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Docker Machine vs Kubernetes vs Rancher: What are the differences?
Introduction
When it comes to containerization and orchestration, Docker Machine, Kubernetes, and Rancher are among the popular tools used in the industry. Each serves a unique purpose and offers its own set of features. Let's explore the key differences between Docker Machine, Kubernetes, and Rancher.
Deployment Management: Docker Machine is used for creating Docker hosts on local machines or cloud providers simplifying the process of deploying Docker containers. Kubernetes, on the other hand, is a container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Rancher is a complete container management platform that offers features for managing multiple Kubernetes clusters, Docker, and managing containerized applications.
Scalability: Docker Machine is more suitable for small-scale deployments where managing a few containers is sufficient. Kubernetes, however, is designed for large-scale deployments, allowing for automatic scaling of applications based on resource usage. Rancher provides scalability by allowing you to manage multiple clusters and nodes across your infrastructure seamlessly.
Networking and Service Discovery: Kubernetes has a robust networking model that includes DNS-based service discovery, load balancing, and network policies that provide secure communication between services. Rancher also offers networking features like DNS, service discovery, and load balancing. Docker Machine, while simpler in setup, relies more on manual configurations for networking and service discovery.
Monitoring and Logging: Kubernetes provides built-in monitoring and logging capabilities through integrations with monitoring tools like Prometheus and logging solutions like Elasticsearch. Rancher also offers monitoring and logging through built-in tools and integrations. Docker Machine, being more focused on deployment, lacks advanced monitoring and logging features compared to Kubernetes and Rancher.
Resource Management: Kubernetes excels in resource allocation and management by allowing users to define resource constraints, quotas, and priorities for their applications. Rancher provides similar resource management features with a user-friendly interface for monitoring resource usage across clusters. Docker Machine, while efficient for deploying containers, has limited capabilities for advanced resource management.
Community Support and Ecosystem: Kubernetes has a large and active community that continuously contributes to its development, resulting in a vast ecosystem of tools and plugins for extending its functionalities. Rancher also benefits from an engaged community and offers additional features through its marketplace. Docker Machine, while widely used, may have fewer community extensions and plugins compared to Kubernetes and Rancher.
In Summary, Docker Machine simplifies container deployment, Kubernetes excels in large-scale orchestration and management, while Rancher offers a comprehensive container management solution with networking, monitoring, and scalable features.
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?
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.
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%.
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.
Pros of Docker Machine
- Easy docker hosts management12
Pros of Kubernetes
- Leading docker container management solution164
- Simple and powerful128
- Open source106
- Backed by google76
- The right abstractions58
- Scale services25
- Replication controller20
- Permission managment11
- Supports autoscaling9
- Cheap8
- Simple8
- Self-healing6
- No cloud platform lock-in5
- Promotes modern/good infrascture practice5
- Open, powerful, stable5
- Reliable5
- Scalable4
- Quick cloud setup4
- Cloud Agnostic3
- Captain of Container Ship3
- A self healing environment with rich metadata3
- Runs on azure3
- Backed by Red Hat3
- Custom and extensibility3
- Sfg2
- Gke2
- Everything of CaaS2
- Golang2
- Easy setup2
- Expandable2
Pros of Rancher
- Easy to use103
- Open source and totally free79
- Multi-host docker-compose support63
- Load balancing and health check included58
- Simple58
- Rolling upgrades, green/blue upgrades feature44
- Dns and service discovery out-of-the-box42
- Only requires docker37
- Multitenant and permission management34
- Easy to use and feature rich29
- Cross cloud compatible11
- Does everything needed for a docker infrastructure11
- Simple and powerful8
- Next-gen platform8
- Very Docker-friendly7
- Support Kubernetes and Swarm6
- Application catalogs with stack templates (wizards)6
- Supports Apache Mesos, Docker Swarm, and Kubernetes6
- Rolling and blue/green upgrades deployments6
- High Availability service: keeps your app up 24/76
- Easy to use service catalog5
- Very intuitive UI4
- IaaS-vendor independent, supports hybrid/multi-cloud4
- Awesome support4
- Scalable3
- Requires less infrastructure requirements2
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Cons of Docker Machine
Cons of Kubernetes
- Steep learning curve16
- Poor workflow for development15
- Orchestrates only infrastructure8
- High resource requirements for on-prem clusters4
- Too heavy for simple systems2
- Additional vendor lock-in (Docker)1
- More moving parts to secure1
- Additional Technology Overhead1
Cons of Rancher
- Hosting Rancher can be complicated10
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What is Docker Machine?
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