K8s Lens and Kubeshark: Love at First Sight

Jun 26, 2023 ~ 3 min read

Managing K8s Requires Proficiency

Using kubectl to manage Kubernetes (K8s) requires deep proficiency in K8s, which pushes many users (like myself) to seek easier management tools like K9s or K8s Lens.

A few weeks ago, a Kubeshark user requested an integration with K8s Lens, justifying it by the frequent need to understand what’s happening inside a specific K8s component (e.g., pod, namespace, node) and not settling for high-level KPIs (e.g. memory, CPU, bandwidth, retries).

Fast-forward a few weeks, and I’m proud to introduce the new Kubeshark-Lens Integration, which enables you to delve deep and view real-time traffic for numerous K8s components.

K8s Lens

K8s Lens, often referred to as the K8s IDE, is an intuitive graphical interface that simplifies the management of multiple Kubernetes clusters on various platforms like Mac, Windows, and Linux. It goes beyond being a mere UI overlay for kubectl; it offers an array of powerful features.

Cloud Access Made Easy

Previously, I relied on local tools like kubectl, limiting my K8s work to my laptop, where I had elevated permissions. However, with K8s Lens, I gained the ability to effortlessly access my EKS cluster using the K8s Lens application without needing to use kubectl. This eliminated the need for complex RBAC configurations, granting me the freedom to explore and collaborate securely.

Seamless Collaboration

Thanks to the cloud access provided by K8s Lens, I could easily invite team members and grant them authenticated access to the same cluster, without requiring any local installations or knowledge of kubectl. Collaboration became hassle-free, fostering a more efficient workflow within our team.

Single Pane of Glass

One of the most significant advantages K8s Lens brings is the ability to manage all clusters, both remote and local, from a single pane of glass. No more context switching or juggling between different clusters. With K8s Lens, I can seamlessly navigate and manage various clusters, streamlining my workflow and saving valuable time.

Kubeshark Lens Integration

The K8s Lens extension empowers its users to dive deep into their clusters and gain real-time insights into traffic patterns for the following K8s components:

Pod: Visualize the real-time traffic going in and out of a specific pod.
Namespace: Visualize the real-time traffic going in, out and across pods within a particular namespace.
Node: Monitor real-time traffic among pods residing on a specific node.
Cluster: Explore the comprehensive real-time traffic within the entire cluster, spanning nodes, namespaces, and pods.

By simply clicking a new menu item added by the extension, users can unlock the following real-time traffic views:

Setting up the K8s Lens extension is a breeze, taking only a few minutes of your time. Check out this quick installation video to get started.

Kubeshark

Inspired by Wireshark and purposely built for K8s, Kubeshark offers deep visibility and real-time monitoring of traffic across containers, pods, namespaces, nodes, and clusters. It equips DevOps engineers with robust tools for debugging, troubleshooting, and safeguarding Kubernetes clusters effectively.

Conclusion

The combination of K8s Lens and Kubeshark introduces a new era of Kubernetes management and monitoring. With K8s Lens, you gain a comprehensive and user-friendly interface to manage your clusters, collaborate effortlessly, and eliminate context switching. Together with Kubeshark, you can deepen the understanding of what’s going on under the hood of K8s.