Continuent Previews Tungsten Operator for Kubernetes  - Cloud Native Now

Kubernetes is complex, by definition. Modern applications are increasingly complex with new algorithmic functions now dovetailing with (also complex) vector database services and generative AI models. Maintaining any notion of a continuity factor for continuous integration and delivery across these fine-grained topographies is tough.

Seeking to provide us with that continuity factor is Continuent (see what they did with the name there?), an organization that describes itself as a high availability and continuous operations specialist for enterprise applications using MySQL and MariaDB databases.

NOTE: We called out vector database complexity, so let’s clarify two facts: Cloud SQL for MySQL supports the storage of vector embeddings – and MariaDB Vector is a feature that allows MariaDB Server to perform as a relational vector database.

Continuent’s preview release of Tungsten Operator for Kubernetes is designed to automate the deployment, management and scaling of Continuent’s own-brand Tungsten Clustering technology in Kubernetes environments.

Tungsten Operator allows organizations to simplify complex database operations through automated actions that eliminate manual intervention. But what is Continuent Tungsten?

Essentially a set of software tools for managing database clusters in cloud or on-premises environments, Continuent Tungsten handles factors such as disaster recovery and failover, security encryption, load balancing, observability (through integrations with technologies including Grafana, Prometheus & PagerDuty) and extended complexities such as asynchronous replication, read/write splitting and parallel threading where concurrency advantages might exist.

Put simply, Tungsten Operator automates Tungsten Clustering.

“Tungsten Operator for Kubernetes is a key milestone in our commitment to providing advanced clustering technology tailored for cloud-native environments,” said Eero Teerikorpi, founder and CEO of Continuent. “Automating complex clustering operations within Kubernetes empowers organizations to scale with confidence, improve resilience and optimize their infrastructure.”

The Preview Release of Tungsten Operator for Kubernetes enables users to install and configure the operator through a declarative approach using a Kubernetes manifest

As explained by Cortney Nickerson in her role as developer advocate at Kubernetes configuration platform specialist Monokle, “A Kubernetes Manifest file is a YAML or JSON file that describes the desired state of a Kubernetes object. These objects can include deployment, replica set, service and more. Manifest files define the specifications of the object, such as its metadata, properties and desired state.”

Continuent’s Kubernetes manifest allows for configuring critical properties such as the number of nodes, passwords and cluster topology.

Key operations supported in this preview release include installation and provisioning tools so cloud engineers can install and provision Continuent Tungsten clusters via the operator. A configuration reconciliation option means that the operator automatically reconciles configuration changes. For instance, if a PersistentVolumeClaim is updated, the operator will reconfigure the underlying storage accordingly, adjusting for the new specifications.

NOTE: A PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) is a request for storage by a user that is similar to a Pod. Pods consume node resources and PVCs consume PV resources. Pods can request specific levels of resources (CPU and memory).

Also here we find backup creation, users can create data backups, ensuring critical information is securely stored. Backup restoration means that in case of data loss or corruption, users can restore from a backup, allowing for quick recovery.

The operator supports failover and switching, ensuring high availability by automatically transferring operations to the replica node when a failure occurs. Finally, there’s also node fencing – this feature allows users to isolate or fence a node to maintain cluster stability during issues like hardware failure.

The full release of Tungsten Operator for Kubernetes expected in late 2024, will include a range of functionality covering scalability, upgrades and overall availability for cloud-native deployments.

Continuent says that in 2025, the next stage of development will focus on advanced automation capabilities, such as self-healing, auto-scaling and system tuning. These improvements are hoped to make Tungsten Operator truly autonomous by using information from the observability layer to automate scaling and healing operations.