VMware PKS Update Embraces Azure, Kubernetes Security

VMware added support for Microsoft Azure, deeper integration of Kubernetes, and more security into its latest PKS 1.3 release. The platform is a hosted Kubernetes offering that taps work from sister company Pivotal.Wendy Cartee, a senior director at VMware, noted that PKS now supports the Azure Cloud Provider Interface (CPI). Microsoft Azure had been missing from past PKS releases, which did include support for VMware vSphere, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Amazon EC2. Cartee said the timing of cloud support was based on “customer requests.” Those customers can now self-provision their Kubernetes deployments across four of the major cloud platforms.The update also includes support for Kubernetes 1.12. That version of the container orchestration platform was released last fall and is one iteration behind the most current release that was launched in December. Vendors are typically behind one Kubernetes release cycle in their platform support due to testing requirements.Cartee also cited a number of security updates to the latest PKS platform, which are likely top of mind for many organizations following the recent Kubernetes security flaw found last month. The CVE-2018-1002105 bug impacted all Kubernetes-based products and services, and gave hackers full administrative privileges on any compute node being run in a Kubernetes cluster. The flaw garnered a 9.8 (critical) score out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). On the heels of that flaw, Cartee said VMware added a greater emphasis on container security and easing upgrades. She explained that this is helped by PKS’ use of Bosh as a way to manage Kubernetes deployments.