# Redesigning Kubernetes Workqueues and Resyncs to Reduce Thundering Herd Effects

DevFeed: [Redesigning Kubernetes Workqueues and Resyncs to Reduce Thundering Herd Effects](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/this-shit-is-hard-taming-the-thundering-herd-13289.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.chainguard.dev/unchained/this-shit-is-hard-taming-the-thundering-herd>)

Published: 2026-09-02T00:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Chainguard: Unchained](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/chainguard-unchained.md>)

Topics: [Kubernetes](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/kubernetes.md>), [systems](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/systems.md>), [Concurrent Programming](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/concurrent-programming.md>), [Latency](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/latency.md>), [Maintainers](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/maintainers.md>)

Tags: [architecture](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/architecture.md>), [concurrent](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/concurrent.md>), [defense-in-depth](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/defense-in-depth.md>), [failover](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/failover.md>), [goroutines](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/goroutines.md>), [kubernetes](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kubernetes.md>), [latency](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/latency.md>), [maintainers](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/maintainers.md>), [reconciliation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/reconciliation.md>), [thundering-herd](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/thundering-herd.md>)

## AI overview

This article explains how Kubernetes controllers can experience thundering herd effects when restarts, leader failovers, or periodic resyncs cause many keys to enter an in-memory workqueue at once. It describes the queue and informer behavior behind the problem and introduces Chainguard's redesign of workqueues and resyncs to improve reconciliation under these conditions.

## Source excerpt

The thundering herd is an architecture problem. See how Chainguard redesigned workqueues and resyncs to keep reconciliation running smoothly.