Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, management, and scaling of containerized applications. It simplifies the deployment and operation of containerized applications by introducing an abstraction layer on a group of hosts, allowing DevOps teams to focus on building container-delivered applications while Kubernetes manages other tasks. A Kubernetes cluster is made up of nodes that run containerized applications, with each node representing a single machine in the cluster. Pods are the basic unit of scheduling for applications running on the cluster and comprise one or more containers. Containers are standalone executable packages that include everything needed to run an application, while pods provide the environment for containers to run in a coordinated way, sharing the same network IP, port space, and storage. Understanding the relationship between clusters, nodes, pods, and containers is essential to unlocking Kubernetes' capabilities and achieving operational excellence and scalability.