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Docker Cloud vs GitLab: What are the differences?
Introduction
In this article, we will discuss the key differences between Docker Cloud and GitLab in relation to their functionalities and features.
Scalability and Flexibility: Docker Cloud primarily focuses on providing a platform for container orchestration and management. It offers seamless integration with widely used containerization platform Docker, enabling developers to easily scale applications across multiple hosts with the help of its automatic load balancing and scheduling capabilities. On the other hand, GitLab is a comprehensive DevOps platform that not only supports containerization but also offers a wide range of integrated tools for source code management, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), and more. It provides a flexible and modular approach to handle the entire software development lifecycle.
Built-in Integrations: Docker Cloud provides built-in support and integration with popular cloud providers such as AWS and Azure, allowing users to easily deploy and manage their containers on these platforms. It also offers seamless integration with Docker Hub, simplifying the process of pulling and building container images. In contrast, GitLab offers a broad range of built-in integrations with various external services and tools, including popular cloud providers, Kubernetes, Prometheus, and many more. This extensive integration capability makes GitLab a comprehensive platform that can cater to a wide range of deployment and monitoring requirements.
Container Registry: Docker Cloud includes a private Docker image registry, enabling users to store and distribute their container images securely. It provides an easy-to-use UI for managing images, allowing developers to push, pull, and delete images effortlessly. In contrast, GitLab also includes a built-in container registry that not only supports Docker images but also other container formats such as OCI images. This registry is tightly integrated with GitLab's version control system, enabling developers to seamlessly store, manage, and version their container images as part of their source code repository.
CI/CD Automation: Docker Cloud does not have built-in CI/CD capabilities and mainly focuses on container orchestration and management tasks. On the other hand, GitLab offers robust CI/CD capabilities as a core part of its platform. It provides a powerful CI/CD pipeline configuration and management system that allows users to define and automate the entire application build, test, and deployment process. This capability eliminates the need for external CI/CD tools and streamlines the development and deployment workflow.
Collaboration and Code Review: GitLab has strong collaboration and code review features built into its platform. It allows multiple developers to collaborate on code through merge requests, enabling them to review, comment, and suggest changes to each other's code. GitLab also provides features like inline code commenting, code snippets, and code comparison tools, facilitating efficient code collaboration and review. Docker Cloud, on the other hand, does not have dedicated collaboration and code review features, as it primarily focuses on container management and deployment tasks.
Pricing and Availability: Docker Cloud has a pricing model based on the number of nodes and the level of support required. It offers a free tier with limited features and capacity. However, Docker Cloud has announced its end-of-life and will be discontinued after May 21st, 2021. GitLab, on the other hand, offers both a self-hosted version (Community Edition) and a cloud-hosted version (GitLab.com). The Community Edition is free and open-source, while the cloud-hosted version provides various pricing plans based on the desired features, storage, and number of users.
In summary, while Docker Cloud primarily focuses on container orchestration and provides seamless integration with the Docker ecosystem, GitLab offers a comprehensive DevOps platform with a wide range of integrated tools, extensive built-in integrations, and robust CI/CD capabilities. GitLab also excels in collaboration and code review features, while Docker Cloud emphasizes container management and deployment. Also, considering Docker Cloud's end-of-life status, GitLab provides a more sustainable and long-term solution for organizations' DevOps needs.
Do you review your Pull/Merge Request before assigning Reviewers?
If you work in a team opening a Pull Request (or Merge Request) looks appropriate. However, have you ever thought about opening a Pull/Merge Request when working by yourself? Here's a checklist of things you can review in your own:
- Pick the correct target branch
- Make Drafts explicit
- Name things properly
- Ask help for tools
- Remove the noise
- Fetch necessary data
- Understand Mergeability
- Pass the message
- Add screenshots
- Be found in the future
- Comment inline in your changes
Read the blog post for more detailed explanation for each item :D
What else do you review before asking for code review?
Using an inclusive language is crucial for fostering a diverse culture. Git has changed the naming conventions to be more language-inclusive, and so you should change. Our development tools, like GitHub and GitLab, already supports the change.
