Kubernetes Vs Docker: All You Should Know

Kubernetes and Docker are the big two names when it comes to containerization. Here is all that you should know about Kubernetes Vs Docker.

Kubernetes and Docker are now the two most popular names of container technologies. Even though people often want to compare these two popular open-source technologies, a comparison is not valid. However, Kubernetes Vs Docker is not exactly a great comparison, but they are technologies that complement each other to provide effective and powerful solutions.

What Is A Container?

First things first, let’s have a quick recap on what containers are.

Containers are executable units of software that can contain code, along with dependencies, letting them run in any environment. The best thing about containers is that they are portable, being able to switch between any IT environment with ease. We can deploy an application via a container easily and consistently on a local machine, the cloud, or any other IT infrastructure.

Often, we compare the containers to virtual machines (VMs), as they have parallels in providing resource isolation and allocation. Container virtualizes the operating system instead of the hardware layer, making them more lightweight than VMs. They are also easy to replicate in production, facilitating applications to scale with ease and accumulate higher traffic.

What Is Docker?

Docker is an open-source containerization platform that facilitates a safe and fast way to build, deploy and manage containers. Launched in 2013 as an open-source project, Docker is today the most popular tool for creating containers, independent of the platform.

The key attribute of containers like Docker is their portability, as the containers can run across any desktop, data center, or cloud environment.

Docker makes things smooth for the software industry, giving them the power to automate their infrastructure, isolate applications, keep their consistency, and improve resource utilization.

Here are some of the properties of Docker:

• Easy configuration: Docker lets you deploy code faster and easier in a wide variety of environments. 
• Swarm: Swarm is a clustering and scheduling tool for Docker containers, using the Docker API as a frontend to help us use various tools to the controller. Swarm also lets us control Docker clusters as a single virtual host.
• Manages security: Docker lets us save secrets in the swarm and give access to certain properties or commands like secret inspection, creation, etc.
• More Productivity: As you can configure and deploy apps easily on Docker, productivity is higher. You can execute the application in an isolated environment while reducing the resources.

However, as the application grows and traverses multiple containers across various servers, operating them becomes complex. With a vast increase in the size of containers, coordinating and scheduling them is hard. The scaling of these containers and communication between them is an issue to address. Here is where Kubernetes comes in.

What Is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform introduced by Google. Kubernetes is an ideal toolkit to schedule and automate deployment, manage and scale applications. The key role of the toolkit is to manage container platforms, such as Docker, letting users define the preferred state of their container architecture deployment.

Kubernetes work in a multiple container architecture called a cluster, which includes a container, a master node, that schedules workloads for the rest of the containers in the cluster, known as worker nodes. The master decides where to host applications or containers, their deployment, and their participation. By grouping containers into clusters, Kubernetes encourages service discovery and controls containers throughout their life cycles. 

Here are some of the properties of Kubernetes:

• Runs everywhere: Kubernetes is an open-source tool that lets you move your workload to anywhere you want, be it on-premises, Public & hybrid cloud infrastructure.  
• Enter Automation:  Kubernetes brings automation of the container, controlling it for you.
• Interaction: Kubernetes manages various clusters simultaneously while letting horizontal and vertical scaling.
• Self-monitoring: Kubernetes constantly checks the health of nodes and the container itself.  

Kubernetes vs Docker Swarm: The Comparison

Comparing Kubernetes with Docker might be common but never fair. Let’s compare Kubernetes with Docker Swarm, Docker’s orchestration technology. Swarm focuses on clustering Docker containers, integrating them into the ecosystem using its own API.

The basic difference between Kubernetes and Docker Swarm is that the former runs across a cluster while the latter runs on a single node. Kubernetes is vaster than Docker Swarm and coordinates clusters of nodes of any scale efficiently. Kubernetes pods, the scheduling units containing multiple containers in the Kubernetes ecosystem, are distributed among nodes to provide high availability.

Finding The Best Container Solution

Although Kubernetes and Docker are poles apart technologies, they make a powerful combo together, complimenting each other. Docker provides the developers with pieces of containerization, allowing them to load applications into tiny, isolated containers via the command line, hassle-free. Developers can now run their applications across their IT infrastructure without worrying about compatibility issues. If the application runs on a single node while undergoing the testing phase, the app runs in any environment.

Developers mostly tend to use it during the early days of their containerized application journey, helping them build and deploy the containers hassle-free. When the application has a fairly simple architecture, Docker handles the lifecycle management of the app. 

With the rising demand for the application, Kubernetes delivers orchestration of Docker containers. Kubernetes schedules and automatically deploy the containers across various IT environments to assure the high availability of the app. Along with the orchestration of containers, Kubernetes provides numerous benefits to the developer, like load balancing, self-healing, and automation in rollouts and rollbacks. In addition, the graphical interface of Kubernetes makes it easier to use.

Kubernetes generally does not create the application containers. It needs a container platform to run, with the most popular one being Docker. Kubernetes blends with a toolset made for containers and uses its own operations. Kubernetes manages, scales, and moves containers created by Docker or other alternatives, assuring failproof management of the application in the container.

As for companies who have plans to scale their infrastructure in the future, it is ideal for them to use Kubernetes from the start. As for companies or developers who are existing Docker users, Kubernetes uses existing containers and workloads while solving complex issues related to scaling their infrastructure.

In Conclusion

Containerization brings elastic scalability, isolation, and portability to the applications. Docker forms a standard solution for applications in the container, handling simple cases. When the application becomes complex, Kubernetes comes into play, giving the much-needed scalability and resilience.

Together, Docker and Kubernetes bring value to businesses in the cloud environment. This power duo makes applications easier to maintain, less time to move into production, and handles the rising traffic. However, there are various other containerization tools that you might be interested in exploring.

Want to know more about how Docker and Kubernetes help your IT infrastructure and business? Let’s talk more about the infinite possibilities of using Docker and Kubernetes.