Elastic Cloud vs Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes: What are the differences?

Introduction

In the realm of cloud computing, understanding the key differences between Elastic Cloud and Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes is crucial for organizations to make informed decisions regarding their cloud infrastructure.

1. Elastic Cloud Hosting: Elastic Cloud is a managed Elasticsearch service provided by Elastic that simplifies the deployment and management of Elasticsearch clusters. It offers features such as automated scaling, backups, security controls, and monitoring to ensure optimal performance and reliability of Elasticsearch clusters without the need for manual intervention.

2. Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes (ECK): Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes, on the other hand, is a specialized deployment option for running the Elastic Stack (including Elasticsearch, Kibana, and Beats) on Kubernetes. It enables users to deploy and manage their Elastic Stack workloads within their Kubernetes environment, leveraging Kubernetes' orchestration capabilities for scalability, resilience, and resource utilization.

3. Deployment Flexibility: Elastic Cloud provides a fully managed deployment service, whereas Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes empowers users to deploy and manage the Elastic Stack within their Kubernetes clusters, allowing for greater customization and control over the deployment architecture according to specific requirements.

4. Integration with Kubernetes Ecosystem: Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes is designed to seamlessly integrate with the Kubernetes ecosystem, offering native integration with tools like Helm for package management, Elastic APM for monitoring Kubernetes environments, and custom resource definitions (CRDs) for configuring and managing Elasticsearch resources through Kubernetes objects.

5. Scalability: While both Elastic Cloud and Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes offer scalability features, Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes leverages Kubernetes' auto-scaling capabilities to dynamically adjust resource allocation based on workload demands, providing a more efficient and automated scaling mechanism compared to traditional Elastic Cloud hosting.

6. Resource Allocation: Elastic Cloud manages resource allocation based on predefined plans and configurations, whereas Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes allows users to define resource requests and limits within Kubernetes pods, providing finer control over resource allocation and utilization within the Kubernetes environment.

In Summary, understanding the differences between Elastic Cloud and Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes is essential for organizations in choosing the most suitable deployment option for their Elasticsearch workloads.