Add Kubernetes Deep Dive series overview and content updates

- Created a new introductory page for "Kubernetes Deep Dive" series, outlining control plane and node components, storage, and networking insights.
- Added detailed content about Containerd, including its role within Kubernetes, management commands, and troubleshooting tips.
- Updated RKE2 section to reflect new deep dive format and cloud provider links.
- Enhanced guides layout to conditionally display content if available.

blog/content/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/_index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+---
+title: "Deep Dive into Kubernetes Components"
+description: "Explore in-depth insights into Kubernetes core components, their roles, architecture, and best practices."
+tags: ["Kubernetes", "Deep Dive", "Training"]
+categories:
+- Kubernetes
+- Training
+---
+
+## Kubernetes Deep Dive
+
+Learn how Kubernetes works under the hood by exploring key control plane and worker node components in detail. This series covers the **critical elements** of Kubernetes architecture, troubleshooting guides, and best practices.
+
+### Control Plane Components
+- [Kube-API Server](/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/kube-apiserver/) - The gateway to Kubernetes, handling all API requests and authentication.
+- [Kube Controller Manager](/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/kube-controller-manager/) - Manages controllers that regulate the cluster state.
+- [Kube Scheduler](/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/kube-scheduler/) - Assigns workloads to nodes based on resource availability and scheduling policies.
+- [etcd](/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/etcd/) - A distributed key-value store for cluster state and configuration.
+
+### Node Components
+- [Kubelet](/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/kubelet/) - The agent responsible for managing container execution on a node.
+- [Kube Proxy](/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/kube-proxy/) - Maintains network rules and service discovery.
+- [Containerd](/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/containerd/) - A container runtime that runs and manages container lifecycles.
+
+### Storage and Networking
+- [Cloud Controllers](/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/cloud-controllers/) - Integrate Kubernetes with cloud providers for storage, networking, and load balancing.
+- [Cluster DNS (CoreDNS)](/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/cluster-dns-coredns/) - Handles internal DNS resolution for services and pods.
+- [CSI Driver](/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/csi-driver/) - Manages storage provisioning and volume attachments.
+- [Kubectl](/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/kubectl/) - The command-line tool for interacting with Kubernetes.
+
+### What's Next?
+Stay tuned for **more deep dives** into Kubernetes internals, troubleshooting tips, and advanced configurations.
+
+For more Kubernetes insights, visit [support.tools](https://support.tools).

blog/content/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/cloud-controllers.md

@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ In this post, we’ll explore:
 
 A **Cloud Controller** in Kubernetes is a component responsible for **integrating cloud provider resources** (such as networking, storage, and compute) with a Kubernetes cluster. It ensures that Kubernetes can provision and manage cloud resources automatically.
 
+![Cloud Controller Diagram](https://kubernetes.io/images/docs/kubernetes-cluster-architecture.svg)
+
 ### Why Cloud Controllers are Needed
 
 Without Cloud Controllers, Kubernetes would **not be able to provision, manage, or update cloud-based resources** dynamically. Instead, administrators would have to manually configure resources like:

