Microsoft joins Kubetnetes group as platinum member
As expected, Microsoft has joined the open-source Kubernetes developers group, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), as a platinum member. Kubernetes is the leading container orchestration program.
Microsoft has supported Kubernetes, which started as a Google project, for some time. In 2016, Microsoft hired Brandon Burns, a Google engineer who co-founded Kubernetes. Not long after, the Kubernetes 1.4 release became a part of Azure Container Service (ACS).
Since then, Microsoft's Gabe Monroy, lead project manager for containers on Microsoft Azure, announced the release of Draft, a tool to streamline development of applications running on any Kubernetes cluster. And, on the same day Microsoft joined the CNCF, it announced a new service, Azure Container Instances (ACIs), to create containers on Linux without setting up virtual machines (VMs). To accompany this, Microsoft also announced an open-source ACI Connector for Kubernetes. This enables Kubernetes clusters to deploy to ACIs.
Today, besides Burns and Monroy, another dozen Microsoft developers contribute to Kubernetes code. For Windows-based enterprises hoping to leverage cloud native technologies, Microsoft's support ensures maximum flexibility and choice to Azure users.
Corey Sanders, a Microsoft partner director, added: "We have contributed across many cloud native projects, including Kubernetes, Helm, containerd, and gRPC, and plan to expand our involvement in the future. Joining the CNCF is another natural step on our open source journey, and we look forward to learning and engaging with the community on a deeper level as a CNCF member."
Dan Kohn, the CNCF's executive director, said Microsoft's "membership, along with other global cloud providers that also belong to CNCF, is a testament to the importance and growth of cloud native technologies. We believe Microsoft's increasing commitment to open-source infrastructure will be a significant asset to the CNCF."
As part of Microsoft's Platinum membership, Monroy will join CNCF's Governing Board.
Related stories: