Think inside the box: Container use cases, examples and applications

Container administration has come a good distance. For many years, managing containerized environments was a comparatively easy affair. The trendy thought of a pc container initially appeared again within the Seventies, with the idea first getting used to assist outline utility code on Unix methods.

Trendy containerization technology has moved on steadily from these early beginnings, and when corporations run containers now, they’re getting much more utility for his or her funding. From small startups to giant, established companies, container frameworks have confirmed exceedingly able to producing steady workflows with optimized runtimes and steady supply.

What’s a container?

Containers are executable items of software program the place utility code is packaged with its libraries and dependencies. They’re packaged in standardized methods in order that the code may be run anyplace, together with desktop, conventional IT or the cloud.

That is performed via a type of working system (OS) virtualization by which options of the OS kernel (e.g., Linux namespaces and cgroups, Home windows silos and job objects) may be leveraged to isolate processes and management the quantity of CPU, reminiscence and disk that these processes can entry.

Containers and Docker

Container expertise basically modified in 2013 with Docker’s introduction and has continued unabated into this decade, steadily gaining in recognition and person acceptance. Clearly, there was a robust however unmet market demand for containerization software program of this sort, as evidenced by Docker’s fast success and now overwhelming market superiority.

One 2021 IBM survey revealed that 61% of respondents indicated that they had used containers in at the least 50% of the brand new functions that they had constructed over the past 2 years. An excellent bigger group of respondents (64%) reported anticipating to make use of containers for at the least 50% of the apps they’d construct over the subsequent 2 years.

Containers are all about distributing and defending information and operating apps. Subsequently, it makes good sense that IT industries are the first customers of containerization software program, with the following industries ranking as the top three beneficiaries (hyperlink resides exterior ibm.com):

1. Machine learning
2. Software development
3. Artificial intelligence (AI)

Docker and Kubernetes

The containerized functions market is presently dominated by two entities:

Docker

Essentially the most generally used containerization platform is Docker. Docker containers have been initially constructed across the Docker Engine in 2013 and run in line with an application programming interface (API). Docker is definitely a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and its most important profit is its flexibility. Docker can take any utility and its related dependencies and switch it right into a digital container, which might then be run on any Home windows, macOS or Linux-running pc. The system makes use of Docker photographs, that are read-only templates which might be used for constructing containers, and Dockerfiles, that are textual content recordsdata that accompany and clarify Docker photographs. Docker photographs and different container photographs require an area by which to run. That is managed by the container runtime—a software program resolution interacting with the OS to make the required room to run container photographs.

Kubernetes

The preferred container orchestration platform is Kubernetes, which was created by Google in 2014 and remains to be fashionable for the strong method it automates the deployment of software program, permits scalability and helps container administration. Additional, Kubernetes is an open-source system and encourages the avid participation of contributors (who oversee the challenge now), with every software program supplier placing its personal spin on Kubernetes. For instance, with some providers, customers can’t solely create Kubernetes clusters but additionally deploy scalable net apps and analyze logs.

At current, Docker and Kubernetes are by far probably the most popularly used instruments coping with pc containers. In accordance with current containerization projections for 2024 (hyperlink resides exterior ibm.com), Dockers now controls a large 82.8% of this market, whereas Kubernetes checks in with an 11.52% market share.

To study extra about how Kubernetes and Docker relate, try “Kubernetes vs. Docker: Why Not Both?”

Container use circumstances

There’s no scarcity of relatable use circumstances involving containers as a result of they’re changing into more and more outstanding, particularly in cloud computing environments or ecosystems. Many organizations are even contemplating containers as a alternative for virtual machines (VMs) as their alternative of a general-purpose, cloud computing platform for his or her functions and workloads. However inside that very broad scope, there are key use circumstances the place cloud-native containers are particularly related:

• Microservices: Containers are small, light-weight and transportable, which makes them the best alternative for microservices architectures, the place containerized functions are constructed of many, loosely coupled and independently deployable smaller providers. A hypervisor is used to supervise microservice operations when a couple of digital machine is getting used on a pc.
• DevOps: The mixture of microservices as an structure and containers as a platform is a robust pairing and a standard basis for a lot of groups that embrace DevOps and growth environments as the best way they select to deal with software program growth.
• Hybrid multicloud: As a result of you’ll be able to run containers constantly anyplace—throughout laptops, on-premises and in cloud environments—they’re a super underlying infrastructure and structure for cloud suppliers, in addition to any hybrid cloud and any hybrid cloud and multicloud eventualities by which organizations discover themselves working throughout a mixture of a number of public clouds and private clouds together with an on-premises data center.
• Serverless: Serverless frees up cloud-native builders who’re engaged on creating apps from having to consider server calls for and constraints, that are saved within the background. A significant benefit of the serverless technique is that it promotes the required psychological focus {that a} developer wants whereas constructing apps, with out overwhelming the developer with myriad particulars.

Associated use circumstances and options

Containers, containerization or container orchestration additionally issue into the next associated options:

• Software modernizing and migration: Probably the most frequent approaches to utility modernization is to first optimize and containerize functions in preparation for eventual migration to a cloud structure. This course of ought to happen earlier than the creation of the appliance code, which is the supply code that incorporates all directions for this utility.
• Separate containers: Separate containers have come into fashionable use as a result of they help customers of microservices so nicely. As their title signifies, separate containers are primarily used to assist hold microservices higher organized by permitting customers to maintain completely different facets of a “crowded” container inside a number of, partitioned containers. Separate containers are additionally seen as rising effectivity of operations by making crucial updates fast and straightforward.
• Multi-tenancy: Multi-tenancy is its personal structure system, structured round a system of customers (referred to as tenants) who’re all working a single utility inside a shared surroundings. Though some customization choices could also be accessible in a multi-tenancy system, these choices are purposefully restricted to maintain the system easy and straightforward to function. Containers work nicely in managing multi-tenancy deployments as a result of a number of apps may be run on a single host.

Container varieties

There are two primary varieties of containers, and every serves a distinct group of container applied sciences:

System containers

Often known as “working system containers,” system containers allow you to run many alternative processes concurrently. System containers are perfect for managing conventional apps and dealing with monolithic functions which might be designed to carry out a single perform, as expressed via one logical executable file. These containers are additionally outfitted for internet hosting the structure, configurations and instruments crucial for operating VMs. As a default measure, system containers prohibit layered filesystems.

Container applied sciences served: BSD Jails, Linux VServer, LXC, OpenVZ, Solaris Zones

Software containers

Software containers aren’t practically as multi-talented as system containers, which might execute a number of processes concurrently. Software containers even carry that title as a result of they’re meant to serve one utility by finishing up one and just one executable motion. Software containers exist to package deal and function a single service, and they don’t assist layered filesystems.

Container applied sciences served: Docker, Rocket

IBM and containers

Containerization requires some additional effort and equipping, however pays dividends. Container orchestration instruments can facilitate a better container expertise on your manufacturing environments—irrespective of the place your merchandise are of their respective lifecycles.

With container providers from IBM, constructed on open-source applied sciences like Kubernetes, you’ll be able to facilitate and speed up your journey to the cloud in a quick, protected and productive method.

Explore Containers on IBM Cloud

Learn more about Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud

Explore IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service