We see Containerization as the next leap forward to help minimize IT overhead costs and provide a more dynamic infrastructure system. Very similar to the way Virtual Machine (VM) technology allowed us to run multiple servers on a single physical server. VMs provide a way for companies to reduce the data center footprint, providing cost savings around things like hardware and power. No longer requiring a single physical server for each application.
Although, with VM technology you are still running multiple Operating Systems which take up resources and require maintenance. Now with Containerization you package the applications without having its own Operating System. As you can see in the following image, Container technology allows for lower system requirements and a reduction in Operating System maintenance.
Containers are very lightweight in nature compared to a Virtual Machine. The CPU, RAM and hard drive space required is greatly reduced, allowing for a more efficient use of resources. This means they can be spun up much faster, provide quicker backups and greater mobility. Although, this technology is not a direct replacement for all VMs currently. Some applications will have requirements that Containerization is not suited for at this time. Web servers and back-end applications which communicate through network ports are ideally suited for this technology.
There are other orchestration benefits around container technology which will provide additional benefits over the VM technology in use today.Such as dynamic scaling features which allow the system to spin up an additional web server container when the user load requires it.We will delve deeper into some of these features in the next posting.
- Todd Burton is a Senior JD Edwards Technical Architect with Main Street APPs.