Debugging Kubernetes with Automated Runbooks & Ephemeral Containers

In the context of incident management, the challenge of capturing diagnostic data before applying quick fixes, such as redeploying containers, is significant, especially for companies where performance and uptime are crucial. Engineers often spend excessive time gathering evidence after incidents, as some diagnostic data is only accessible during the container's lifetime, requiring Kubernetes expertise to retrieve it using commands like kubectl exec. To streamline this process and reduce incident-related costs, automation is recommended. PagerDuty's Process Automation offers a templatized runbook that automates the retrieval and storage of diagnostic data, enhancing efficiency during incidents. When debugging utilities are absent from containers, Kubernetes Ephemeral Containers allow users to attach debugging tools without modifying or redeploying pods, although this still necessitates advanced Kubernetes knowledge. A new Kubernetes plugin has been developed to leverage ephemeral containers, facilitating automated diagnostics for containers lacking built-in utilities.