The complete guide to Container Orchestration

The difference between container orchestration and alternatives

Given the complexity of Kubernetes, the market is brimming with solutions that address this issue using different approaches. While some solutions focus on simplifying Kubernetes management, others focus more on the underlying infrastructure, helping teams run and scale K8s deployments without giving up control over configuration, management, and security.

Let’s take a closer look at these two approaches.

Managed Kubernetes

One example is managed Kubernetes tools from major cloud providers such as Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), or Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).

In a managed Kubernetes setup, you’re paying a third party to build you a controlled Kubernetes environment. Management responsibilities and prices vary greatly among providers. Don’t forget that you’ll be tied to your provider's tech stack and pay for the computational resources you use.  

You retain some configuration control over your Kubernetes cluster and don’t have to worry about setting up the control plane, but this comes at a price. Any additional support you require will also generate a cost item on your cloud bill.

Finally, managed Kubernetes solutions are all about Kubernetes. They leave you with more responsibilities around infrastructure choices - for example, choosing the type and size of compute instances where your workloads will be running.

Serverless solutions where you can run Kubernetes

In a serverless solution, you can focus on building your product while your cloud provider constructs and maintains your infrastructure. In some scenarios, you’ll just pay for the compute resources that you use, as there’s no service cost involved

Serverless Kubernetes offers you a lot more control and portability. Your team can still build its own tech stack on top of it as long as you package it and use Kubernetes architecture and backend to connect your apps, services, storage, and other resources.

The advantage of this setup is that you don’t have to worry about the infrastructure. These platforms enable developers to run containerized apps without worrying about the underlying infrastructure, while also reaping the benefits of serverless computing's scalability and cost-effectiveness. The provider will make sure your Kubernetes workloads have a place to run and the virtual machines scale up and down in line with real-time demand.

Here are a few examples of such solutions:

• Google Cloud Run - a managed compute platform that enables you to directly run containers on top of Google's scalable infrastructure. Since Google Cloud Run is serverless, it eliminates all infrastructure maintenance. Cloud Run allows you to deploy containers to handle incoming requests, and because it is serverless, you simply pay for the duration of the requests. You can also select the maximum number of containers that your application should scale up to in the event of a higher load.
• AWS Fargate - a serverless, pay-as-you-go compute engine that allows you to run containers in serverless mode, including Kubernetes. Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) are both supported by AWS Fargate. Fargate also provides automatic scaling, ensuring that your applications are always available and running at peak performance. However, AWS services tend to be complex and require specialist support.
• Azure Container Instances - a fully managed serverless container solution that lets run containers without having to maintain servers or clusters. You can deploy containers fast and easily using Azure Container Instances, eliminating the requirement for infrastructure management. A good pick for scenarios in which isolated containers can work without orchestration.

Contrary to traditional approaches to running Kubernetes, serverless takes a different strategy to deployment. You don't have to worry about the underlying infrastructure when using serverless, which means you can run your container image on your cluster using any of the Kubernetes serverless technologies.

Whenever you deploy the application, the serverless solution automatically produces the resources needed to operate it, such as deployments and services.

Serverless architecture improves time to market by allowing developers to focus on application development rather than configuring, provisioning, and administering the server for their application. Teams with applications that aren’t constantly active benefit greatly from serverless architecture since they only pay for what they use.

Furthermore, serverless architecture is platform agnostic, which implies that there is no vendor lock-in to any of the Kubernetes platform providers, such as the managed Kubernetes solutions mentioned before, EKS, AKS, and GKE.

If you expect your application will not be used constantly, a serverless workload is likely the best option for you because of the cost reductions. Traditional workloads need continuous use of computing resources, which your service provider will bill you for at the end of the month regardless of whether your application received inbound requests or not.

In a serverless model, you only pay for the actual requests, making this approach much more viable for small and mid-sized companies that are particularly cost-conscious and may have limited Kubernetes expertise on board.

How to use a container orchestration solution: 5 best practices

1. Have a clear idea of the benefits of containers and serverless containers

If you’re a small company, containers may seem to be out of reach due to the capital expenses (CAPEX) and required Kubernetes expertise involved. This is where a serverless container orchestration solution can help. 

Since it takes away so much of Kubernetes complexity, your team will have an easier time managing Kubernetes containers and keeping the performance of your application high.  

Additionally, by choosing a serverless solution, you make the entire effort around infrastructure provisioning, decommissioning, configuration, and management go away. Instead of constantly tinkering with the underlying infrastructure of your applications, your team can focus on what matters most: building features and products that take your business forward.

Serverless container orchestration is a perfect solution for small and mid-sized businesses due to its cost-efficiency (pay-per-use), ability to scale easily, and simplicity in setup.

2. Know your use case and how it matches containers

Jumping on the cloud-native bandwagon only makes sense if your business use case matches the particular benefits these technologies offer. Take your time to assess your project and check how it matches the advantages and limitations of containers.

While containerization and orchestration systems like Kubernetes bring undeniable strengths to engineering teams, it doesn’t make sense to transition to cloud-native environments without a good business reason behind it.

3. Consider the price and differences across offerings

When looking for a serverless container orchestration solution for your project, price is likely to be among the first criteria for comparison. After all, cost-efficiency may be one of the reasons you’re interested in Kubernetes in the first place.

But comparing the prices alone doesn’t give you the full picture. Serverless solutions may differ greatly in their scope, so examine each offering in detail to understand what you’ll be paying for. It might turn out that between two competing offerings, you’ll pick the one that isn’t cheaper but offers you more storage, which is something your business actually needs.

4. Consider your container size  

Another key consideration is the size of your container image. Depending on the container orchestration solution, you may be charged every time you pull the container image.

Check this aspect carefully before signing the contract. The good news here is that some solutions come without any hidden costs - Tilaa’s Serverless Containers is a good example of that.

5. Make sure that your setup is scalable

You may be interested in cloud-native technologies like containers and Kubernetes for many reasons, but one of them is likely scalability. This aspect is especially important to smaller companies that may experience sudden surges of traffic after a media mention, and their applications need to be prepared for that.

By expanding the underlying infrastructure in line with changing demand, serverless container solutions promise to meet this need and keep your application running at top performance no matter how many people use it.