# Pods

**Pods** are the smallest deployable units of computing that you can create and manage in Kubernetes.

A Pod is similar to a set of containers with shared namespaces and shared filesystem volumes.

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**Init containers** are executed before both the sidecar and main application containers, and their successful completion is a prerequisite for the other containers to start. Init containers offer versatility, allowing actions like checking for application dependencies or configuring the environment for main and sidecar containers.

**Sidecar containers** run concurrently with the main application container and serve various purposes. For instance, in Istio, a sidecar container functions as a traffic proxy for the main container, and it can also handle tasks such as logging and monitoring.

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