blog/content/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/containerd.md

@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+---
+title: "Understanding Containerd in Kubernetes"
+date: 2025-01-29T00:00:00-00:00
+draft: false
+tags: ["kubernetes", "containerd", "container runtime", "cri"]
+categories: ["Kubernetes Deep Dive"]
+author: "Matthew Mattox"
+description: "A deep dive into Containerd, Kubernetes' default container runtime, and how it interacts with the Kubernetes control plane."
+url: "/training/kubernetes-deep-dive/containerd/"
+---
+
+## Introduction
+
+Containerd is a **lightweight, OCI-compliant container runtime** that provides the fundamental building blocks for running containers. Originally part of Docker, it is now a separate project under the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and serves as the **default container runtime** in Kubernetes since version 1.20.
+
+In this post, we’ll explore what Containerd is, how it integrates with Kubernetes, and how to troubleshoot and optimize its usage in Kubernetes clusters.
+
+---
+
+## What is Containerd?
+
+Containerd is a **container runtime** responsible for managing the entire lifecycle of containers, including:
+
+- **Pulling images** from container registries.
+- **Storing and managing container images** locally.
+- **Creating and running containers**.
+- **Managing networking** via CNI plugins.
+- **Handling container execution and monitoring**.
+
+Unlike Docker, which includes additional tooling like CLI commands and build capabilities, Containerd is **strictly focused on running containers efficiently**.
+
+---
+
+## How Kubernetes Uses Containerd
+
+Kubernetes interacts with Containerd using the **Container Runtime Interface (CRI)**. The flow works as follows:
+
+1. **Kubelet** communicates with the container runtime using the CRI.
+2. **Containerd receives CRI requests** and manages container lifecycle events.
+3. **Containerd spawns containers using the runc component** (or another low-level runtime like Kata Containers).
+4. **Container networking** is handled via a CNI plugin (e.g., Flannel, Calico, or Cilium).
+5. **Storage is managed** through CSI (Container Storage Interface).
+
+### Checking Runtime on a Kubernetes Node
+
+To check whether Containerd is being used as the container runtime, run:
+
+```bash
+kubectl get nodes -o wide
+```
+
+To verify the runtime:
+
+```bash
+crictl info | jq '.config.runtime'
+```
+
+To list running containers:
+
+```bash
+crictl ps
+```
+
+---
+
+## Containerd vs. Docker: What’s the Difference?
+
+| Feature         | Containerd | Docker |
+|----------------|------------|------------|
+| **Purpose** | Lightweight container runtime | Full-fledged container management platform |
+| **Kubernetes Integration** | Directly via CRI | Requires `dockershim` (deprecated) |
+| **Image Management** | Yes | Yes |
+| **Networking** | Uses CNI plugins | Uses built-in networking stack |
+| **CLI Available** | No (uses `crictl`) | Yes (Docker CLI) |
+| **Build Support** | No | Yes |
+
+Since Kubernetes **deprecated Docker support in v1.20** and removed it in **v1.24**, Containerd is now the recommended and default container runtime.
+
+---
+
+## Managing Containerd
+
+### Restarting Containerd
+If Containerd is unresponsive or causing issues, restart it with:
+
+```bash
+systemctl restart containerd
+```
+
+Or check its status:
+
+```bash
+systemctl status containerd
+```
+
+### Viewing Container Logs
+
+To debug issues with a specific container:
+
+```bash
+crictl logs <container_id>
+```
+
+To view system-wide logs:
+
+```bash
+journalctl -u containerd --no-pager -n 100
+```
+
+### Pulling Images with Containerd
+
+Since Containerd does not have a CLI like Docker, you need to use `crictl`:
+
+```bash
+crictl pull nginx:latest
+```
+
+To list available images:
+
+```bash
+crictl images
+```
+
+To remove an image:
+
+```bash
+crictl rmi <image_id>
+```
+
+---
+
+## Optimizing Containerd Performance
+
+1. **Enable Image Caching**
+   - Pre-pull images on nodes to reduce startup time.
+
+2. **Adjust Containerd’s Runtime Configuration**
+   - Modify `/etc/containerd/config.toml` for advanced tuning (e.g., increasing concurrent downloads).
+
+3. **Monitor with Prometheus**
+   - Expose metrics from Containerd and integrate with Prometheus & Grafana.
+
+4. **Use Efficient Storage Drivers**
+   - Choose the best storage backend (e.g., OverlayFS for performance).
+
+5. **Limit Logging Overhead**
+   - Configure log rotation to avoid excessive disk usage.
+
+---
+
+## Troubleshooting Containerd Issues
+
+### Common Issues & Fixes
+
+| Issue | Possible Cause | Solution |
+|--------|---------------|----------|
+| **Containers Stuck in `ContainerCreating`** | Image pull failure or CNI issue | Check `crictl ps` and network plugin logs |
+| **High CPU Usage by Containerd** | Too many concurrent container operations | Restart Containerd and optimize its config |
+| **Pod Fails to Start** | Image not found | Use `crictl pull <image>` to manually pull it |
+| **Container Logs Not Available** | Logging driver misconfiguration | Check logs using `crictl logs <container_id>` |
+
+---
+
+## Conclusion
+
+Containerd is the **default and recommended container runtime** for Kubernetes, providing a lightweight, efficient, and modular approach to container execution. Understanding how it integrates with Kubernetes, along with common troubleshooting and optimization techniques, ensures a **stable and high-performance Kubernetes environment**.
+
+For more Kubernetes deep dives, visit [support.tools](https://support.tools)!

blog/content/training/rke2/_index.md

@@ -1,8 +1,26 @@
 ---
-title: "RKE2"
-date: 2024-10-25
-draft: false
+title: "RKE2 Deep Dive"
 description: "Master RKE2, the next-generation Kubernetes distribution from Rancher."
+tags: ["Kubernetes", "RKE2", "Deep Dive", "Training"]
+categories:
+- Kubernetes
+- Training
 ---
 
 RKE2 brings enhanced security and performance improvements to Kubernetes clusters. This section covers setup, configuration, and troubleshooting of RKE2 clusters.
+
+## Cloud Providers for RKE2
+
+- [Alibaba Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/alibaba-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [AWS Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/aws-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [Azure Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/azure-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [DigitalOcean Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/digitalocean-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [Equinix Metal Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/equinix-metal-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [Google Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/gcp-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [Harvester Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/harvester-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [Hetzner Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/hetzner-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [IBM Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/ibm-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [Linode Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/linode-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [Oracle Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/oracle-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [vSphere In-Tree Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/vsphere-in-tree-cloud-provider-rke2/)
+- [vSphere Out-of-Tree Cloud Provider for RKE2](/training/rke2/vsphere-out-of-tree-cloud-provider-rke2/)

blog/themes/m10c/layouts/training/list.html

@@ -2,12 +2,17 @@
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 <p>{{ .Description }}</p>
 
+{{ if .Content }}
+{{ .Content }}
+{{ else }}
 <h2>Guides</h2>
 <ul>
-    {{ range sort .Pages.ByWeight "Weight" "asce" }}
+    {{ range sort .Pages "Weight" }}
     <li>
         <a href="{{ .RelPermalink }}">{{ .Title }}</a>
     </li>
     {{ end }}
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+{{ end }}
+
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