* [Topics](/en/topics "Topics") * [Open source](/en/topics/open-source "Open source") * What is Knative? What is Knative? ================ Published January 8, 2019•*2*-minute read Copy URL Jump to section --------------- OverviewWhat are the benefits of Knative?Components of KnativeThe open source advantageRed Hat OpenShift Serverless Overview -------- [Knative](https://cloud.google.com/knative/) (pronounced *kay-nay-tiv*) is an [open source](/en/topics/open-source/what-is-open-source) community project which adds components for deploying, running, and managing [serverless](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-is-serverless), [cloud-native](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps) applications to [Kubernetes](/en/topics/containers/what-is-kubernetes). The serverless [cloud computing](/en/topics/cloud-computing) model can lead to increased [developer productivity](/en/products/developer-productivity) and reduced operational costs. [Learn more about Red Hat OpenShift Serverless](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/serverless) What are the benefits of Knative? --------------------------------- Knative eliminates the tasks of provisioning and managing servers. This lets developers focus on their code without having to worry about setting up complex infrastructure. This benefit is extended even further if entire application components are incorporated from a third party through Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS), rather than being written in-house. The Knative serverless environment lets you deploy code to a Kubernetes platform, like [Red Hat OpenShift](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift). With Knative, you create a service by packaging your code as a container image and handing it to the system. Your code only runs when it needs to, with Knative starting and stopping instances automatically. Resources aren’t consumed unless your code needs to do something. Operations costs can be reduced—you can pay for cloud-based compute time as it’s needed instead of running and managing your own servers all the time. [Choose the right hybrid cloud foundation for building and running containerized apps](/en/resources/openshift-container-platform-datasheet "resources | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform: Kubernetes for rapid innovation - HTML") Red Hat resources ----------------- [Keep reading](/en/resources "Keep reading") What are the components of Knative? ----------------------------------- Knative consists of 3 primary components: * **Build** - A flexible approach to building source code into containers. * **Serving** - Enables rapid deployment and automatic scaling of containers through a request-driven model for serving workloads based on demand. * **Eventing** - An infrastructure for consuming and producing events to stimulate applications. Applications can be triggered by a variety of sources, such as events from your own applications, [cloud services](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-are-cloud-services) from multiple providers, [Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)](/en/topics/cloud-computing/what-is-saas) systems, and [Red Hat AMQ](/en/technologies/jboss-middleware/amq) streams. [Learn how to build and deploy a serverless service to Knative at Red Hat Developer](https://developers.redhat.com/topics/serverless-architecture/) Knative and the open source advantage ------------------------------------- Knative allows serverless applications to be deployed and run on any Kubernetes platform, including [Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform](/en/resources/openshift-container-platform-datasheet?intcmp=701f2000001OMH6AAO). Knative installs on OpenShift using Operators. Knative is maintained by an open source community, including companies like Red Hat, Google, and IBM in collaboration with a variety of startups. [Open source software](/en/topics/open-source/what-is-open-source-software) limits the potential for vendor lock-in, shifting the power from IT providers to the people using it. [See what Red Hat thinks about serverless and vendor lock-in](/en/blog/serverless-next-phase-cloud-native-application-development) Knative and Red Hat OpenShift Serverless ---------------------------------------- [Red Hat® OpenShift® Serverless](https://www.openshift.com/learn/topics/serverless) is a service based on the open source Knative project. It provides an enterprise-grade serverless platform which brings portability and consistency across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. OpenShift Serverless can help deliver a complete serverless app dev and deployment experience by integrating apps with other OpenShift Container Platform services, like OpenShift Service Mesh and cluster monitoring. Using Red Hat OpenShift Serverless can also make things easier for operations because it installs easily on OpenShift, has been tested with other Red Hat products, and comes with access to award-winning support. Hub The official Red Hat blog ------------------------- Get the latest information about our ecosystem of customers, partners, and communities. [Keep reading](/en/blog "The official Red Hat blog") All Red Hat product trials -------------------------- Our no-cost product trials help you gain hands-on experience, prepare for a certification, or assess if a product is right for your organization. [Keep reading](/en/products/trials "All Red Hat product trials") Keep reading ------------ ### What is InstructLab? InstructLab simplifies the process of customizing large language models with private data. [Read the article](/en/topics/ai/what-is-instructlab "article | what is instructlab?") ### What is Istio? Find out more about Istio, an open source service mesh that controls how microservices share data with one another. [Read the article](/en/topics/microservices/what-is-istio "article | What is Istio?") ### What is CentOS Stream? CentOS Stream is a Linux® development platform where open source community members can contribute to Red Hat® Enterprise Linux in tandem with Red Hat developers. 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