By Suraj Datta, Solution Architect – Product Development at Applied Cloud Computing
The adoption of container technology is on a rise. As enterprises migrate to cloud computing environments, their needs for new apps and software codes are increasing. This is prompting organisations to leverage container technology for faster deployment of applications with optimal resource utilisation. By definition, containers are packages of software that can run in any environment. So, be it a private data centre or public cloud, or laptop of users; containers enable multiple applications to function seamlessly. With the rising use of containers, demand for container orchestration has risen. This is because container orchestration automates the deployment, management, and scaling, of containers. In a cloud environment, enterprises deploy new features and capabilities faster, leveraging container orchestration.
Tools for container management:
Various container orchestration tools provide a framework for managing containers. Some of the popular tools include Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, Amazon Elastic Container Server (ECS), Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), and Apache Mesos among others.
Kubernetes:
Using Kubernetes orchestration, enterprises build application services involving multiple containers. It also helps in scheduling containers across a cluster, scaling them along with gauging their health on regular basis. Kubernetes also replaces any manual intervention with automation, which help in deploying and scaling containerised applications. In the case of the cluster approach to containers, this tool easily and efficiently manages those clusters without any latency or disruption. Currently, enterprises are talking multi-cloud approach. Kubernetes can span hosts across public, private, or hybrid clouds. Therefore, organisations can host cloud-native apps that require rapid scaling.
Docker:
Similarly, the Docker container orchestration tool can package and run applications in any cloud environment- be it public, private, or hybrid. It can find existing container images from others and deploy a container on a laptop, or server. It has one of the simplest configurations, that enables seamless deployment.
Amazon Elastic Container Server (ECS):
Amazon ECS is a fully managed container orchestration service that enables enterprises to deploy, manage, and scale containerised applications seamlessly. Given the nature of the services, it deeply integrates with the rest of the AWS platform. Organisations using AWS cloud services can leverage ECS to provide a secure environment for running container workloads in the cloud.
Amazon EKS:
Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) is another significant tool in the container management space. It can be used to run Kubernetes on AWS (Amazon Web Services). The users don’t have to install, operate, and maintain the Kubernetes control plane or nodes while using EKS. By adopting EKS, enterprises can provide scalability and security to their applications.
After deploying container management tools, organisations require real-time monitoring to gauge the health of containers. Rancher and New Relic monitoring applications are useful in delivering high-quality software inside the container. This is important because customers need a reliable, fast, and sound user experience from the applications they use. Leveraging Rancher, enterprises can monitor the state and processes of cluster nodes, Kubernetes components, and software deployments through integration with Prometheus, which is a leading open-source monitoring solution. Similarly, New Relic Infrastructure automates various collection metrics for Docker containers. So, after deployment, New Relic automatically monitors the processes running inside containers on a host. This, in turn, allows visibility of all the processes running inside a container using the “contained” attribute. Moreover, one can see which container is running what process. This helps in taking corrective actions if required.
CI/CD deployment using AWS:
Apart from the deployment and monitoring of containers, automating various software delivery steps is critical. Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines serve to automate software delivery steps including the build, test, and deployment stages using AWS. CI/CD pipelines help in building and deploying microservices on Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS). Leveraging this approach, the robustness of cloud computing environments is enhanced. Developing a CI/CD pipeline is an ideal practice for enterprises that frequently improve applications owing to business requirements. Following this approach enables the IT team to focus more on enhancing applications as compared to the delivery aspects. There are various open-source tools available for CI/CD that help in automating tasks such as testing, publishing, and many more.
Jenkins: This is an open-source Java-based tool that enables users to implement continuous integration operations seamlessly. This is one of the suitable CI/CD tools for real-time testing and reporting on any changes that take place to the larger codebase. Due to this feature, developers can promptly locate and resolve any error in the codebase. In turn, integrating changes becomes easier. Leveraging Jenkins, companies can automate and speed up the software development process. Moreover, new apps can be introduced as operations scale up without any disruption. Jenkins is highly compatible with operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Gradle: is another open-source CI/CD tool that allows developers to implement build management and automation tasks. The distinctive feature of Gradle is its compatibility with several languages. It can operate with a wide range of languages and platforms including Java, Scala, Android, and C/C++. Owing to such flexibility, many global giants such as Google, Netflix, and LinkedIn are using Gradle for automating tasks.
GitLab: By deploying GitLab, enterprises manage several areas of the software development lifecycle. The core product of GitLab is a web-based Git repository manager, which has features like issue tracking, analytics, and a Wiki. Using GitLab, developers can create, develop, and manage code and project data from a single distributed version control system. It is very popular owing to its high compatibility with operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Linux. GitLab enables developers quick iteration and delivers business value without any time lag.
CodeShip: CodeShip is a cloud-based CI/CD platform leveraging which developers can achieve early and automatic software releases with high speed and accuracy. Enterprises can build software products that are reliable at a faster pace with quick testing and release. With CodeShip, developers can implement the CI/CD systems by implementing testing, building, and deployment tasks directly from GitHub projects. Developers can also provide customised solutions using the CI/CD tool. Moreover, it supports multiple integration options like security scanning, deployment, and alerting tools. CodeShip is compatible with operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is an open-source tool that can be downloaded for free and is also available as a free project on GitHub.
Buddy: It is a CI/CD tool that makes the automation and delivery process seamless through a simple and intuitive user interface. It has a fully interactive UI (user interface). This enables users without technical knowledge to drag and drop activities to design delivery pipelines just like a DevOps professional. It can also build, test, and deploy websites and applications by taking code from other tools such as GitHub, Bitbucket, and GitLab. This tool can operate in both private (on-premise) and public cloud environments. Moreover, Buddy uses Docker containers, fully integrated languages and frameworks, and ready-to-use actions for faster deployment.
GoCD: This is an open-source continuous delivery tool with a Value Stream Map (VSM) functionality. This functionality gives a comprehensive view of pipelines and successfully maps it to the concepts of ‘Deployment Pipeline’ and ‘Continuous Delivery Pipeline.’ Moreover, GoCD comes up with an extensible plugin design that allows developers to integrate their software with several popular third-party tools and services. It also allows the construction of ‘pipeline as code’ in both YAML and JSON formats. GoCD is highly compatible with operating systems like Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Applications of cloud computing in all areas of business are growing each day. Against this backdrop, organisations should deploy contemporary and sophisticated container management tools with automation for better operational efficiency and business competitiveness. So, the selection of the right technology partner with experience in executing multiple projects in different cloud computing environments will help an organisation to realise its true potential.
