Kubernetes. I believe that by continuing to learn steadily while operating a Kubernetes cluster, you will gradually increase your understanding and develop the skills to design system architectures using Kubernetes.

I really love CNCF technology centered on Kubernetes, and I would like to continue to study it diligently. I hope this article will interest some of you in Kubernetes and CNCF technology. Let’s enjoy our voyage into the Kubernetes ocean together!

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