What are the best practices for Kubernetes health checks?

What are the best practices for Kubernetes health checks?

The best practices for Kubernetes health checks include using both liveness and readiness probes, setting appropriate timeouts, and ensuring your application can handle the checks without performance degradation.

Can you explain the difference between liveness and readiness probes?

Sure! Liveness probes determine if your application is running. If it fails, Kubernetes will restart the container. Readiness probes check if your application is ready to handle traffic. If it fails, Kubernetes will stop sending traffic to that pod.

What should I consider when setting timeouts for these probes?

When setting timeouts, consider the expected response time of your application, the load it will handle, and the potential for transient failures. A good practice is to start with conservative values and adjust based on observed performance.

Are there any common pitfalls to avoid with health checks?

Yes, common pitfalls include setting overly aggressive timeouts, not accounting for application startup time, and failing to test the health checks thoroughly in a staging environment.