What is Kubernetes Pod Suspend?

Question

Accepted Answer

**Pod Suspend** — temporarily pause a Pod without deleting it.

```yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: myapp
spec:
  replicas: 3
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: myapp
    spec:
      # Suspended: containers won't run
      # This field is managed by controllers, not set directly
      containers:
      - name: app
        image: myapp:latest
        resources:
          requests:
            cpu: "500m"
            memory: "256Mi"
```

```bash
# Suspend a Deployment
kubectl patch deployment myapp -p '{"spec":{"suspend":true}}'

# Resume a Deployment
kubectl patch deployment myapp -p '{"spec":{"suspend":false}}'

# Suspend a CronJob
kubectl patch cronjob myjob -p '{"spec":{"suspend":true}}'

# Suspend a StatefulSet
kubectl patch statefulset myapp -p '{"spec":{"suspend":true}}'

# Check suspension status
kubectl get deployment myapp -o jsonpath='{.spec.suspend}'
kubectl get pods -l app=myapp

# Verify Pods are terminated
kubectl get pods -l app=myapp -o wide

# Watch for changes
kubectl get deployment myapp -w
kubectl get pods -l app=myapp -w
```

**Behavior:**
- Terminates existing Pods.
- Doesn't create new Pods.
- Resumes when unsuspended.
- Preserves ReplicaSet and config.

**Use cases:**
- Cost saving (pause dev environments).
- Maintenance windows.
- Resource reclamation.
- Temporary shutdown.

DevOps: What is Kubernetes Pod Suspend?