Leveraging Kubernetes for Multi-Tenancy & Isolation -10 Minute Read

Ever found yourself caught off guard when discussions about Kubernetes namespaces and networking policies for multi-tenancy and isolation pop up in a meeting or an interview? Whether you're looking to build a more secure system, or simply wanting to keep up with the tech conversation, this is your quick and easy guide. Here's a brief rundown of how Kubernetes empowers us to create multi-tenant environments, all achievable in under 10 minutes. Let's dive in!

🔹 Make use of Kubernetes namespaces for different tenants or applications for logical isolation and resource quotas.

🔸 Leverage Kubernetes RBAC to restrict namespace and resource access – tenants should only reach their own namespaces.

🔹 Utilize namespaces to segregate concerns - think dev, test, staging, and production environments.

🔸 Implement Kubernetes NetworkPolicies to regulate inbound/outbound network access per namespace and limit inter-namespace traffic.

🔹 Set NetworkPolicies to allow ingress traffic to inference services from specific pods or API gateways only.

🔸 Structure egress policies to prevent inference pods from accessing resources in other namespaces.

🔹 Employ calico/cni or cilium for refined network and security policies based on pod labels and annotations.

🔸 Use PodSecurityPolicies for further namespace lockdown - run as user, fsgroups, supplemental groups, etc.

🔹 Implement resource quotas and limits on a per namespace level to circumvent noisy neighbor issues.

🔸 Monitor network traffic between pods and namespaces to detect anomalies or violations.

In a nutshell, leveraging namespaces, NetworkPolicies, RBAC, and other Kubernetes native capabilities allows for the creation of strict isolation and multi-tenancy for real-time inference workloads, leading to a more secure and efficient environment.