Koordinator
Koordinator is a Kubernetes scheduling system for microservices, AI and big-data workloads.
What Koordinator is
Koordinator is a Kubernetes scheduling system for microservices, AI and big-data workloads. It adds priority and quality-of-service controls so different workload types and pods can share a node, while application profiling supports resource overcommitment with QoS guarantees. Fine-grained resource orchestration and isolation address both latency-sensitive workloads and batch jobs. Teams can set scheduling policies and profiles for workloads such as web services, Spark, Presto, TensorFlow and PyTorch. QoSManager adjusts pod isolation parameters based on profiling, interference detection and SLO configuration. Koordinator also includes job scheduling for areas such as AI, big data, audio and video, plus monitoring, troubleshooting and operations tools. It is designed to extend kube-scheduler rather than replace it, running control-plane and node components without invasive changes to Kubernetes. Koord-Queue supports several job frameworks and Kubernetes Jobs, and is compatible with Kueue’s AdmissionCheck API. Koordinator is free, self-hosted software under the Apache License 2.0. It requires Kubernetes 1.18 or newer; the documentation recommends Linux kernel 4.19 or higher.
Good
- Co-locates workload types with QoS and priority controls
- Supports resource overcommitment using application profiling
- Customizable policies and profiles for several workload types
- Koord-Queue supports multiple job frameworks
- Adds to kube-scheduler rather than replacing it
Watch out
- Requires Kubernetes 1.18 or newer
- Linux kernel 4.19 or higher is recommended
- NRI resource management requires containerd 1.7.0 or newer
- Version 1.8 is only partially supported on Kubernetes 1.20 and 1.22
Who it suits
Koordinator suits teams running mixed Kubernetes workloads that need workload priorities, resource sharing and isolation. It also fits organizations that want to self-host scheduling and operations tooling.
Verdict
Koordinator adds workload-aware scheduling, resource controls and operations tools to Kubernetes clusters. Check its Kubernetes and runtime requirements, especially if using version 1.8 with Kubernetes 1.20 or 1.22.
The facts
Each one read from Koordinator's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- CNCF status
- Koordinator was accepted to the CNCF Sandbox on April 16, 2024.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Community support
- Community communication is available through the Kubernetes Slack koordinator channel and DingTalk group 33383887.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Compatibility limit
- Koordinator v1.8 is only partially supported on Kubernetes 1.20 and 1.22 because some components require newer Kubernetes APIs, while core co-location, QoS, and scheduling continue to function.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Governance
- Koordinator is a Cloud Native Computing Foundation sandbox project.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Installation
- Koordinator can be installed with Helm 3.5 or newer, and the installation documentation requires Kubernetes 1.18 or newer.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Integration model
- It runs with control-plane and node components in a Kubernetes cluster without invasive modifications to native Kubernetes components.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Job scheduling
- Its job-scheduling mechanisms support workloads in areas including big data, AI, audio and video.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Kubernetes compatibility
- Koordinator is compatible with Kubernetes QoS and its scheduler is designed to enhance kube-scheduler rather than replace it.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Kubernetes requirement
- Koordinator requires Kubernetes version 1.18 or newer.checked 1 Oct 2026
- License
- The Koordinator project is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.checked 1 Oct 2026
- NRI support
- NRI mode resource management requires containerd 1.7.0 or newer with NRI enabled and is enabled by default in Koordinator.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Operations tooling
- Koordinator includes tools for monitoring, troubleshooting and operations.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Koordinator is a QoS-based scheduling system for efficient orchestration of microservices, AI and big-data workloads on Kubernetes.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Queue integrations
- Koord-Queue supports TFJob, PyTorchJob, Spark, Argo Workflow, Ray and native Kubernetes Jobs, and is compatible with Kueue's AdmissionCheck API.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Resource efficiency
- It combines elastic resource quotas, pod packing, overcommitment, resource sharing, and container isolation to improve utilization.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Resource isolation
- It provides fine-grained resource orchestration and isolation for latency-sensitive workloads and batch jobs.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Resource overcommitment
- It supports resource overcommitment using application profiling while maintaining QoS guarantees.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Runtime integration
- NRI mode resource management requires containerd 1.7.0 or newer with NRI enabled and is enabled by default in the documented configuration.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Scheduling policies
- It provides customizable scheduling policies and profiles for workloads including Web Service, Spark, Presto, TensorFlow, and PyTorch.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Security controls
- Koordinator webhooks use least-privilege service accounts, TLS with automatically managed certificates, input validation, rate limiting, and audit logging.checked 1 Oct 2026
The company
- Founded
- 2022checked 28 Sep 2026
Where it runs
- Linux requirement
- The documentation recommends a Linux kernel version of 4.19 or higher for the best experience.checked 1 Oct 2026
- QoS and priority
- It provides priority and QoS mechanisms to co-locate different workload types and run different pods on one node.checked 1 Oct 2026
- QoS management
- QoSManager dynamically tunes pod resource-isolation parameters using profiling, interference detection, and SLO configuration.checked 1 Oct 2026
