CloudBees and Jenkins support Kubernetes with 3 new plugins

In conjunction with the release of Kubernetes v1.0 and the formation of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, CloudBees, the enterprise Jenkins company and managers of the Jenkins community announced three new plugins to allow for easy integration of Jenkins and CloudBees enterprise to work with Kubernetes in containerized environments including massively scaled deployments.

The three new plugins build on the previous announced Docker plugins. Taken together, these allow developers to use the leading continuous delivery solution in bringing microservices-based applications to market quickly using containers.

For those who may not be familiar with Kubernetes, from the CloudBees release:

Kubernetes, launched by Google, is used for managing containerized applications – such as those handled with Docker – in a clustered environment. It provides a better way for teams to work with related but distributed components across varied infrastructures. Kubernetes provides the orchestration and support services required in environments such as these. With the Kubernetes plugins, DevOps teams can leverage Jenkins and Docker at scale, while collaborating more readily across different environments.

The three plugins for Kubernetes are:

  • Kubernetes Plugin – Easily run Jenkins slaves elastically within a Kubernetes cluster of Docker containers
  • Docker Build and Publish Plugin – Easily prepare Docker images and push them to a Docker registry. With help from the Google Container Registry Auth plugin, it can be used to push to the Google Container Registry in a Kubernetes cluster
  • Docker Custom Build Environment – Allow developers to easily define custom build environments with Docker containers running within a Kubernetes cluster. The plugin can now pull in Docker containers from the Google Container Registry

As part of supporting the Kubernetes release, Kohsuke Kawaguchi, Jenkins founder and CTO of CloudBees spoke at the Kubernetes launch event on July 21st. Kawaguchi had this to say, “the strong integration that the Jenkins community previously delivered for Docker is not only useful for users but also provides a powerful foundation for other container technologies; that is how we delivered Kubernetes support quickly. The easy extensibility that Jenkins offers puts Jenkins ahead of the curve when it comes to support for the overall container ecosystem.”

CloudBees believes that when used together, Jenkins, Docker and Kubernetes give DevOps teams a powerful set of tools that streamline the end-to-end delivery process by helping them speak the same language, share the same pipeline processes and work towards the same goals.

There was no mention of CloudBees joining the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. Container Journal has inquired to find out if this is something planned for the not to distant future for CloudBees. It would seem a natural fit.

CloudBees is one of the leaders of the DevOps movement. The fact that they have so quickly come on board in supporting Kubernetes release shows how much the industry has lined up behind this. Along with other announcements in support of the release it shows that Google Cloud and the Kubernetes team have done a great job of gathering together just about the entire industry behind Kubernetes. Now with it being seeded over the CNCF the stage is set for broad industry support around a robust container toolset.

Alan Shimel

As Editor-in-chief of DevOps.com and Container Journal, Alan Shimel is attuned to the world of technology. Alan has founded and helped several technology ventures, including StillSecure, where he guided the company in bringing innovative and effective networking and security solutions to the marketplace. Shimel is an often-cited personality in the security and technology community and is a sought-after speaker at industry and government conferences and events. In addition to his writing on DevOps.com and Network World, his commentary about the state of technology is followed closely by many industry insiders via his blog and podcast, "Ashimmy, After All These Years" (www.ashimmy.com). Alan has helped build several successful technology companies by combining a strong business background with a deep knowledge of technology. His legal background, long experience in the field, and New York street smarts combine to form a unique personality.

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