A memory request is a configuration that sets the guaranteed amount of memory that a container will be able to use. It is part of the resource management functionality of Kubernetes, which allows for the control and allocation of computational resources to containers.

When a memory request is set for a container, Kubernetes will only schedule it on a node that can give it that resource, thereby guaranteeing that the container can use the specified requested memory.

Why is this an issue?

Without a memory request, a container can potentially be scheduled on a node where there are not enough resources for it. This can lead to unpredictable behavior of the container and the node itself.

What is the potential impact?

Unpredictable Resource Allocation

Without defined requests, Kubernetes doesn’t know how much of a particular resource to allocate to a container. This can lead to unpredictable behavior, as the Kubernetes scheduler may not make optimal decisions about pod placement and resource contention management. For instance, a container might not get the resources it needs to function correctly, leading to performance issues or even failure of the container.

System Instability

In the worst-case scenario, if a container uses more resources than a node can handle (due to lack of defined requests), it can cause the node to run out of resources. This can lead to system instability, and in extreme cases, the node might crash, causing downtime for all containers running on that node.

How to fix it

Code examples

To avoid potential issues, either specify a memory request for each container in a pod specification or create a resource of a kind, LimitRange, that sets a default memory request for all containers in all pod specifications belonging to the same namespace.

Noncompliant code example

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: example
spec:
  containers:
    - name: web # Noncompliant
      image: nginx

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: example
spec:
  containers:
    - name: web # Noncompliant
      image: nginx

Compliant solution

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: example
spec:
  containers:
    - name: web
      image: nginx
      resources:
        requests:
          memory: 100Mi

apiVersion: v1
kind: LimitRange
metadata:
  name: mem-limit-range
  namespace: default-mem-example
spec:
  limits:
    - type: Container
      defaultRequest:
        memory: 100Mi
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: example
  namespace: default-mem-example
spec:
  containers:
    - name: web
      image: nginx

How does this work?

A request can be set through the property resources.requests.memory of a container. Alternatively, a default request for a namespace can be set with LimitRange through spec.limits[].defaultRequest.memory.

Resources

Documentation

Articles & blog posts