Windows HostProcess Containers For Configuration And Beyond

Host process containers are a way to package, distribute, and deploy workloads as containers to Windows nodes, running as a process directly on the host, with almost full access to the host's file system, network stack, process space, and event viewers. This feature was designed to be Kubernetes first, allowing for familiar deployment and upgrade stories, and easy monitoring of workloads.

• Host process containers are conceptually equivalent to privileged containers on Linux.
• They allow for easy deployment and monitoring of workloads on Windows nodes.
• They run as a process directly on the host, with almost full access to the host's resources.
• This feature was designed to be Kubernetes first, allowing for familiar deployment and upgrade stories.
• Contributing to the Kubernetes ecosystem through this feature is a great way to contribute to Windows.

The networking team used host process containers to identify an individual pod running in a 100 node cluster that was causing problems, enabling them to quickly resolve the issue.

The days of needing custom scripts and hard-won knowledge to set up and configure Windows Server hosts are over. The new Windows HostProcess Container feature in Kubernetes has begun to close a major feature gap between Windows and Linux containers. We now have a way to carry out key tasks such as running kube-proxy and CNIs (Container Network Interface) as containers in the cluster. Beyond the basics, HostProcess containers also open the door to more effective logging, monitoring and debugging of the Windows environment.   In this session, we will cover the basics of using HostProcess containers and see how they differ from other Windows containers. After gaining an understanding of these differences, we will explore three examples covering the common use cases for HostProcess containers: CNIs, debugging, and on-demand monitoring. The attendees will see concrete examples of HostProcess Containers, novel approaches to debugging, and gain inspiration for new ways of interacting with Windows enabled clusters.