Kubernetes Docker Registry

Kubernetes itself doesn’t manage images for you. You need a Docker registry integrated with your Kubernetes environment to do that.

Docker registries serve as repositories for container images. They make it easy to manage different versions of images for the same container. Advanced registries also provide functionality that scans images for security vulnerabilities. Most registries also provide access control features so that you can place restrictions on who can view and deploy images.

In the remaining FAQs, we explain how to integrate Kubernetes with a Docker registry, using JFrog Artifactory as an example.

Kubernetes itself has no native Docker registry functionality. However, some Kubernetes distributions or services automatically integrate with specific Docker registries. For example, Red Hat OpenShift comes with a default registry. Some cloud-based Kubernetes services integrate natively with container registries hosted in the same clouds.

Most Kubernetes installations don’t offer registry support out-of-the-box. And even if your Kubernetes environment does feature a native registry integration, you may prefer to use an alternative registry (which is almost always possible).

By choosing a Docker registry option like Artifactory to host container images for your Kubernetes environment, you’ll benefit from several features unavailable in many other Docker registries, including security, local hosting, Docker Hub integration, and flexible artifact hosting.

The remaining FAQs are examples of how to get started and what you can do when integrating Artifactory with Kubernetes.

If you want to run Artifactory within your Kubernetes cluster, you can do so easily using the Artifactory Helm chart.
Search for and install the chart in your Kubernetes Web console to deploy it. Alternatively, install from the command line with:
helm repo add jfrog https://charts.jfrog.io

helm upgrade --install artifactory --namespace artifactory jfrog/artifactory

Note: The default settings are not for Production use.

To pull a Docker image into Kubernetes from Artifactory, you need to:

1. Define a Kubernetes registry secret
2. Use this secret in your YAML

To automate the deployment of Docker images on Kubernetes when using Artifactory as a Docker registry, you can set up a complete CI/CD pipeline. The resources below outline this process:

• Cheat Sheet: Kubernetes Made Easy
• WhitePaper – The JFrog Journey to Kubernetes: Best Practices for Taking Your Containers All the Way to Production