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Amazon EC2 Container Service vs Docker for AWS: What are the differences?
Introduction
1. Amazon EC2 Container Service (ECS) vs. Docker for AWS: Amazon EC2 Container Service is a managed container orchestration service provided by AWS, while Docker for AWS is a platform that allows users to deploy a Dockerized application in a cloud environment.
2. Integration with AWS Services: Amazon EC2 Container Service integrates seamlessly with other AWS services such as Amazon CloudWatch for monitoring and AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) for security, providing a comprehensive ecosystem for containerized applications. Docker for AWS, on the other hand, focuses more on the Docker platform itself and may not offer the same level of integration with AWS services.
3. Scalability and Performance: Amazon EC2 Container Service is designed to handle large-scale container deployments with features like auto-scaling and load balancing, providing high scalability and performance capabilities. Docker for AWS, while scalable, may not offer the same level of performance tuning and optimization as ECS.
4. Pricing Model: Amazon EC2 Container Service pricing is based on the resources used (e.g., EC2 instances, EBS volumes), while Docker for AWS pricing may depend on the Docker platform subscription model and additional costs for AWS resources. Users should consider the cost implications of each service based on their specific requirements.
5. Deployment and Management Complexity: Amazon EC2 Container Service abstracts much of the underlying infrastructure management from the user, making it easier to deploy and manage containers at scale. Docker for AWS, being more closely tied to the Docker platform, may require a higher level of expertise in container orchestration and management.
6. Flexibility and Customization: Docker for AWS offers more flexibility and customization options for users who prefer to have more control over their containerized environment, while Amazon EC2 Container Service may have limitations in terms of customization due to its managed service nature.
In Summary, Amazon EC2 Container Service and Docker for AWS differ in terms of integration with AWS services, scalability and performance, pricing model, deployment complexity, and flexibility/customization options, catering to different user preferences and requirements.
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.
Pros of Amazon EC2 Container Service
- Backed by amazon100
- Familiar to ec272
- Cluster based53
- Simple API42
- Iam roles26
- Scheduler7
- Cluster management7
- Programmatic Control7
- Container-enabled applications4
- Socker support4
- No additional cost2
- Easy to use and cheap1