The New Stack Podcast No SSH? What is Talos, this Linux Distro for Kubernetes?
Jun 12, 2025
Andrew Rynhard, Founder and CTO at Sidero Labs, and Justin Garrison, Head of Product, dive into Talos Linux, a distribution crafted for Kubernetes. They discuss its unique features, including an immutable file system and the absence of SSH, promoting a more secure and automated management approach. The demo reveals Talos's API-driven philosophy and ease of deployment across various environments, from cloud to edge devices. The conversation highlights how Talos’s design minimizes human error and enhances scalability, making node management more efficient.
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Founder’s Kubernetes Management Story
- Andrew Rynhard created Talos Linux after experiencing inconsistent Kubernetes node setups from SSH changes.
- He wanted to get humans off machines to make Kubernetes clusters predictable and manageable.
Minimalism Drives Security and Flexibility
- Talos Linux removes unnecessary components like bash, systemd, and SSH to keep nodes minimal and focused for Kubernetes.
- This eliminates many security vulnerabilities and forces Kubernetes to be the flexible management tool.
Eliminate SSH to Improve Security
- Avoid SSHing into production nodes to maintain security and consistency.
- Change behavior by removing SSH capability, forcing use of APIs for management instead.