AWS Fargate vs Amazon EC2 Container Service

Overview

Amazon EC2 Container Service

Stacks14.5K

Followers10.2K

Votes325

AWS Fargate

Stacks650

Followers413

Votes0

AWS Fargate vs Amazon EC2 Container Service: What are the differences?

AWS Fargate and Amazon EC2 Container Service are two popular container management services provided by Amazon Web Services. The key differences between AWS Fargate and Amazon EC2 Container Service are:

Serverless vs. Server-Based Deployment: AWS Fargate is a serverless compute engine for containers that allows users to run containers without having to manage the underlying infrastructure, while Amazon EC2 Container Service (ECS) requires users to provision, configure, and scale EC2 instances to run containers.
Pricing Model: AWS Fargate uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model, where users pay for the vCPU and memory resources used by their containers, while Amazon ECS allows users to choose between on-demand EC2 instances, reserved EC2 instances, or spot instances, with pricing varying based on the instance type and usage.
Scaling Capability: AWS Fargate offers auto-scaling capabilities that automatically adjust the resources allocated to containers based on demand, while Amazon ECS requires users to configure and manage scaling policies to adjust the number of EC2 instances or containers running based on workload requirements.
Integration with AWS Lambda: AWS Fargate seamlessly integrates with AWS Lambda, allowing users to easily switch between running containers and serverless functions, whereas Amazon ECS does not offer direct integration with AWS Lambda.
Resource Isolation: AWS Fargate provides stronger resource isolation for containers by running each container in its own kernel-protected environment, while Amazon ECS relies on EC2 instances for resource isolation, which may offer slightly less isolation compared to Fargate.

In Summary, the key differences between AWS Fargate and Amazon EC2 Container Service include serverless vs. server-based deployment, pricing model, scaling capability, integration with AWS Lambda, and resource isolation.

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Advice on Amazon EC2 Container Service, AWS Fargate

Andres

Lead Senior Software Engineer at InTouch Technology

Jun 3, 2020

Decided

If you want to integrate your cluster and control end to end your pipeline with AWS tools like ECR and Code Pipeline your best option is ECS using a EC2 instance. There are pros and cons but it's easier to integrate using cloud formation templates and visual UI for approvals, etc. ECS is free, you need to pay only for the EC2 instance but unfortunately, it is not standard then you cannot use standard tools to see and manage your Kubernetes.
EKS in the other hand uses standard Kubernates definitions but you need to pay for the service and also for the EC2 instance(s) you have in your cluster.

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Detailed Comparison

Amazon EC2 Container Service	AWS Fargate
Amazon EC2 Container Service lets you launch and stop container-enabled applications with simple API calls, allows you to query the state of your cluster from a centralized service, and gives you access to many familiar Amazon EC2 features like security groups, EBS volumes and IAM roles.	AWS Fargate is a technology for Amazon ECS and EKS* that allows you to run containers without having to manage servers or clusters. With AWS Fargate, you no longer have to provision, configure, and scale clusters of virtual machines to run containers.
Docker Compatibility;Managed Clusters;Programmatic Control;Task Definitions;Scheduler;Docker Repository	No clusters to manage; seamless scaling; Integrated with Amazon ECS and EKS
Statistics
Stacks 14.5K	Stacks 650
Followers 10.2K	Followers 413
Votes 325	Votes 0
Pros & Cons
Pros 100 Backed by amazon 72 Familiar to ec2 53 Cluster based 42 Simple API 26 Iam roles	Cons 2 Expensive
Integrations
Docker Amazon EC2	Docker Amazon CloudWatch AWS IAM Amazon VPC

What are some alternatives to Amazon EC2 Container Service, AWS Fargate?

Google Kubernetes Engine

Container Engine takes care of provisioning and maintaining the underlying virtual machine cluster, scaling your application, and operational logistics like logging, monitoring, and health management.

Containerum

Containerum is built to aid cluster management, teamwork and resource allocation. Containerum runs on top of any Kubernetes cluster and provides a friendly Web UI for cluster management.

Azure Container Service

Azure Container Service optimizes the configuration of popular open source tools and technologies specifically for Azure. You get an open solution that offers portability for both your containers and your application configuration. You select the size, the number of hosts, and choice of orchestrator tools, and Container Service handles everything else.

Docker Cloud

Docker Cloud is the best way to deploy and manage Dockerized applications. Docker Cloud makes it easy for new Docker users to manage and deploy the full spectrum of applications, from single container apps to distributed microservices stacks, to any cloud or on-premises infrastructure.

Amazon EKS

Amazon Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes (Amazon EKS) is a managed service that makes it easy for you to run Kubernetes on AWS without needing to install and operate your own Kubernetes clusters.

instainer

InstaDocker is a Docker container hosting service which allows run any Docker container on the cloud instantly.

Docker Datacenter

Docker Datacenter is an integrated solution including open source and commercial software, the integrations between them, full Docker API support, validated configurations and commercial support for your Docker Datacenter environment.

DCHQ

DCHQ delivers enterprise discipline to Linux Containers application lifecycle management. Available in hosted and on-prem versions, DCHQ provides the most advanced application composition framework extending Docker Compose through environment variable bindings across images, BASH script plug-ins that can be invoked at request time and post-provision and support for clustering for high availability across multiple hosts and auto-scaling.

Supergiant

Supergiant is a container management platform built on top of Kubernetes. Supergiant makes it easy to deploy and manage faster, and it reduces hardware expenses. Packing algorithm efficiently matches your overall CPU and RAM needs.

Azure Kubernetes Service

Deploy and manage containerized applications more easily with a fully managed Kubernetes service. It offers serverless Kubernetes, an integrated continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) experience, and enterprise-grade security and governance. Unite your development and operations teams on a single platform to rapidly build, deliver, and scale applications with confidence.

Related Comparisons

AWS Fargate vs Amazon EC2 Container Service: What are the differences?

Serverless vs. Server-Based Deployment: AWS Fargate is a serverless compute engine for containers that allows users to run containers without having to manage the underlying infrastructure, while Amazon EC2 Container Service (ECS) requires users to provision, configure, and scale EC2 instances to run containers.
Pricing Model: AWS Fargate uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model, where users pay for the vCPU and memory resources used by their containers, while Amazon ECS allows users to choose between on-demand EC2 instances, reserved EC2 instances, or spot instances, with pricing varying based on the instance type and usage.
Scaling Capability: AWS Fargate offers auto-scaling capabilities that automatically adjust the resources allocated to containers based on demand, while Amazon ECS requires users to configure and manage scaling policies to adjust the number of EC2 instances or containers running based on workload requirements.
Integration with AWS Lambda: AWS Fargate seamlessly integrates with AWS Lambda, allowing users to easily switch between running containers and serverless functions, whereas Amazon ECS does not offer direct integration with AWS Lambda.
Resource Isolation: AWS Fargate provides stronger resource isolation for containers by running each container in its own kernel-protected environment, while Amazon ECS relies on EC2 instances for resource isolation, which may offer slightly less isolation compared to Fargate.

AWS Fargate vs Amazon EC2 Container Service

Overview