Google App Engine vs Google Kubernetes Engine: What are the differences?

Introduction

Google App Engine and Google Kubernetes Engine are two different cloud computing platforms offered by Google. While both platforms provide solutions for deploying and managing applications, they differ in several key aspects.

1. Scalability and Flexibility: Google App Engine is a fully managed platform that abstracts away the underlying infrastructure and automatically scales applications based on demand. It allows developers to focus on building their applications without worrying about infrastructure management. On the other hand, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) provides a container orchestration platform that allows users to deploy and manage containerized applications at scale. GKE provides a high level of flexibility, allowing users to have fine-grained control over the infrastructure and scaling policies.

2. Deployment Model: In Google App Engine, applications are deployed using an app.yaml configuration file, which specifies the runtime environment and resources required for the application. The deployment process is straightforward, and Google handles the rest, including auto-scaling, load balancing, and maintenance. In contrast, GKE follows a container-based deployment model, where applications are packaged into containers using Docker and deployed as pods on a cluster of virtual machines. This gives users more control over the deployment process and allows them to choose the container image and configuration.

3. Resource Management: Google App Engine automatically manages the allocation of resources based on the application's needs. It scales the application horizontally by creating new instances when the demand increases and shutting down instances when the demand decreases. GKE, on the other hand, allows users to define and manage resource allocation manually. Users can specify the number of pods, their resource requirements, and scaling policies based on their specific needs.

4. Cost Structure: Google App Engine follows a pricing model based on the resources consumed by the application, including CPU usage, storage, and network bandwidth. The pricing is based on the actual usage of the application and the number of instances created. GKE, on the other hand, follows a pricing model based on the underlying virtual machine instances and the usage of additional Google Cloud services. Users are billed based on the number of running virtual machines and the additional resources utilized.

5. Platform Abstraction: Google App Engine abstracts away the underlying infrastructure, providing a simple and easy-to-use platform for deploying and managing applications. It simplifies the development process by handling tasks such as load balancing, auto-scaling, and maintenance. GKE, on the other hand, provides a more low-level infrastructure management platform. It offers more control and flexibility but requires users to have a deeper understanding of infrastructure management and containerization.

6. Supported Workloads: Google App Engine is well-suited for web applications, mobile app backends, and simple APIs. It provides a managed environment for running applications without the need for infrastructure management. GKE, on the other hand, is more suitable for complex workloads that require fine-grained control over the infrastructure, such as microservices architectures, batch processing, and big data workloads.

In summary, Google App Engine is a fully managed platform that abstracts away infrastructure management, while Google Kubernetes Engine provides a more flexible and scalable container orchestration platform. App Engine simplifies development and is suitable for simpler workloads, while GKE offers more control and is better suited for complex and scalable applications.