The Vertical Pod Autoscaler and Pod Disruption Budget Chicken-and-Egg Problem: Analysis and Solutions for Kubernetes Workload Management
Abstract: The Vertical Pod Autoscaler (VPA) and Pod Disruption Budget (PDB) components in Kubernetes present a fundamental chicken-and-egg problem that affects workload stability and resource optimization in production environments. VPA requires pod eviction to apply new resource recommendations, while PDB prevents pod disruption to maintain service availability. This interdependency creates operational challenges where VPA cannot function effectively when PDB policies are restrictive, and relaxing PDB constraints compromises application availability. This study analyzes the root causes of this conflict, evaluates existing mitigation strategies, and proposes a comprehensive framework for resolving VPA-PDB conflicts in production Kubernetes clusters. Through experimental analysis and real-world case studies, we demonstrate that coordinated VPA-PDB management can achieve both resource optimization and availability guarantees.
Keywords: Vertical Pod Autoscaler, Pod Disruption Budget, Kubernetes, resource optimization, availability, container orchestration
How to Cite?: Goutam Tadi, "The Vertical Pod Autoscaler and Pod Disruption Budget Chicken-and-Egg Problem: Analysis and Solutions for Kubernetes Workload Management", Volume 14 Issue 8, August 2025, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 974-977, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR25819102904, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR25819102904