Choosing Kubernetes Workload Types#
Kubernetes provides several workload controllers, each designed for a specific class of application behavior. Choosing the wrong one leads to data loss, unnecessary complexity, or workloads that fight the platform instead of leveraging it. This guide walks through the decision criteria and tradeoffs for each type.
The Workload Types at a Glance#
| Workload Type | Lifecycle | Pod Identity | Scaling Model | Storage Model | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Long-running | Interchangeable | Horizontal replicas | Shared or none | Web servers, APIs, stateless microservices |
| StatefulSet | Long-running | Stable, ordered | Ordered horizontal | Per-pod persistent | Databases, message queues, distributed consensus |
| DaemonSet | Long-running | One per node | Tied to node count | Node-local | Log collectors, monitoring agents, network plugins |
| Job | Run to completion | Disposable | Parallel completions | Ephemeral | Batch processing, migrations, one-time tasks |
| CronJob | Scheduled | Disposable | Per-schedule run | Ephemeral | Periodic backups, cleanup, scheduled reports |
| ReplicaSet | Long-running | Interchangeable | Horizontal replicas | Shared or none | Almost never used directly |
Decision Criteria#
The choice comes down to four questions: