One of the most critical requirements for an Application Modernization project is to support workloads running on multiple platforms. In fact, such projects naturally include in their transformation process migrating workloads approach using the hybrid model. Another typical technical decision that commonly comes up is the adoption of Kubernetes as the main platform for the existing services and microservices originated by the modernization project.

Kubernetes shouldn’t be reserved for production. Using local Kubernetes in development means you can build and test your service using the same technologies as your live deployments. Some organizations provide a shared Kubernetes cluster for development activities. Others offer on-demand virtual clusters that serve staging environments for significant changes.

Containers are popular because they create a reproducible environment that you can deploy to production and run locally in development. However, containerizing a Rails app can be tricky—Jeff Morhous helps us navigate the pitfalls.

We’ve recently supported an organization who wanted to expose its Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) backend behind Apigee X. A quite common architecture, which most of the users delivering modern web applications on Google Cloud tend to build upon. In this scenario, Google’s API gateway, Apigee, receives requests and performs L7 routing, redirecting you to the correct backend application, running as one or more pods on GKE.