What is etcd?
The distributed key-value store that serves as Kubernetes' primary data store.
etcd is a consistent, distributed key-value store that Kubernetes uses to store all cluster state — pod specs, secrets, service definitions, configmaps, and more. It uses the Raft consensus algorithm to ensure data consistency across replicas. etcd is the most critical component of a Kubernetes cluster — if etcd is unavailable or corrupted, the entire cluster stops functioning. Regular etcd backups are essential and tested in the CKA exam.
Related Terms
More Kubernetes Terms
Admission Controller
A Kubernetes plugin that intercepts API requests before objects are persisted.
Auto Scaling
Automatically adjusting the number of compute resources based on demand.
ClusterIP
The default Kubernetes Service type that exposes a service on an internal cluster IP.
ConfigMap
A Kubernetes object for storing non-sensitive configuration data as key-value pairs.
Controller Manager
Kubernetes control plane component running control loops to maintain desired state.
CoreDNS
The default DNS server in Kubernetes clusters for service discovery.
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