SourceLevel deals very nicely with repositories that changed the master branch to a more appropriate word. Besides, you can use the grep linter the look for exclusive terms contained in the source code.
As the inclusive language gap may happen in other aspects of our lives, have you already thought about them?
One of the magic tricks git performs is the ability to rewrite log history. You can do it in many ways, but git rebase -i is the one I most use. With this command, It’s possible to switch commits order, remove a commit, squash two or more commits, or edit, for instance.
It’s particularly useful to run it before opening a pull request. It allows developers to “clean up” the mess and organize commits before submitting to review. If you follow the practice 3 and 4, then the list of commits should look very similar to a task list. It should reveal the rationale you had, telling the story of how you end up with that final code.
Out of most of the VCS solutions out there, we found Gitlab was the most feature complete with a free community edition. Their DevSecops offering is also a very robust solution. Gitlab CI/CD was quite easy to setup and the direct integration with your VCS + CI/CD is also a bonus. Out of the box integration with major cloud providers, alerting through instant messages etc. are all extremely convenient. We push our CI/CD updates to MS Teams.
Gitlab as A LOT of features that GitHub and Azure DevOps are missing. Even if both GH and Azure are backed by Microsoft, GitLab being open source has a faster upgrade rate and the hosted by gitlab.com solution seems more appealing than anything else! Quick win: the UI is way better and the Pipeline is way easier to setup on GitLab!
At DeployPlace we use self-hosted GitLab, we have chosen GitLab as most of us are familiar with it. We are happy with all features GitLab provides, I can’t imagine our life without integrated GitLab CI. Another important feature for us is integrated code review tool, we use it every day, we use merge requests, code reviews, branching. To be honest, most of us have GitHub accounts as well, we like to contribute in open source, and we want to be a part of the tech community, but lack of solutions from GitHub in the area of CI doesn’t let us chose it for our projects.
Pros of Docker Cloud
- Easy to use9
- Seamless transition from docker compose2
Pros of GitLab
- Self hosted508
- Free431
- Has community edition339
- Easy setup242
- Familiar interface240
- Includes many features, including ci137
- Nice UI113
- Good integration with gitlabci84
- Simple setup57
- Has an official mobile app35
- Free private repository34
- Continuous Integration31
- Open source, great ui (like github)23
- Slack Integration18
- Full CI flow15
- Free and unlimited private git repos11
- All in one (Git, CI, Agile..)10
- User, group, and project access management is simple10
- Intuitive UI8
- Built-in CI8
- Full DevOps suite with Git6
- Both public and private Repositories6
- Integrated Docker Registry5
- So easy to use5
- CI5
- Build/pipeline definition alongside code5
- It's powerful source code management tool5
- Dockerized4
- It's fully integrated4
- On-premises4
- Security and Stable4
- Unlimited free repos & collaborators4
- Not Microsoft Owned4
- Excellent4
- Issue system4
- Mattermost Chat client4
- Great for team collaboration3
- Free private repos3
- Because is the best remote host for git repositories3
- Built-in Docker Registry3
- Opensource3
- Low maintenance cost due omnibus-deployment3
- I like the its runners and executors feature3
- Beautiful2
- Groups of groups2
- Multilingual interface2
- Powerful software planning and maintaining tools2
- Review Apps feature2
- Kubernetes integration with GitLab CI2
- One-click install through DigitalOcean2
- Powerful Continuous Integration System2
- It includes everything I need, all packaged with docker2
- The dashboard with deployed environments2
- HipChat intergration2
- Many private repo2
- Kubernetes Integration2
- Published IP list for whitelisting (gl-infra#434)2
- Wounderful2
- Native CI2
- Supports Radius/Ldap & Browser Code Edits1
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Cons of Docker Cloud
Cons of GitLab
- Slow ui performance28
- Introduce breaking bugs every release9
- Insecure (no published IP list for whitelisting)6
- Built-in Docker Registry2
- Review Apps feature1
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