Docker Compose vs Kubernetes vs Portainer

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Docker Compose

21.6K
16.3K
+ 1
501
Kubernetes

59.9K
51.8K
+ 1
681
Portainer

495
834
+ 1
146

Docker Compose vs Kubernetes vs Portainer: What are the differences?

Introduction

In today's technology landscape, containerization has gained significant popularity, revolutionizing application deployment and management. Docker Compose, Kubernetes, and Portainer are three key tools used in this space. This article aims to highlight the key differences between these three tools and their specific use cases.

  1. Docker Compose: Docker Compose is a tool that helps in defining and running multi-container Docker applications. It allows developers to describe all the services required for an application, their dependencies, and how they should interact in a single YAML file. Docker Compose simplifies the process of managing and orchestrating containers on a single host machine, making it ideal for development environments or small-scale deployments.

  2. Kubernetes: Kubernetes, often referred to as K8s, is a container orchestration platform that manages the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It automates various tasks such as scheduling, load balancing, and self-healing, making it suitable for large-scale production deployments. Kubernetes provides a highly scalable and resilient infrastructure for managing containers across multiple nodes or clusters.

  3. Portainer: Portainer is a lightweight management UI for Docker environments. It provides a web-based interface for managing Docker containers, images, networks, and volumes. Portainer simplifies the Docker management process by offering a graphical user interface, making it easy for users to monitor and control their Docker environment. It is particularly useful for users who prefer a visual interface over CLI-based tools.

  4. Difference 1: Scope and Complexity - Docker Compose focuses on managing containers on a single host machine and is relatively simpler to set up and configure compared to Kubernetes. Kubernetes, on the other hand, is designed for managing containers across multiple nodes or clusters, and its configuration and deployment require more expertise and effort.

  5. Difference 2: Scalability and High Availability - Docker Compose is not suitable for managing highly scalable and highly available applications as it operates on a single host machine. Kubernetes, with its advanced features like automatic scaling, load balancing, and fault tolerance, provides a more robust and scalable platform for managing containerized applications.

  6. Difference 3: Networking and Service Discovery - Docker Compose uses its own internal DNS service for service discovery and allows containers to communicate with each other inside a single host. Kubernetes, on the other hand, offers a more sophisticated networking model with a built-in service discovery mechanism and allows containers to communicate across multiple hosts or clusters.

  7. Difference 4: Monitoring and Logging - Docker Compose lacks built-in monitoring and logging capabilities, requiring users to rely on third-party tools for these functionalities. Kubernetes, on the other hand, provides extensive features for monitoring and logging, allowing users to easily collect and analyze container metrics and logs.

  8. Difference 5: Ecosystem and Community Support - Docker Compose has a large and active community that provides support and regularly updates the tool. However, Kubernetes has a much larger ecosystem and community support due to its widespread adoption by major cloud providers and organizations, making it easier to find documentation, tutorials, and community-driven solutions.

  9. Difference 6: Learning Curve and Skill Requirements - Docker Compose has a relatively lower learning curve compared to Kubernetes, making it easier for new users to get started. Kubernetes, with its complex concepts and extensive configuration options, requires a deeper understanding and expertise in container orchestration principles and practices.

In summary, Docker Compose is best suited for simple development environments and small-scale deployments on a single host, while Kubernetes provides a robust platform for managing highly scalable and resilient containerized applications across multiple nodes or clusters. Portainer, on the other hand, complements Docker by offering a user-friendly web-based interface for managing Docker environments.

Advice on Docker Compose, Kubernetes, and Portainer

Hello, we have a bunch of local hosts (Linux and Windows) where Docker containers are running with bamboo agents on them. Currently, each container is installed as a system service. Each host is set up manually. I want to improve the system by adding some sort of orchestration software that should install, update and check for consistency in my docker containers. I don't need any clouds, all hosts are local. I'd prefer simple solutions. What orchestration system should I choose?

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Replies (1)
Mortie Torabi
Recommends
on
Docker SwarmDocker Swarm

If you just want the basic orchestration between a set of defined hosts, go with Docker Swarm. If you want more advanced orchestration + flexibility in terms of resource management and load balancing go with Kubernetes. In both cases, you can make it even more complex while making the whole architecture more understandable and replicable by using Terraform.

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Decisions about Docker Compose, Kubernetes, and Portainer
Michael Roberts

We develop rapidly with docker-compose orchestrated services, however, for production - we utilise the very best ideas that Kubernetes has to offer: SCALE! We can scale when needed, setting a maximum and minimum level of nodes for each application layer - scaling only when the load balancer needs it. This allowed us to reduce our devops costs by 40% whilst also maintaining an SLA of 99.87%.

