Adopting Container Technologies

Container technologies are on the rise.

Containers are becoming a natural supplement for IT companies that need to deploy software rapidly and cost-effectively. Container technologies offer many advantages over traditional options, and there is no wonder, that so many companies are adopting them.

This post will explain what container technologies are, why they’re so beneficial to IT companies, and how they compare to other /undefined [types of] server virtualization technology available today.

You’ll learn about the advantages containers have over virtualization, various types of container technologies available today, and how they compare to traditional server virtualization.

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Benefits of Container Technologies

In this section, I’ll look at the benefits of container technologies. The main benefits are lower costs and faster deployment times.

Lower Costs

Using containers helps to reduce the cost of deployment, especially in areas like application modernization. Instead of replacing an entire server with a new one, you can replace the container, and your application runs on top of the same Infrastructure.

You can even reuse previously deployed containers to save costs in certain cases. Container technologies help IT companies lower their total cost of ownership (TCO) by reducing the need for physical upgrades or replacements.

Faster Deployment 

With containers, you can deploy applications faster. This is because there’s less installation time, and configuration is easier. Since containers are ready to go from the moment they’re instantiated, there’s a lot less installation time. Installing an application on virtual machines can take quite a bit of time, especially if you’re creating a multi-tier application with many components. Containers cut down the amount of deployment time in this case by providing everything you need in the containerized software stack.

Another benefit of faster deployment comes from orchestrating containers. One common way to orchestrate containers is using Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) providers like AWS or Azure. These providers can be very efficient and make for a quick deployment process.

What Container Technologies Should IT Companies Look into?

In this section, I’ll take a look at the various container technologies that are available today. I’ll contrast them against traditional virtualization technology to help you determine which option is best suited for your company’s needs.

I’ll start by looking at the types of container technologies available, then compare the three main types (Docker, rkt, and LXC) and how they are different.

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Types Of Containerization

Docker, rkt, and LXC

There are three main types of container technology available today.

Docker containers are probably the most common type of container technology. They’re usually run over the infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) provider known as Docker Inc. These containers have their operating system called Docker. They receive an API to interact with it. The API runs many commands like “pull” or “run.”

Rkt is a container runtime and not a container technology. The application developer runs the code inside the rkt container and uses an API to interact with it. The API is provided by open-source software from CoreOS called it.

LXC (Linux Containers) is a technology that’s not a containerization method but rather a Linux kernel module that supports running containers inside virtual machines. Currently, there are two versions of this kernel module – version 1 (v1.0) and version 2 (v2.0). The first version is used by the Docker container engine and the second one by various IaaS providers like AWS or Azure.

As you can see, there are many types of containerization available today. This variety allows IT companies to pick the best option for their needs. It would help if you always looked further into your options before deciding on a final solution.

You’ll need to choose between traditional virtualization technology and container technology at some point in your development cycle.

Containers vs. VMs: Which Should You Choose?

There are many ways to deploy applications today. I’ve mentioned virtual machines, but containers are also another commonly used option. Understanding how they work will help you determine which works best for your company’s needs.

So What Are Containers?

Containers are software applications that can be run anywhere – creating a true virtual machine, even. They contain everything required to run an application, including the operating system and its libraries and dependencies. This allows applications to be quickly deployed across different environments like on-premise servers or in the cloud through SaaS providers like AWS or Azure without rewriting a single line of app code.

Docker containers are the most common container technology today, and they’re quite simple to use. It can be customized depending on the needs of your application and are very efficient in terms of deployment time.

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Docker Containers vs. VMs: Differences & Comparison

All virtualization techniques today have their advantages and disadvantages. This is why it’s important to understand how they compare to one another before making a final decision. I’ll point out the differences between VMs, Docker containers, and LXC containers to help you determine which container technology is best for you.

Docker containers are more lightweight than VMs and thus have the lowest overhead. This is because it includes only what is necessary to run applications. VMs contain more components, such as an operating system and a hypervisor, which results in higher overhead costs.

In terms of security, Docker containers are much tighter in terms of containment, while VMs are much more secure when dealing with multi-tenancy or isolation.

Challenges of Container Technologies

There are a lot of challenges to overcome with container technologies, and there are certain considerations that you should keep in mind.

You’ll need to understand the deployment process if you decide to go through with a container infrastructure. The deployment process is relatively easy with virtual machines whenever an application needs to be upgraded without downtime. Containers, on the other hand, can be a challenge when deploying new versions of applications because they often require manual installation.

Container deployments are more efficient when using a PaaS (Platform as a Service) provider. When you do things the old-fashioned way, such as installing an application image manually, deployment can take several hours to complete. If you use a PaaS for your container installations and keep the applications up-to-date with security patches, then you can cut down those deployment times significantly.

Once the application is deployed, you’ll need to monitor your containers to ensure they’re not getting out of hand.

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Steps To Start Implementing Containers

You can do a few things to get started with containers.

1. Choose a standard container technology, such as Docker.

2. Pick an IT infrastructure that’s going to support containers.

3. Create the first container infrastructure and run applications in it.

4. Update your applications as new versions become available and test them in your container infrastructure thoroughly before production deployment is completed.

5. Install security patches and other updates to your containers when necessary.

6. Inspect the logs from containers to determine any issues.

7. Consider increasing the container’s resource capacity if you expect more traffic or large data transfers. This can be done by adding more virtual machines. Still, it also might be necessary to increase the amount of RAM and CPU power for certain types of applications and expand storage capacity to avoid bottlenecking your Infrastructure.

8. Look at application performance metrics like response time, throughput, etc., to ensure there are no bottlenecks. If you notice any issues, then you might need to increase the capacity for that particular application container.

9. Start looking at container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes and Swarm to manage your containers.

10. Monitor metrics for each container to determine if any adjustments are needed.

Conclusion

Container technologies are a great choice for development and production applications today. The containerization of applications is much more resource-efficient than virtualization and brings many more security benefits. If you’re looking for an effective way to deploy containers, you should consider using Docker containers as the best choice for your application containers.

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