Container management software is programming that automates the creation, destruction, deployment and scaling of software containers in an information technology (IT) infrastructure. Containerization isolates processes that share an operating system (OS) and binds application or microservice libraries and dependencies into one deployable unit. Containers are used to create cloud-native, distributed applications and to package legacy applications for increased portability and deployment simplicity. Containers have surged in popularity as IT organizations have embraced DevOps, which emphasizes rapid velocity in the deployment of applications. Container management and orchestration software features include container schedulers, security tools, storage and virtual network management systems, and monitoring tools. Container management software pros and cons Since many more containers than VMs can reside on a server host, the chief benefit of container management software lies in the simplified administration of densely populated hosting environments. Without the automation provided by container management software, the sheer number of containers can quickly outstrip a human operator's ability to keep up with changes, particularly at rapid speed. An advantage of containers over VMs is that they are lightweight and have separate application configuration information from the host OS, which offers containerized applications increased interoperability, regardless of whether heterogeneous server OSes or public cloud infrastructures support them. Container management software automates the deployment of container-based applications to these various infrastructures. A drawback to container management software, particularly container orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes and Mesos, is complexity. Administrators must understand the relationships between clusters of host servers, as well as the container network and how it corresponds to applications and dependencies. Also, container orchestration tools' installation and setup is arduous and error-prone. Container management software usage Containers are quickly deployable via management software, which suits the rapid change applications undergo in a DevOps strategy. Forward-thinking enterprise IT organizations and startups alike use containers and container management tools to quickly deploy and update continuously developed applications. The lines between different container management software categories -- orchestration, security, networking and so on -- blur as container orchestration platforms, such as Kubernetes and Docker's Swarm mode, add native support for additional management capabilities. Container management technology is also being folded into or connected with larger software suites that manage underlying server hosts and VMs. A number of container management software systems have been created by open source communities, and others are proprietary tools marketed by commercial vendors. Some commercial vendors offer support for open source components or embed them into products. Continue reading... |
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