Docker Swarm vs OpenStack

Overview

OpenStack

Stacks790

Followers1.2K

Votes138

Docker Swarm

Stacks779

Followers990

Votes282

Docker Swarm vs OpenStack: What are the differences?

Introduction

Docker Swarm and OpenStack are both popular tools used for managing and orchestrating containerized applications in a distributed environment. However, there are key differences between these two technologies that set them apart. In this article, we will explore and compare the differences between Docker Swarm and OpenStack.

Scalability and Size: Docker Swarm is designed for smaller scale deployments, typically consisting of a few hundred nodes. On the other hand, OpenStack is built to handle large-scale deployments, with the ability to manage thousands of nodes. OpenStack's architecture allows for greater scalability, making it well-suited for enterprise-level operations.
Containerization vs. Virtualization: Docker Swarm focuses on containerization, allowing multiple applications to run on a single host OS using container technology. OpenStack, on the other hand, uses virtualization technologies such as KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine), allowing for the creation and management of virtual machines (VMs). This difference in approach can impact resource utilization and management capabilities.
Ease of Use: Docker Swarm is often considered simpler to set up and use, with a more straightforward architecture and a smaller learning curve. OpenStack, on the other hand, can be more complex and challenging to deploy and manage, requiring more expertise and experience.
Application Portability: Docker Swarm provides a high level of application portability, enabling applications to run consistently across different environments. OpenStack, on the other hand, is primarily used for infrastructure deployment and management, focusing less on application portability. Docker Swarm's focus on containerization makes it more suitable for applications that require environment independence and faster deployment.
Community and Ecosystem: Docker Swarm benefits from being part of the broader Docker ecosystem, which includes a vast community of users, extensive documentation, and a rich selection of pre-built Docker images. OpenStack, on the other hand, has its own vibrant community and ecosystem, featuring a wide range of plugins, extensions, and integration options.
Maturity and Stability: Docker Swarm is relatively newer compared to OpenStack and is still evolving. OpenStack, on the other hand, has been in development for a longer period and has a more mature and stable codebase. This difference in maturity level can impact stability, reliability, and the availability of features and tooling.

In summary, Docker Swarm offers simplicity, application portability, and a strong community, making it suitable for smaller scale deployments. OpenStack, on the other hand, provides scalability, manageability, and extensive virtualization capabilities, making it better suited for larger scale and enterprise environments.

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Advice on OpenStack, Docker Swarm

Simon

Senior Fullstack Developer at QUANTUSflow Software GmbH

Apr 27, 2020

Decidedon

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Markdown

Our whole DevOps stack consists of the following tools:

@{GitHub}|tool:27| (incl. @{GitHub Pages}|tool:683|/@{Markdown}|tool:1147| for Documentation, GettingStarted and HowTo's) for collaborative review and code management tool
Respectively @{Git}|tool:1046| as revision control system
@{SourceTree}|tool:1599| as @{Git}|tool:1046| GUI
@{Visual Studio Code}|tool:4202| as IDE
@{CircleCI}|tool:190| for continuous integration (automatize development process)
@{Prettier}|tool:7035| / @{TSLint}|tool:5561| / @{ESLint}|tool:3337| as code linter
@{SonarQube}|tool:2638| as quality gate
@{Docker}|tool:586| as container management (incl. @{Docker Compose}|tool:3136| for multi-container application management)
@{VirtualBox}|tool:774| for operating system simulation tests
@{Kubernetes}|tool:1885| as cluster management for docker containers
@{Heroku}|tool:133| for deploying in test environments
@{nginx}|tool:1052| as web server (preferably used as facade server in production environment)
@{SSLMate}|tool:2752| (using @{OpenSSL}|tool:3091|) for certificate management
@{Amazon EC2}|tool:18| (incl. @{Amazon S3}|tool:25|) for deploying in stage (production-like) and production environments
@{PostgreSQL}|tool:1028| as preferred database system
@{Redis}|tool:1031| 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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Detailed Comparison

