What is a Container and
Containerization?
Simply put, a container packs up code along with its
dependencies so it can be run reliably and efficiently
over different environments. Containerization refers to
the bundling of an application along with the libraries,
dependencies and configuration files it needs to run it
efficiently across multiple computing environments.
Benefits of Containerization
We want to discuss three technologies that you will
probably run into as a developer. But first, in case you
haven’t used containers before, let’s look at some of
their benefits:
Resource Efficiency: One major benefit is
efficiency of resources. Containers do not
require a separate OS, so they take up fewer
resources. Some might argue that container
offer similar benefits to virtual machines.
However, virtual machines are often gigabytes
in size. Containers are usually in the megabyte
range.
Platform Independence: The portability of
containers is another huge benefit. All the
dependencies of the application are wrapped,
allowing you to easily run applications on
different environments for both public and
virtual servers. This gives organizations a
great deal of flexibility, speeding up the
development process and allowing developers
to easily switch to other cloud environments.
Effective Resource Sharing: Although
containers run on the same server and share
the same resources, they do not communicate
with each other — if one application crashes,
the other will keep running flawlessly. This
effective resource sharing coupled with
isolation results in decreased security risks —
the negative effects of one application are not
spread to the other running containers.
Predictable Environment: Containers allow
developers to create predictable environments
that are isolated from other applications.
Therefore, containerization allows
programmers to run consistency in working no
matter where the application is deployed.
Smooth Scaling: Another major benefit of
containers is horizontal scaling. When working
in a cluster environment you can add identical
containers to scale out the entire process.
With the smart scale procedures, you can run
containers in real-time and reduced resource
costs drastically. This also accelerates your
return on investment while working with
containers. This feature is already being used
by major vendors like Twitter, Netflix, and
Google.
The Evolution of Container
Management: From Docker to
Helm
Although containers provide many advantages, they
also offer a host of new complexities. Especially as the
concept of micro-services has become more prominent.
The need to not only create containers but better
manage them has become important. Next, we will
discuss three of the currently popular container and
container management technologies.
Docker
You can’t talk about containers without talking about
Docker.
Many people assume that Docker was the first
container technology but that’s not the case. The Linux
academy has a great history of containers if you would
like to learn more.
Now on to Docker.
Docker is an open-source project based on Linux
containers. This container engine was developed on
Dotcloud. Docker gives developers the ability to focus
on writing code without having to worry about the
system the application will be running on.
Docker has a client server-architecture. This means
that the Docker server is responsible for all container-
related actions. This server receives commands via
Docker client using REST API’s or CLI.
Commands like docker run or docker build.
There are further nuances worth looking into. We
recommend reading Stackify’s Docker Image vs
container as it covers some of these very well.
Docker Image vs Container: Everything You Need to Know
Docker is a powerful tool for creating and deploying applications. It
simplifies rolling out applications across…
stackify.com
Kubernetes
Initially developed by Google, Kubernetes is an open-
source system used for managing containerized
applications in different environments. The main aim of
this project is to offer better ways of managing services
or components of an application across varied
infrastructures. The Kubernetes platform allows you to
define how your application should run or interact with
the environment. As a user, you can scale your services
and perform updates conveniently.
Kubernetes system is built in the form of layers, with
each layer abstracting complexity found in lower
levels. To begin with, the base layer brings virtual and
physical machines into a cluster via a shared network.
Here, one of the servers functions as a master server
and acts as a gateway to expose an API for the clients
and users.
From here there are other machines that act as nodes
that get instructions from the master on how to
manage the different workloads. Each node needs to
have some form of container software running on it to
ensure it can properly follow the instructions provided
by the master node. To get a really good
understanding, Digital Ocean further elaborates on this
topic.
Helm
Helm is an application package manager which can be
used to run on top of Kubernetes. This program allows
you to describe application structure via helm-charts,
managed through simple commands. Helms is a drastic
shift, redefining how server-side applications are
managed, stored, and even defined. This manager
simplifies the mass adoption of microservices so you
can use several mini services instead of monolithic
application. Moreover, you can compose new
applications out of existing loosely coupled
microservices.
This tool streamlines the management and installment
of Kubernetes applications by rendering templates and
communicating with the Kubernetes API. This manager
can be easily stored on disk and fetched via chart
repositories such as RedHat packages and Debian.
How does Helm work?
Helm groups logical components of an application into
a chart so you can deploy and maintain them
conveniently over an extended time period. Each time
a chart is deployed to cluster, a server-side component
of Helm creates its release. This release tracks
application deployment over time. With Helm, you can
deploy almost anything virtually — from Redis cache to
complex web apps.
