Kustomize Intro

Question 1

What main problem is Kustomize designed to solve

Answer 1

Kustomize solves the problem of reusing Kubernetes YAML across multiple environments without copying the same files into separate folders for dev staging and production

Question 2

Why is copying the same Kubernetes YAML files into separate environment folders a bad long term solution

Answer 2

It creates duplication and makes it easy for environments to drift apart when someone forgets to copy or update a file in every folder

Question 3

In the lecture example what setting needed to change across environments

Answer 3

The number of replicas needed to change so development used 1 staging used 2 and production used 5

Question 4

What is the base in Kustomize

Answer 4

The base is the common set of Kubernetes YAML files and default values that are shared across all environments

Question 5

What are overlays in Kustomize

Answer 5

Overlays are environment specific customizations that modify or extend the base configuration

Question 6

What kind of values should go into the base directory

Answer 6

Values and resources that should be the same across environments or serve as sensible defaults should go into the base directory

Question 7

What kind of values should go into an overlay directory

Answer 7

Only the settings that need to change for a specific environment and any resources unique to that environment should go into that overlay directory

Question 8

Why was there no real need for a development overlay in the lecture example

Answer 8

The base already set replicas to 1 which matched the development requirement so nothing had to be overridden there

Question 9

How does Kustomize create the final manifest that gets applied to the cluster

Answer 9

Kustomize combines the base configuration with the chosen overlay and builds the final Kubernetes YAML manifest

Question 10

What folder structure is commonly used with Kustomize

Answer 10

A common structure uses one base directory and an overlays directory with separate subdirectories for environments like development staging and production

Question 11

Does Kustomize require a templating language like Helm

Answer 11

No Kustomize does not use a templating language and instead works by patching and customizing plain YAML

Question 12

Why is Kustomize often considered simpler than Helm for this use case

Answer 12

Kustomize keeps everything as normal YAML files which makes the configuration easier to read validate and reason about

Question 13

Is Kustomize built into kubectl

Answer 13

Yes Kustomize functionality is built into kubectl although the standalone Kustomize tool may be newer

Question 14

What is the main workflow when using Kustomize for multiple environments

Answer 14

You define shared resources in base define environment specific changes in overlays and then build or apply the combined result for the target environment

Question 15

What is the biggest advantage of Kustomize over manual YAML duplication for environment management

Answer 15

It lets you customize only what changes per environment while keeping the shared configuration in one place which is more maintainable and scalable