# How OpenAI Scaled Kubernetes to 7,500 Nodes by Removing One Plugin

DevFeed: [How OpenAI Scaled Kubernetes to 7,500 Nodes by Removing One Plugin](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/how-openai-scaled-kubernetes-to-7-500-nodes-by-removing-one-plugin-17976.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://newsletter.betterstack.com/p/how-openai-scaled-kubernetes-to-7500>)

Author: Richard Oliver Bray

Published: 2024-07-31T13:54:05Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Hacking Scale by Better Stack](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/hacking-scale-by-better-stack.md>)

Topics: [Kubernetes](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/kubernetes.md>), [OpenAI](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/openai.md>), [Network](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/network.md>), [Containers](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/containers.md>)

Tags: [containers](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/containers.md>), [kubernetes](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kubernetes.md>), [network](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/network.md>), [openai](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/openai.md>)

## AI overview

The article explains that OpenAI expanded its Kubernetes infrastructure from 2,500 to 7,500 nodes and identifies removing the Flannel CNI plugin as the most important change behind the scaling effort. It describes Flannel's role in pod networking and why its approach became slow at larger cluster sizes, although the supplied text ends before the replacement or complete technical explanation is presented.

## Source excerpt

The one change that improved OpenAI's network.