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Kubernetes vs OpenStack: What are the differences?
Key Differences between Kubernetes and OpenStack
Kubernetes and OpenStack are both widely used open-source platforms for managing and orchestrating cloud-based applications, but they differ in several key aspects.
Architecture: Kubernetes is a container orchestration platform that focuses on managing and scaling containerized applications. It provides powerful tools for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications across a cluster of hosts. OpenStack, on the other hand, is a cloud infrastructure platform that provides a full suite of services for managing virtual machines, software-defined networking, and storage resources.
Scope: Kubernetes is primarily focused on container orchestration and provides features like auto-scaling, service discovery, and rolling deployments to ensure smooth operation of containerized applications. OpenStack, on the other hand, is a comprehensive cloud platform that offers a range of services including compute, networking, and storage. It is designed to provide a complete infrastructure solution for building private, public, or hybrid clouds.
Deployment Model: Kubernetes is designed to be a cloud-native platform and is typically deployed on public cloud providers, private cloud environments, or bare-metal servers. It abstracts the underlying infrastructure and provides a consistent API for managing containers. OpenStack, on the other hand, is typically deployed as an on-premises infrastructure platform and requires dedicated hardware resources for running its services.
Community and Ecosystem: Kubernetes has a larger and more active community compared to OpenStack. It is backed by major tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Red Hat, which ensures a steady stream of contributions and a vibrant ecosystem of tools and extensions. OpenStack, although it has a sizable community, has seen some consolidation in recent years, with some projects being deprecated or merged.
Maturity and Adoption: Kubernetes has rapidly gained popularity and has become the de facto standard for container orchestration. It is widely adopted across various industries and has a rich ecosystem of tools and platforms built around it. OpenStack, on the other hand, has been around for a longer time and has seen significant adoption in industries like telecommunications and research. It has a more mature codebase and a strong track record in managing cloud infrastructure.
Ease of Use and Complexity: Kubernetes has a steep learning curve and requires a good understanding of containerization concepts and practices. It provides a flexible and powerful platform for managing containers but can be complex to set up and operate. OpenStack, on the other hand, provides a more straightforward user experience with a web-based dashboard and a set of command-line tools. However, it can still be challenging to deploy and configure due to its comprehensive range of services.
In summary, while both Kubernetes and OpenStack are popular open-source platforms for managing cloud-based applications, Kubernetes focuses on container orchestration and provides a scalable and flexible solution, while OpenStack offers a comprehensive suite of cloud infrastructure services for managing virtual machines, networks, and storage.
Hello, we have a bunch of local hosts (Linux and Windows) where Docker containers are running with bamboo agents on them. Currently, each container is installed as a system service. Each host is set up manually. I want to improve the system by adding some sort of orchestration software that should install, update and check for consistency in my docker containers. I don't need any clouds, all hosts are local. I'd prefer simple solutions. What orchestration system should I choose?
If you just want the basic orchestration between a set of defined hosts, go with Docker Swarm. If you want more advanced orchestration + flexibility in terms of resource management and load balancing go with Kubernetes. In both cases, you can make it even more complex while making the whole architecture more understandable and replicable by using Terraform.
We develop rapidly with docker-compose orchestrated services, however, for production - we utilise the very best ideas that Kubernetes has to offer: SCALE! We can scale when needed, setting a maximum and minimum level of nodes for each application layer - scaling only when the load balancer needs it. This allowed us to reduce our devops costs by 40% whilst also maintaining an SLA of 99.87%.
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.
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 OpenStack
- Private cloud57
- Avoid vendor lock-in38
- Flexible in use22
- Industry leader6
- Supported by many companies in top5004
- Robust architecture4
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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 OpenStack
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What is Kubernetes?
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