A Kubernetes node is a physical or virtual machine that functions as a worker machine in a Kubernetes cluster, providing the resources (CPU, memory, storage) to run containerized applications
Types of Nodes
Control Plane
These nodes (formerly known as master nodes) are the “brain” of the cluster. They manage and control the entire cluster, making decisions about scheduling, monitoring the cluster’s state, and handling all management tasks. Key components here include the API Server, Scheduler, Controller Manager, and etcd (the cluster’s database).
Worker Nodes
These are where your actual application workloads (Pods) run. Each worker node contains the necessary components to execute the tasks assigned by the control plane.
Components
Kubelet
Container Runtime
The software responsible for running the containers, which can be either
Kube Proxy
A network proxy that maintains network rules on the nodes, facilitating communication between Pods and Services both within and across nodes.