Top 7 Containerization Tools to Look Out For

Technology has highly simplified our lives. Be it simplifying the lives of normal human beings or be it simplifying the tasks of people who are already into technology, it has contributed a lot. Now when talking about people who are already into technology, it’s hard to understand how technology has simplified their work.

The answer is continuous innovation and evolution in technology.

Yes, with time and with the advancement of technology everything has been simplified. There are tools and technologies that have been developed to ease the needs of the people.

For example- Software, they ease the tasks for business and their operations and also makes it easy for consumers to make use of the software to fulfill their needs.

And in terms of developers and software engineers, technology caters to excellent tools and technologies that ease their tasks and minimize their workload, which results in increased productivity.

One such thing is the Containerization technique that is used in software development, and the tools that are developed to ease the process of containerization.

What are Containers?

Containers are small, efficient, and portable software packages composed of components that include binaries, dependencies, configuration files, and libraries enabled to run in any environment.

They are lightweight, isolated, and self-contained and help in creating new, scalable cloud-native applications.

They help in virtualizing the operating system to run anywhere and they operate on an abstracted layer which allows only limited access to the system resources.

This process also helps the developers to deploy the software faster, and operate with higher productivity and increased efficiency. YouTube and Microsoft Edge are two well-known industry giants that operate in containers.

Pros and Cons of Containerization

Containerization brings a large set of choices, that includes which standards to use, how to store the versions, and how to manage the containers in production, along with certain other advantages and disadvantages.

The pros of containerization are -

It provides excellent portability and also allows the container to work seamlessly, on any deployment platform.

• It allows the developers the flexibility to operate and deploy the code in any environment and also helps in correcting the errors in one container without affecting the other.

• It speeds up the upgradation and deployment process along with zero downtime, resulting in on-time delivery and increased productivity.

• It also reduces the server and licensing outlays as they do not require a separate operating system.

• Additionally, it also helps in providing an additional layer of security, since the containers are isolated and it blocks access to unwanted components.

• It is also cost-effective, scalable, and efficient, and also helps in reducing the extra cost of operations.

There are not many cons of containerization, but one important drawback that cannot be ignored is that the containers have weaker isolation since they share an OS kernel that is quite vulnerable to flaws and attacks, which can be mastered with continuous effort and advancements with time.

Best Containerization Tools to Look Out

Now that we have a better understanding of containerization, and its pros and cons, below are the best containerization tools to help you develop seamless and quicker applications.

1. Docker

2. Kubernetes

3. Docker Swarm

4. Container Linux

   Apache Mesos

5. Microsoft Azure

6. Google Cloud Platform

Docker -

It is the most popular tool used in containerization and works with the Kubernetes platform. It helps in making the development process efficient, fast, and easy by taking away repetitive configuration tasks.

It operates well with all the development tools like VS Code, GitHub, and many more. It helps you deliver multiple applications, run them in all environments, and decrease the risk of conflict between libraries and frameworks.

Additionally, it has large community support with experts who help you in case you get stuck during the development. Adobe, Netflix, and PayPal are well-known industry giants that use Docker.

Kubernetes -

It is also known as K8s and is a Linux-based open-source system that helps in the automatic deployment, scaling, and management of containers for cluster computing. It is flexible and helps you deliver your applications quickly and efficiently regardless of the complexity. It can run on any environment be it on-premises, hybrid, or public cloud infrastructure.

Additionally, it progressively rolls out changes to the software in a hassle-free way and also helps in service discovery and load balancing. Kubernetes also facilitates storage orchestration, and also places the containers according to the resource requirements, without sacrificing availability. Some other features include batch execution and managing CI workloads, self-healing, and horizontal scaling.

Docker Swarm -

It is native clustering for Docker and is a container orchestration tool that helps in managing multiple containers deployed across multiple hosts. It offers high availability for applications and helps in load balancing across multiple containers and hosts.

Further, it also helps in managing the activities of the clusters by the swarm manager and also allows you to connect containers to multiple hosts. It leverages the design advantages, is easily integrated with Docker, and is also compatible with all the Docker tools. Its other features include multi-host networking, scaling, desired state reconciliation, and many more.

Container Linux -

Formerly known as CoreOS Linux, Container Linux is an open-source OS based on the Linux kernel and developed by Red Hat, that focuses on automation to ease software deployment, security, reliability, and scalability.

It is based on Gento Linux, Chrome OS, and Chromium OS, and it supports automatic updates, enables auto-compilation of system components, and allows you to interact with remote clusters. Further, it also facilitates you with a network mesh enabling the core operating system to run smoothly.

Apache Mesos -

It is a cross-platform, open-source software developed by Apache Software Foundation, that helps in cluster management and has a neat C++ code base. It helps in efficient resource isolation and handles workloads in a distributed environment.

It relies on Marathon, which is a cluster management framework and is a customizable platform that can be used in applications of any scale, and also has a large community network. It is simple, easy to use, and also enables non-disruptive upgrades, is fault-tolerant, and also facilitates linear scalability.

Microsoft Azure -

It is an open-source docker CLI that runs on-premise or in the cloud, and enables hybrid platform support. It is a fully managed container platform that supports multiple programming languages and helps you with flexibility in the deployment of applications.

It is easy to set up, is highly scalable, has an interactive CLI, and also helps you manage the underlying infrastructure with your choice of tools. Additionally, it is compatible with numerous open-source client-side tools, and also helps you strengthen security for different environments.

Google Cloud Platform -

It is a suite of cloud computing offered by Google, that comes with a set of tools like Google Kubernetes Engine that is used for container cluster management, Google Compute Engine for Virtual Machines and CI/CD pipeline, and many more. It helps in load balancing, auto-scaling, rolling updates, and also helps in traffic splitting.

It has an easy learning curve and superfast VMs along with string identity and access control. Additionally, this platform also eliminates the need for manual server configuration and integrates well with other Google cloud services.

Summing Up

Containers have changed how apps are deployed and made the software launch and update process easier. There are numerous tools and software available in the market that will help you in the containerization of applications according to your requirements.

Docker and Kubernetes are widely used and preferred by software developers and engineers, and the Google cloud platform is the one-stop solution for all your cloud computing requirements.

All these tools help you efficiently manage the containers and if you are hunting for the one perfect container tool or software then you should surely check the above-listed tools which will surely cater to all your needs and help you develop excellent software for businesses.

Marketing Expert with Decipher Zone Softwares that is a Java development company. He always loves to write about technical insights, ranking algorithms, operational behaviour tools.