Overview

Kubernetes

Stacks61.2K

Followers52.8K

Votes685

Azure Container Service

Stacks99

Followers214

Votes11

Azure Container Service vs Kubernetes: What are the differences?

Azure Container Service (AKS) and Kubernetes are container orchestration platforms facilitating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Let's explore the key differences between them:

Scalability: Azure Container Service (ACS) provides scalability through its integration with various container orchestration tools, including Kubernetes. Kubernetes, on the other hand, natively supports scalability of applications by allowing multiple instances of containers to be created and managed easily.
Managed vs Self-Managed: ACS is a managed container service that simplifies the deployment and management of containers by abstracting away the underlying infrastructure. Kubernetes, on the other hand, is a self-managed container orchestration system that requires more manual configuration and management.
Platform Compatibility: ACS offers support for multiple container orchestration platforms, including Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, and Mesosphere DC/OS. Kubernetes, however, is a container orchestration platform in itself, providing a comprehensive set of features and functionalities specifically designed for managing containers and containerized applications.
Flexibility: ACS allows users to choose their preferred container orchestration platform, providing flexibility for organizations that already have specific preferences and requirements. Kubernetes, on the other hand, offers a highly flexible and extensible platform that can be customized and adapted to meet different use cases and scenarios.
Ecosystem and Community: ACS benefits from being part of the larger Azure ecosystem, which offers a wide range of complementary services and integrations. Kubernetes, on the other hand, has a vibrant and active open-source community that continuously contributes to its development, providing a robust ecosystem of tools, plugins, and extensions.
Compatibility with Existing Infrastructure: ACS supports hybrid deployments by seamlessly integrating with existing infrastructure and on-premises resources. Kubernetes, on the other hand, can also be deployed on-premises using tools like Kubernetes in Docker (KIND), allowing organizations to leverage their existing infrastructure investments without the need to migrate to a cloud-based solution.

In summary, Azure Container Service streamlines Kubernetes deployment and management on the Azure platform, offering integration with other Azure services. Kubernetes, being platform-agnostic, provides a broader scope for deployment flexibility across different cloud environments.

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Advice on Kubernetes, Azure Container Service

Simon

Senior Fullstack Developer at QUANTUSflow Software GmbH

Apr 27, 2020

Decidedon

GitHub

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Markdown

Our whole DevOps stack consists of the following tools:

@{GitHub}|tool:27| (incl. @{GitHub Pages}|tool:683|/@{Markdown}|tool:1147| for Documentation, GettingStarted and HowTo's) for collaborative review and code management tool
Respectively @{Git}|tool:1046| as revision control system
@{SourceTree}|tool:1599| as @{Git}|tool:1046| GUI
@{Visual Studio Code}|tool:4202| as IDE
@{CircleCI}|tool:190| for continuous integration (automatize development process)
@{Prettier}|tool:7035| / @{TSLint}|tool:5561| / @{ESLint}|tool:3337| as code linter
@{SonarQube}|tool:2638| as quality gate
@{Docker}|tool:586| as container management (incl. @{Docker Compose}|tool:3136| for multi-container application management)
@{VirtualBox}|tool:774| for operating system simulation tests
@{Kubernetes}|tool:1885| as cluster management for docker containers
@{Heroku}|tool:133| for deploying in test environments
@{nginx}|tool:1052| as web server (preferably used as facade server in production environment)
@{SSLMate}|tool:2752| (using @{OpenSSL}|tool:3091|) for certificate management
@{Amazon EC2}|tool:18| (incl. @{Amazon S3}|tool:25|) for deploying in stage (production-like) and production environments
@{PostgreSQL}|tool:1028| as preferred database system
@{Redis}|tool:1031| as preferred in-memory database/store (great for caching)

The main reason we have chosen Kubernetes over Docker Swarm is related to the following artifacts:

Key features: Easy and flexible installation, Clear dashboard, Great scaling operations, Monitoring is an integral part, Great load balancing concepts, Monitors the condition and ensures compensation in the event of failure.
Applications: An application can be deployed using a combination of pods, deployments, and services (or micro-services).
Functionality: Kubernetes as a complex installation and setup process, but it not as limited as Docker Swarm.
Monitoring: It supports multiple versions of logging and monitoring when the services are deployed within the cluster (Elasticsearch/Kibana (ELK), Heapster/Grafana, Sysdig cloud integration).
Scalability: All-in-one framework for distributed systems.
Other Benefits: Kubernetes is backed by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), huge community among container orchestration tools, it is an open source and modular tool that works with any OS.

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Detailed Comparison

Kubernetes	Azure Container Service
Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers. It handles scheduling onto nodes in a compute cluster and actively manages workloads to ensure that their state matches the users declared intentions.	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.
Lightweight, simple and accessible;Built for a multi-cloud world, public, private or hybrid;Highly modular, designed so that all of its components are easily swappable	Create a container hosting solution optimized for Azure;Scale and orchestrate applications using Apache Mesos or Docker Swarm;Use popular open source, client-side tooling;Migrate container workloads to and from Azure without code changes
Statistics
Stacks 61.2K	Stacks 99
Followers 52.8K	Followers 214
Votes 685	Votes 11
Pros & Cons
Pros 166 Leading docker container management solution 130 Simple and powerful 108 Open source 76 Backed by google 58 The right abstractions Cons 16 Steep learning curve 15 Poor workflow for development 8 Orchestrates only infrastructure 4 High resource requirements for on-prem clusters 2 Too heavy for simple systems	Pros 6 Easy to setup, very agnostic 3 It supports Kubernetes, Mesos DC/OS and Docker Swarm 2 It has a nice command line interface (CLI) tool
Integrations
Vagrant Docker Rackspace Cloud Servers Microsoft Azure Google Compute Engine Ansible Google Kubernetes Engine	Docker Swarm Docker Apache Mesos

What are some alternatives to Kubernetes, Azure Container Service?

Rancher

Rancher is an open source container management platform that includes full distributions of Kubernetes, Apache Mesos and Docker Swarm, and makes it simple to operate container clusters on any cloud or infrastructure platform.

Docker Compose

With Compose, you define a multi-container application in a single file, then spin your application up in a single command which does everything that needs to be done to get it running.

Amazon EC2 Container Service

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.

Docker Swarm

Swarm serves the standard Docker API, so any tool which already communicates with a Docker daemon can use Swarm to transparently scale to multiple hosts: Dokku, Compose, Krane, Deis, DockerUI, Shipyard, Drone, Jenkins... and, of course, the Docker client itself.

Tutum

Tutum lets developers easily manage and run lightweight, portable, self-sufficient containers from any application. AWS-like control, Heroku-like ease. The same container that a developer builds and tests on a laptop can run at scale in Tutum.

Portainer

It is a universal container management tool. It works with Kubernetes, Docker, Docker Swarm and Azure ACI. It allows you to manage containers without needing to know platform-specific code.

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.

Codefresh

Automate and parallelize testing. Codefresh allows teams to spin up on-demand compositions to run unit and integration tests as part of the continuous integration process. Jenkins integration allows more complex pipelines.

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.