Helm vs kops: What are the differences?

Introduction

Helm and kops are two popular tools used in the Kubernetes ecosystem for management and deployment of applications. Although they serve a similar purpose, there are key differences between them that make each tool unique and suitable for specific use cases.

1. Architecture and Scope: Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes that enables easy installation, upgrade, and management of applications as "charts". It focuses on managing the application layer and packaging dependencies. On the other hand, kops is a tool for provisioning, upgrading, and managing Kubernetes clusters on various cloud providers. It operates at the infrastructure level, handling tasks such as cluster creation, networking, and high availability.

2. Level of Abstraction: Helm provides a higher level of abstraction by packaging applications into reusable and versioned charts. This allows for easier application deployment and sharing of common configurations. Kops, on the other hand, deals with the underlying infrastructure by managing the cluster nodes, networking, and load balancing, providing a lower level of abstraction compared to Helm.

3. Workflow: Helm follows a more declarative workflow, where application configurations are defined in Helm charts, and then those charts are deployed to a Kubernetes cluster. It provides a version-controlled and template-based approach to application management. Kops, on the other hand, follows an imperative workflow where commands are executed to provision and manage the Kubernetes cluster directly. It requires manual updates to manage changes in the cluster configuration.

4. Compatibility: Helm is compatible with any Kubernetes cluster and can be used to deploy applications on any cluster, regardless of how it was provisioned. Kops, on the other hand, is specifically designed for managing Kubernetes clusters and is not compatible with other cluster orchestrators.

5. Community Support and Maturity: Helm has a larger and more active community with a wide range of pre-built charts available for various applications and services. It has been widely adopted and is considered a mature tool. Kops, although also actively maintained, has a smaller community compared to Helm. It is focused on managing Kubernetes clusters and has been used to deploy large-scale production systems.

6. Use Cases: Given their differences, Helm is well-suited for managing and deploying applications in a cluster-agnostic manner, providing an easy and standardized approach to application management. It is ideal for application developers who want to focus on the application layer without dealing with the infrastructure. Kops, on the other hand, is more suitable for managing the underlying infrastructure of Kubernetes clusters, making it a better choice for operations teams responsible for managing the entire lifecycle of Kubernetes clusters in production environments.

In Summary, Helm is a package manager for managing applications in Kubernetes, while kops is a tool for managing the underlying infrastructure of Kubernetes clusters. Helm provides higher-level abstraction, follows a declarative workflow, and is compatible with any Kubernetes cluster. Kops focuses on provisioning and managing Kubernetes clusters directly, follows an imperative workflow, and is tailored specifically for Kubernetes cluster management.