OpenStack	Docker Swarm
OpenStack is a cloud operating system that controls large pools of compute, storage, and networking resources throughout a datacenter, all managed through a dashboard that gives administrators control while empowering their users to provision resources through a web interface.	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.
Compute;Storage;Networking;Dashboard;Shared Services	-
Statistics
Stacks 790	Stacks 779
Followers 1.2K	Followers 990
Votes 138	Votes 282
Pros & Cons
Pros 60 Private cloud 39 Avoid vendor lock-in 23 Flexible in use 7 Industry leader 5 Robust architecture	Pros 55 Docker friendly 46 Easy to setup 40 Standard Docker API 38 Easy to use 23 Native Cons 9 Low adoption
Integrations
No integrations available	Docker

What are some alternatives to OpenStack, Docker Swarm?

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.

Rancher

Rancher is an open source container management platform that includes full distributions of Kubernetes, Apache Mesos and Docker Swarm, and makes it simple to operate container clusters on any cloud or infrastructure platform.

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.

Tutum

Tutum lets developers easily manage and run lightweight, portable, self-sufficient containers from any application. AWS-like control, Heroku-like ease. The same container that a developer builds and tests on a laptop can run at scale in Tutum.

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.

Apache CloudStack

CloudStack is open source software designed to deploy and manage large networks of virtual machines, as a highly available, highly scalable Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud computing platform.

Codefresh

Automate and parallelize testing. Codefresh allows teams to spin up on-demand compositions to run unit and integration tests as part of the continuous integration process. Jenkins integration allows more complex pipelines.

CAST.AI

It is an AI-driven cloud optimization platform for Kubernetes. Instantly cut your cloud bill, prevent downtime, and 10X the power of DevOps.

k3s

Certified Kubernetes distribution designed for production workloads in unattended, resource-constrained, remote locations or inside IoT appliances. Supports something as small as a Raspberry Pi or as large as an AWS a1.4xlarge 32GiB server.

Flocker

Flocker is a data volume manager and multi-host Docker cluster management tool. With it you can control your data using the same tools you use for your stateless applications. This means that you can run your databases, queues and key-value stores in Docker and move them around as easily as the rest of your app.

Related Comparisons

Docker Swarm vs OpenStack: What are the differences?

Introduction

Scalability and Size: Docker Swarm is designed for smaller scale deployments, typically consisting of a few hundred nodes. On the other hand, OpenStack is built to handle large-scale deployments, with the ability to manage thousands of nodes. OpenStack's architecture allows for greater scalability, making it well-suited for enterprise-level operations.
Containerization vs. Virtualization: Docker Swarm focuses on containerization, allowing multiple applications to run on a single host OS using container technology. OpenStack, on the other hand, uses virtualization technologies such as KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine), allowing for the creation and management of virtual machines (VMs). This difference in approach can impact resource utilization and management capabilities.
Ease of Use: Docker Swarm is often considered simpler to set up and use, with a more straightforward architecture and a smaller learning curve. OpenStack, on the other hand, can be more complex and challenging to deploy and manage, requiring more expertise and experience.
Application Portability: Docker Swarm provides a high level of application portability, enabling applications to run consistently across different environments. OpenStack, on the other hand, is primarily used for infrastructure deployment and management, focusing less on application portability. Docker Swarm's focus on containerization makes it more suitable for applications that require environment independence and faster deployment.
Community and Ecosystem: Docker Swarm benefits from being part of the broader Docker ecosystem, which includes a vast community of users, extensive documentation, and a rich selection of pre-built Docker images. OpenStack, on the other hand, has its own vibrant community and ecosystem, featuring a wide range of plugins, extensions, and integration options.
Maturity and Stability: Docker Swarm is relatively newer compared to OpenStack and is still evolving. OpenStack, on the other hand, has been in development for a longer period and has a more mature and stable codebase. This difference in maturity level can impact stability, reliability, and the availability of features and tooling.

Docker Swarm vs OpenStack

Overview

Docker Swarm vs OpenStack: What are the differences?