Kubernetes Crash Course for .NET Developers (2026) – Part 1

Prerequisites

1. You have some experience developing and running dotnet applications, preferably in the terminal, see https://git.ramboe.io/YouTube/cli-essentials-dotnet
2. you are familiar with common docker commands like docker build, docker run, docker compose pull / up / down ..
3. You understand how dotnet applications are containerized and run with docker, see https://git.ramboe.io/YouTube/blazor-in-the-terminal-3

Vocabulary

Checkout Kubernetes.apkg and https://docs.ankiweb.net/importing/packaged-decks.html on how to import it

Docker

runs containers

Kubernetes

Container orchestration system, built on top of docker. Manages containers across multiple machines and keeps the desired state.

Pod

Smallest schedulable unit in Kubernetes, can hold multiple containers.

If you need multiple containers within the same pod depends on

• if those containers need to be scheduled and scaled togehter
• (= if they need to live and die together)
• usually it's just one container per pod

Replica

One copy of a Pod managed by a workload such as a Deployment.

ReplicaSet

Ensures that the requested number of Pod replicas exists. Deployments normally manage ReplicaSets for you.

Deployment

An object that manages Pods and keeps the desired number and version of application instances running.

Service

A stable network endpoint that selects a set of Pods and can distribute connections between them.

Label

Key/value metadata used to identify and select Kubernetes resources, e.g. app=kittens-api.

AKS

runs kubernetes in azure

Minikube

tool that creates a small kubernetes cluster locally