Hello, I’m Srinivas and this is my blog on my learning and experiences for the first Kubecon + CloudNativeCon I ever attended (Virtually).

Kubecon + CloudNativeCon is one of the biggest conferences where Developers, users, and Companies who are adopting the Cloud Native Solutions gather to share knowledge, gain insights, network and have fun.

But as a newbie to CNCF Community, I have no idea about what kubecon is, how to attend it, and how can I get most of it. Thanks to extremely helpful communities (Commclassroom, Kubesimplify) that helped in creating awareness, and answer my questions. A huge shoutout to Kasten.io for providing the pass for the Full access virtual Attendee.

Pre KubeCon Chores:

Kubecon is a 5-day event, and as a beginner, I know very few topics that I can understand and get the most out of it. So, I need to make a schedule of talks that I can understand and get most of it. But the schedule page is so overwhelming and I got confused about where to start. Huge thanks to Kunal Kushwaha, Saiyam Pathak, Bushra Nazish for simplifying the process.

Now I have my schedule ready, and I am super excited for Kubecon + CloudNativeCon 2022 (May 16 – 20). On May 15th the event platform was open. There were so many tracks, simultaneous sessions and so many organizations offering their special offers, and giveaways. Isn’t that cool?

Without getting distracted from the topic, if you are curious to know about what my favorite talks are, here we go:

Data On Kubernetes Day 2022

DoK featured talks from users/experts that describe the use cases, techniques, and best practices for running data on Kubernetes. My favorite talks on DoK day are:

• Why run Postgres on Kubernetes?
• What’s new in Kubernetes storage?
• How to Protect your data?

Needless to say, DoK is awesome.

Lightning Talk: What I’ve learned by Running Local CNCF Chapter Cloud-Native Islamabad – Saim Safdar

• In this talk, Saim talked about the idea of CNCF local chapters, his problems, and how CNCF helped in creating the community.

• He talked about how building the community helped him to learn about Cloud Native, making connections, being part of others' success, and finding global love.

You can learn anything but you can be remembered for what you have shared

Lighting Talk: Beginner to Maintainer Journey of a Student – Debabrata Panigrahi

This was an awesome talk by Debabrata.

• Before assigning an issue try to understand the subject of the issue and look for the cues to help solve the issue, once confident only then assign it to yourself.
• Whenever stuck, do ask for help.
• Communication is the key.
• Ask in Public.
• Don't burn out and be consistent.

Been there, Done that: Tales of Burnout from Open-Source World – Savita Raghunathan & Divya Mohan

This talk is primarily focused on health and productivity. We can say, Burnout is the outcome of stress from work.

In this talk, both Savita and Divya explained why burnout happens, and how they overcome it.

• Remember it is a marathon, not a sprint.
• Reassess your work priorities, and take regular breaks.
• Take you time to assess the problem.

What anime taught me about K8s Development & Tech Careers – Annie Talvasto

As an anime fan myself, I am excited about this talk right from the moment I saw the schedule. I really like the way Annie related all the Kubernetes components to Anime characters.

Lessons learned from anime:

• Importance of team
• Self-development
• Take time to relax
• The importance of documentation
• Enduring in long fights
• Becoming the monster
• Ridiculous power scaling
• Always have a snack at hand
• Lastly, "Believe in Yourself"

Navigating the CNCF Landscape, the right way – Divya Mohan, Savita Raghunathan, Kunal Kushwaha & Saiyam Pathak.

This talk mainly focuses on beginners who are new to cloud-native. In this talk, the speakers beautifully explained:

• what is Cloud Native?
• What is CNCF? Why did it start?
• What is CNCF Landscape and how to navigate it correctly?
• The whole talk was beautifully delivered and it changed the perspective on how one should look at Landscape.

These are some of my learnings in KubeCon. But CNCF and KubeCon aren’t just about learning, It's more than that.

You can connect with industry experts, peers, recruiters, and mentors, and can have discussions with them. Kubecon showcases many booths (even virtual), where you can learn more about the cloud-native tools and can talk with developers and experts. You can participate in giveaways, win swags, make connections, and many more. Literally, you can gain out of Kubecon in N number of ways. The possibilities are endless.

Final thoughts:

CNCF is inclusive. It encourages people to get involved more in communities, learn more and grow more. Kubecon + CloudNativeCon 2022 was awesome and it created much excitement for the next events. It was an awesome week.

Would I recommend someone to attend KubeCon? - Yes, with no second thought

Is kubeCon worth it? - oh YES

Note: This post just summarises some of the talks I've attended. There's lot more and you will find the recordings here.