Cloud Native Computing Foundation glossary
Key Cloud Native Computing Foundation certification terms and acronyms.
Definitions are AI-assisted and reviewed for general accuracy — verify critical details against Cloud Native Computing Foundation's official documentation.
CNCFCloud Native Computing Foundation
A Linux Foundation project that hosts and promotes open-source cloud-native projects including Kubernetes, Prometheus, and Envoy.
CNIContainer Network Interface
A specification and set of libraries for configuring network interfaces in Linux containers, used by Kubernetes for Pod networking.
CNIContainer Network Interface
A specification and set of libraries for configuring network interfaces in Linux containers, used by Kubernetes for pod networking.
ConfigMap
A Kubernetes object that stores non-confidential configuration data as key-value pairs, injectable into Pods as env vars or volumes.
ConfigMap
A Kubernetes object used to store non-confidential configuration data as key-value pairs, consumable by Pods.
ConfigMap
An API object used to store non-confidential configuration data as key-value pairs, injectable into Pods as env vars or volumes.
cordon
A kubectl operation that marks a node as unschedulable, preventing new Pods from being placed on it without evicting existing ones.
CRDCustom Resource Definition
A Kubernetes extension mechanism that allows users to define new resource types beyond the built-in API objects.
CRIContainer Runtime Interface
A plugin interface that enables the kubelet to use different container runtimes without recompilation.
CRIContainer Runtime Interface
A Kubernetes plugin interface that allows the kubelet to use different container runtimes without recompilation.
CronJob
A Kubernetes resource that creates Jobs on a repeating schedule defined using cron syntax.
CSIContainer Storage Interface
A standard API that enables storage vendors to write plugins for exposing storage systems to containerized workloads.
DaemonSet
A Kubernetes workload object that ensures a copy of a specified Pod runs on all (or selected) nodes in the cluster.
DaemonSet
A Kubernetes resource ensuring that a copy of a specified Pod runs on all (or selected) nodes in the cluster.
DaemonSet
Ensures that a copy of a Pod runs on all (or selected) nodes, typically used for logging agents or monitoring daemons.
Deployment
A Kubernetes resource that declaratively manages a set of replica Pods and supports rolling updates and rollbacks.
drain
A kubectl operation that safely evicts all Pods from a node and marks it unschedulable, typically used before node maintenance.
etcd
A distributed key-value store used as Kubernetes' primary backing store for all cluster state and configuration data.
etcd
A distributed key-value store used by Kubernetes to persist all cluster state and configuration data.
FinOpsFinancial Operations
A cloud financial management practice that brings financial accountability to variable cloud spending through collaboration between engineering and finance teams.
GitOps
An operational methodology where Git is the single source of truth for declarative infrastructure and application configuration.
Helm
A Kubernetes package manager that uses templated charts to define, install, and upgrade complex Kubernetes applications.
HPAHorizontal Pod Autoscaler
A Kubernetes controller that automatically scales the number of Pod replicas based on observed CPU, memory, or custom metrics.
HPAHorizontal Pod Autoscaler
A Kubernetes controller that automatically scales the number of Pod replicas based on observed CPU, memory, or custom metrics.
HPAHorizontalPodAutoscaler
A Kubernetes controller that automatically scales the number of Pod replicas based on observed CPU, memory, or custom metrics.
Ingress
A Kubernetes API object that manages external HTTP/HTTPS access to Services, providing routing, TLS termination, and virtual hosting.
Ingress
A Kubernetes API object that manages external HTTP/HTTPS access to Services, supporting routing rules and TLS termination.
Ingress
A Kubernetes API object that manages external HTTP/HTTPS access to services within a cluster, supporting routing rules.
Init Container
A specialized container that runs and must complete successfully before any app containers in the same Pod start.
Job
A Kubernetes resource that creates one or more Pods to run a task to completion, tracking successful completions.
K8sKubernetes
An open-source container orchestration system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.
kube-proxy
A network proxy on each node that maintains iptables or IPVS rules to implement Kubernetes Service networking.
kube-proxy
A network proxy running on each Kubernetes node that maintains network rules to enable Service IP routing to backend Pods.
kubeadm
A tool that provides best-practice commands for bootstrapping and managing Kubernetes cluster lifecycle.
kubectl
The official Kubernetes command-line tool used to interact with cluster API resources for creation, inspection, and management.
kubelet
An agent running on each Kubernetes node that ensures containers described in PodSpecs are running and healthy.
kubelet
An agent running on each node that ensures containers described in PodSpecs are running and healthy.
LimitRange
A policy object that enforces minimum and maximum compute resource constraints for Pods and containers within a Namespace.
Liveness Probe
A container health check that causes Kubernetes to restart a container if the probe fails repeatedly.
Namespace
A Kubernetes mechanism for isolating groups of resources within a single cluster, enabling multi-team or multi-environment separation.
Namespace
A virtual cluster within a Kubernetes cluster used to isolate resources and apply policies across groups of users or workloads.
Namespace
A Kubernetes mechanism that partitions cluster resources into isolated groups, enabling multi-tenancy and resource scoping.
NetworkPolicy
A Kubernetes resource that controls ingress and egress traffic to Pods using label-based selectors and port rules.
NetworkPolicy
A Kubernetes resource that defines rules controlling ingress and egress traffic between Pods using label selectors.
OCIOpen Container Initiative
A Linux Foundation project that defines open industry standards for container image formats and runtimes.
Pod
The smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes, consisting of one or more containers sharing network and storage resources.
Pod
The smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes, consisting of one or more containers sharing network and storage resources.
PVPersistentVolume
A piece of storage in a Kubernetes cluster provisioned by an administrator or dynamically, with a lifecycle independent of any Pod.
PVPersistentVolume
A cluster-level storage resource provisioned by an admin or dynamically via a StorageClass, independent of Pod lifecycle.
PVPersistentVolume
A piece of storage in the cluster provisioned by an administrator or dynamically, with a lifecycle independent of any Pod.
PVCPersistentVolumeClaim
A user's request for storage in Kubernetes that binds to a matching PersistentVolume based on size and access mode.
PVCPersistentVolumeClaim
A user request for storage that binds to a matching PersistentVolume based on access mode and capacity.
PVCPersistentVolumeClaim
A user's request for persistent storage in Kubernetes that binds to a PersistentVolume satisfying the claim's requirements.
RBACRole-Based Access Control
A Kubernetes authorization mechanism that controls access to API resources based on Roles bound to users or ServiceAccounts.
RBACRole-Based Access Control
A Kubernetes authorization mechanism that regulates access to resources based on roles assigned to users or service accounts.
RBACRole-Based Access Control
A Kubernetes authorization mechanism that grants API permissions to users or service accounts via Roles and RoleBindings.
Readiness Probe
A container health check that controls whether a Pod receives traffic; a failing probe removes the Pod from Service endpoints.
Resource Limits
Container-level constraints in Kubernetes that cap the maximum CPU and memory a container may consume on a node.
Resource Requests
Container-level declarations of the minimum CPU and memory required, used by the scheduler for Pod placement decisions.
ResourceQuota
A Namespace-scoped object that limits aggregate resource consumption such as CPU, memory, and object count within that Namespace.
Secret
A Kubernetes object that stores sensitive data such as passwords or tokens, encoded in base64, with restricted access controls.
Secret
A Kubernetes object designed to store sensitive data such as passwords, tokens, or keys, base64-encoded at rest by default.
Secret
A Kubernetes object that stores sensitive data such as passwords or tokens, base64-encoded, and injectable into Pods.
Service
A Kubernetes resource that exposes a set of Pods as a stable network endpoint using label selectors.
Service Mesh
An infrastructure layer that manages service-to-service communication, providing traffic management, observability, and mutual TLS.
ServiceAccount
An identity for processes running in a Pod, used to authenticate API requests from within the cluster.
ServiceAccount
An identity assigned to processes running in Pods, used for authenticating API server requests within a namespace.
StatefulSet
A Kubernetes workload resource for stateful applications, providing stable network identities and ordered, graceful Pod management.
StatefulSet
A workload API object that manages stateful applications, providing stable network identities and ordered, graceful deployment.
StatefulSet
A Kubernetes workload API object for managing stateful applications, providing stable network identities and persistent storage per Pod.
StorageClass
A Kubernetes object that defines a storage provisioner and parameters, enabling dynamic PersistentVolume provisioning.
StorageClass
A Kubernetes resource that defines a storage provisioner and parameters used for dynamic PersistentVolume provisioning.
Taint
A node property that repels Pods from being scheduled onto the node unless the Pod has a matching toleration.
Taint and Toleration
A Kubernetes mechanism where node taints repel Pods unless those Pods carry a matching toleration, controlling scheduling placement.
Toleration
A Pod specification field that allows the Pod to schedule onto nodes with matching taints.