UPDATED 20:11 EDT / OCTOBER 20 2020

IOT

Microsoft brings Kubernetes to edge devices with Project Akri

Microsoft Corp. today announced a new open-source project it has created called Akri that aims to make it easier to use Kubernetes with network edge devices.

Akri, which stands for “A Kubernetes Resource Interface for the edge” and also means “edge” in Greek, is designed to expose what Microsoft calls lightweight “leaf devices” such as IP cameras and sensors as resources in a Kubernetes cluster. That removes the need to go through the trouble of running Kubernetes on those devices itself.

In a blog post today, Microsoft software engineer Kate Goldenring said there are many benefits to running Kubernetes, which is used to manage large clusters of software containers that host the components of modern applications, on edge devices. But in order for that to happen, Kubernetes clusters need an easy way to discover those devices. The problem is that most are too small to run Kubernetes by themselves.

Akri expands the Kubernetes device plugin framework that’s primarily geared toward finding static resources such as graphic processing unit chips and other hardware. It works by providing an abstraction layer that’s similar to the Container Network Interface.

“But instead of abstracting the underlying network details, it removes the work of finding, utilizing, and monitoring the availability of leaf devices,” Goldenring said.

The architecture behind Akri is simple too. It’s made up of four key Kubernetes components, including two custom resources, a device plugin implementation, and a custom controller. All users have to do is apply an Akri configuration to a specific Kubernetes cluster, specify the discovery protocol, and the platform will automatically discover the desired edge devices. Users can enable multiple nodes for each leaf device too, in order to provide high availability in case one node goes offline.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller said Kubernetes is already the number one choice for platforms that have enough power to run it. But there are still billions of lightweight sensors and other devices that don’t have enough oomph to run such a resource-hungry framework, he said.

“Not surprisingly the edge calls for another platform battle, and Microsoft has brought forward Project Akri as its contender,” Mueller said. “The project needs to be open source to have a chance at winning, and not surprisingly it is. We probably don’t have to wait for more than three months to see rival projects from Amazon and Google.”

Goldenring said Akri already comes with the ONVIF and udev discovery protocols out of the box. She said she’s hopeful community members will add more to increase the number of devices it can support.

Should Akri gain enough momentum, Goldenring said Microsoft will hand over control of the project to a community governed foundation in the Kubernetes ecosystem.

Image: Microsoft

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