> Why don't more people just use the native machine imaging built into cloud providers? (I would actually like to know this)
I've done that, and I've done Kubernetes, and Kubernetes is definitely easier once you get past the initial setup. The initial setup is also getting easier over time.
It is also more portable. Kubernetes runs on multiple cloud providers as well as your own hardware and presents the same interface and runs the same containers. Docker containers are more portable than AMIs.
If you plan to write your own system to control deployments, secrets, load balancing, and DNS based on AMIs and other AWS features, you may want to consider that you are reinventing the wheel. You are also locking yourself into AWS to a far greater extent than you would if you used Kubernetes.
Expertise is also a big differentiator. You can hire people who know Kubernetes on day one, but you cannot hire people who already know your custom in-house system.
I've done that, and I've done Kubernetes, and Kubernetes is definitely easier once you get past the initial setup. The initial setup is also getting easier over time.
It is also more portable. Kubernetes runs on multiple cloud providers as well as your own hardware and presents the same interface and runs the same containers. Docker containers are more portable than AMIs.
If you plan to write your own system to control deployments, secrets, load balancing, and DNS based on AMIs and other AWS features, you may want to consider that you are reinventing the wheel. You are also locking yourself into AWS to a far greater extent than you would if you used Kubernetes.
Expertise is also a big differentiator. You can hire people who know Kubernetes on day one, but you cannot hire people who already know your custom in-house system.