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Kubernetes vs Tower: What are the differences?
# Introduction
1. **Scalability**: Kubernetes is a container orchestration tool that allows scaling up and down based on resource demand, while Ansible Tower is a configuration management tool that focuses on automation workflows and managing infrastructure.
2. **Resource Management**: Kubernetes provides fine-grained control over resource allocation and utilization within containerized applications, whereas Ansible Tower focuses on managing infrastructure through automation scripts.
3. **High Availability**: Kubernetes offers built-in features for high availability configuration and fault tolerance for applications, whereas Ansible Tower provides centralized control and visibility over automation tasks and management.
4. **Monitoring and Logging**: Kubernetes comes with built-in monitoring and logging capabilities for containers and clusters, whereas Ansible Tower integrates with third-party monitoring tools for tracking automation tasks and infrastructure changes.
5. **Networking**: Kubernetes facilitates networking configuration for containers through services and network policies, while Ansible Tower primarily focuses on server and network infrastructure automation.
6. **Ease of Use**: Kubernetes has a steeper learning curve due to its complex architecture and terminology, whereas Ansible Tower offers a more user-friendly interface for managing automation tasks and infrastructure.
In Summary, Kubernetes excels in container orchestration and resource management, while Ansible Tower specializes in automation workflows and infrastructure management.
Decisions about Kubernetes and Tower
Simon Reymann
Senior Fullstack Developer at QUANTUSflow Software GmbH · | 30 upvotes · 11.8M views
Our whole DevOps stack consists of the following tools:
- GitHub (incl. GitHub Pages/Markdown for Documentation, GettingStarted and HowTo's) for collaborative review and code management tool
- Respectively Git as revision control system
- SourceTree as Git GUI
- Visual Studio Code as IDE
- CircleCI for continuous integration (automatize development process)
- Prettier / TSLint / ESLint as code linter
- SonarQube as quality gate
- Docker as container management (incl. Docker Compose for multi-container application management)
- VirtualBox for operating system simulation tests
- Kubernetes as cluster management for docker containers
- Heroku for deploying in test environments
- nginx as web server (preferably used as facade server in production environment)
- SSLMate (using OpenSSL) for certificate management
- Amazon EC2 (incl. Amazon S3) for deploying in stage (production-like) and production environments
- PostgreSQL as preferred database system
- Redis 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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Learn MorePros of Kubernetes
Pros of Tower
Pros of Kubernetes
- Leading docker container management solution166
- Simple and powerful129
- Open source107
- Backed by google76
- The right abstractions58
- Scale services25
- Replication controller20
- Permission managment11
- Supports autoscaling9
- Simple8
- Cheap8
- Self-healing6
- Open, powerful, stable5
- Reliable5
- No cloud platform lock-in5
- Promotes modern/good infrascture practice5
- Scalable4
- Quick cloud setup4
- Custom and extensibility3
- Captain of Container Ship3
- Cloud Agnostic3
- Backed by Red Hat3
- Runs on azure3
- A self healing environment with rich metadata3
- Everything of CaaS2
- Gke2
- Golang2
- Easy setup2
- Expandable2
- Sfg2
Pros of Tower
- Git19
- Just works16
- Version control10
- Awesome6
- Simple layout6
- Multiple windows4
- Automatic repo discovery3
- Multiple tabs3
- Submodule support2
- Github integration2
- Full featured client2
- Uses standard git terminology and methods2
- Gitflow support2
- Interactive stage or discard by hunks or lines2
- SAS1
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Cons of Kubernetes
Cons of Tower
Cons of Kubernetes
- Steep learning curve16
- Poor workflow for development15
- Orchestrates only infrastructure8
- High resource requirements for on-prem clusters4
- Too heavy for simple systems2
- Additional vendor lock-in (Docker)1
- More moving parts to secure1
- Additional Technology Overhead1
Cons of Tower
- Expensive5
- Subscription based4
- No side by side diff1
- Merge conflict resolution impossible/unclear0
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What is Kubernetes?
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.
What is Tower?
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Jobs that mention Kubernetes and Tower as a desired skillset
What companies use Kubernetes?
What companies use Tower?
What companies use Tower?
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What tools integrate with Kubernetes?
What tools integrate with Tower?
What tools integrate with Kubernetes?
What tools integrate with Tower?
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What are some alternatives to Kubernetes and Tower?
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.
Nomad
Nomad is a cluster manager, designed for both long lived services and short lived batch processing workloads. Developers use a declarative job specification to submit work, and Nomad ensures constraints are satisfied and resource utilization is optimized by efficient task packing. Nomad supports all major operating systems and virtualized, containerized, or standalone applications.
OpenStack
OpenStack is a cloud operating system that controls large pools of compute, storage, and networking resources throughout a datacenter, all managed through a dashboard that gives administrators control while empowering their users to provision resources through a web interface.
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.