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Simon Reymann
Senior Fullstack Developer at QUANTUSflow Software GmbH · | 30 upvotes · 11.2M views

Our whole DevOps stack consists of the following tools:

  • GitHub (incl. GitHub Pages/Markdown for Documentation, GettingStarted and HowTo's) for collaborative review and code management tool
  • Respectively Git as revision control system
  • SourceTree as Git GUI
  • Visual Studio Code as IDE
  • CircleCI for continuous integration (automatize development process)
  • Prettier / TSLint / ESLint as code linter
  • SonarQube as quality gate
  • Docker as container management (incl. Docker Compose for multi-container application management)
  • VirtualBox for operating system simulation tests
  • Kubernetes as cluster management for docker containers
  • Heroku for deploying in test environments
  • nginx as web server (preferably used as facade server in production environment)
  • SSLMate (using OpenSSL) for certificate management
  • Amazon EC2 (incl. Amazon S3) for deploying in stage (production-like) and production environments
  • PostgreSQL as preferred database system
  • Redis as preferred in-memory database/store (great for caching)

The main reason we have chosen Kubernetes over Docker Swarm is related to the following artifacts:

  • Key features: Easy and flexible installation, Clear dashboard, Great scaling operations, Monitoring is an integral part, Great load balancing concepts, Monitors the condition and ensures compensation in the event of failure.
  • Applications: An application can be deployed using a combination of pods, deployments, and services (or micro-services).
  • Functionality: Kubernetes as a complex installation and setup process, but it not as limited as Docker Swarm.
  • Monitoring: It supports multiple versions of logging and monitoring when the services are deployed within the cluster (Elasticsearch/Kibana (ELK), Heapster/Grafana, Sysdig cloud integration).
  • Scalability: All-in-one framework for distributed systems.
  • Other Benefits: Kubernetes is backed by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), huge community among container orchestration tools, it is an open source and modular tool that works with any OS.
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Pros of Docker Compose
Pros of Kubernetes
Pros of Portainer
  • 123
    Multi-container descriptor
  • 110
    Fast development environment setup
  • 79
    Easy linking of containers
  • 68
    Simple yaml configuration
  • 60
    Easy setup
  • 16
    Yml or yaml format
  • 12
    Use Standard Docker API
  • 8
    Open source
  • 5
    Go from template to application in minutes
  • 5
    Can choose Discovery Backend
  • 4
    Scalable
  • 4
    Easy configuration
  • 4
    Kubernetes integration
  • 3
    Quick and easy
  • 166
    Leading docker container management solution
  • 129
    Simple and powerful
  • 107
    Open source
  • 76
    Backed by google
  • 58
    The right abstractions
  • 25
    Scale services
  • 20
    Replication controller
  • 11
    Permission managment
  • 9
    Supports autoscaling
  • 8
    Simple
  • 8
    Cheap
  • 6
    Self-healing
  • 5
    Open, powerful, stable
  • 5
    Reliable
  • 5
    No cloud platform lock-in
  • 5
    Promotes modern/good infrascture practice
  • 4
    Scalable
  • 4
    Quick cloud setup
  • 3
    Custom and extensibility
  • 3
    Captain of Container Ship
  • 3
    Cloud Agnostic
  • 3
    Backed by Red Hat
  • 3
    Runs on azure
  • 3
    A self healing environment with rich metadata
  • 2
    Everything of CaaS
  • 2
    Gke
  • 2
    Golang
  • 2
    Easy setup
  • 2
    Expandable
  • 2
    Sfg
  • 36
    Simple
  • 27
    Great UI
  • 19
    Friendly
  • 12
    Easy to setup, gives a practical interface for Docker
  • 11
    Fully featured
  • 11
    Because it just works, super simple yet powerful
  • 9
    A must for Docker DevOps
  • 7
    Free and opensource
  • 5
    It's simple, fast and the support is great
  • 5
    API
  • 4
    Template Support

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Cons of Docker Compose
Cons of Kubernetes
Cons of Portainer
  • 9
    Tied to single machine
  • 5
    Still very volatile, changing syntax often
  • 16
    Steep learning curve
  • 15
    Poor workflow for development
  • 8
    Orchestrates only infrastructure
  • 4
    High resource requirements for on-prem clusters
  • 2
    Too heavy for simple systems
  • 1
    Additional vendor lock-in (Docker)
  • 1
    More moving parts to secure
  • 1
    Additional Technology Overhead
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    - No public GitHub repository available -
    - No public GitHub repository available -

    What is Docker Compose?

    With Compose, you define a multi-container application in a single file, then spin your application up in a single command which does everything that needs to be done to get it running.

    What is Kubernetes?

    Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers. It handles scheduling onto nodes in a compute cluster and actively manages workloads to ensure that their state matches the users declared intentions.

    What is Portainer?

    It is a universal container management tool. It works with Kubernetes, Docker, Docker Swarm and Azure ACI. It allows you to manage containers without needing to know platform-specific code.

    Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

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    What tools integrate with Docker Compose?
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    What are some alternatives to Docker Compose, Kubernetes, and Portainer?
    Docker
    The Docker Platform is the industry-leading container platform for continuous, high-velocity innovation, enabling organizations to seamlessly build and share any application — from legacy to what comes next — and securely run them anywhere
    Docker Swarm
    Swarm serves the standard Docker API, so any tool which already communicates with a Docker daemon can use Swarm to transparently scale to multiple hosts: Dokku, Compose, Krane, Deis, DockerUI, Shipyard, Drone, Jenkins... and, of course, the Docker client itself.
    Helm
    Helm is the best way to find, share, and use software built for Kubernetes.
    Ansible
    Ansible is an IT automation tool. It can configure systems, deploy software, and orchestrate more advanced IT tasks such as continuous deployments or zero downtime rolling updates. Ansible’s goals are foremost those of simplicity and maximum ease of use.
    Terraform
    With Terraform, you describe your complete infrastructure as code, even as it spans multiple service providers. Your servers may come from AWS, your DNS may come from CloudFlare, and your database may come from Heroku. Terraform will build all these resources across all these providers in parallel.
    See all alternatives