Glossary
This page explains key terms and concepts to help contributors and users better navigate our documentation and codebase.
App Cluster
An App Cluster is a Kubernetes cluster that is used by application developers to consume Klutch Resources. For example, an App Cluster may host an application that utilizes a PostgreSQL database provisioned by Klutch. App Clusters are never the environment where the actual data services are provisioned.
Klutch Control Plane Cluster
Klutch Control Plane Cluster is a Kubernetes cluster that oversees the entire multi-cluster ecosystem. It manages bidirectional synchronization of resource specifications, status, and additional information with App Clusters, while maintaining a catalog of available resources. This cluster provides system-wide observability and management capabilities. It hosts Crossplane® and its providers to manage and provision cloud-native resources across multiple automation backends.
Proxy Claim
A proxy claim is a Kubernetes Custom Resource (CR) that developers create in the App Cluster. It acts as a proxy for Crossplane Resource Claim (XRC) requests, which originate from the Control Plane cluster and trigger the provisioning of actual resources in an automation backend. Klutch handles the synchronization of these claims, ensuring seamless integration and resource management.
Service Binding
A service binding connects your application to a data service instance. When you create a service binding resource in your App Cluster, Klutch generates a secret containing all the necessary information for this connection. Your application can then use this secret to connect to the data service instance.
Klutch's Service Binding differs from the Service Binding Specification for Kubernetes. While both aim to streamline application connectivity to services, their approaches vary.
API Binding
API Binding refers to the process of establishing a connection between an App Cluster and Klutch's APIs in the Control Plane cluster. This enables the App Clusters to interact with and leverage the resources and services managed by Klutch.
Data Services
Data services refer to software or platform components responsible for managing, storing, processing, or transporting data, such as databases, message brokers, and similar technologies.
Automation Backends
Automation backends are responsible for performing the actual resource provisioning, whether for virtual machines (VMs), containers, cloud infrastructure, or other resources, based on the configuration defined within Klutch. Automation backends in Klutch can include Service Brokers, Kubernetes Operators, and vendor-specific APIs (such as AWS, Azure, and GCP).