We provide Docker containers to help run your apps cost-efficiently!
Docker has truly revolutionized the software delivery process, as Docker containers hold the app and all the runtime needed to run it, and the same containers can reliably run anywhere where the Docker engine is installed. This way you can ensure the continuity of the software delivery process, as the app always runs in the same environment, from the developer’s IDE all the way through the build, testing, staging and production environments.
While the idea behind Docker images is quite simple, to leverage its full potential one has to get an in-depth understanding of how the Docker registry works, how to compose Docker containers right and how to operate them in production atop Terraform infrastructure and Kubernetes clusters.
This knowledge is not readily available in the form of FAQs, despite the fact that Terraform, Kubernetes and Docker all have an extensive knowledgebase. First of all, just reading and comprehending everything there would take quite some time. Secondly, a lot depends on the peculiarities of the cloud service provider management routines, as there are distinct differences between the ways Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform operate, for example.
This is why the best way to tap into this expertise is to hire a third-party team that already has ample first-hand experience with configuring the right environment variables and operating in Docker Swarm mode.
Docker container benefits
Using Docker containers provides numerous benefits, from ensuring software delivery continuity and improved operational efficiency to increased system security and monitoring transparency. Each of these aspects is essential for smooth and cost-effective IT infrastructure operations, and Docker container service is vital for making it work.
- Ensuring software delivery continuity. Every Docker container created from the same Docker image is the same. This means that once all the app source code and required runtime are packed into a Docker image, they can be created by different people, run on different machines and still be exactly similar.
This ensures the continuity of software delivery operations, as all the way from development to production the code will work in the exact same conditions.
Such an approach removes the classical “works well on my machine” nightmare of borderline conditions that cause major bugs and crashes in production that could never have been identified during the testing, as the testing and staging servers differ from the production environment conditions. - Improved operational efficiency. According to statistics from reliable sources, Docker containers are 300% more cost-efficient, as compared to standard virtual machines. This is due to the fact that the containers running on some hardware server share the same OS kernel and RAM resources, instead of splitting these resources into multiple minor virtual packages. In addition, the containers take mere seconds to spin up, even in swarm mode, as Kubernetes allows launching clusters with thousands of Docker containers and manages them with ease.
- Increased system security. Docker containers are secure by design and their architecture. The processes that go in different containers are separated and do not influence each other to a degree of a crash, effectively reducing the potential breach exposure area. Thus said, even if one of the containers (or all the containers running the same microservice) is breached, all it takes to rectify the situation is rebooting them, which is done in mere seconds. The system becomes much more secure and stable, as compared to running the whole app as a monolith.
- Monitoring transparency. Kubernetes is built specifically to run Docker containers and has all the API connectors and webhooks to enable integration with various cloud monitoring solutions like ELK stack, FluentD, Prometheus+Grafana, Sumologic, Splunk, etc. Due to such an approach, building transparent monitoring, logging and alerting process is quite easy, if you have the necessary technical background.
Thus said, Docker containers provide multiple benefits for any company that decides to apply them in software delivery workflows and cloud infrastructure management.
Using Docker containers for microservices management
Using Docker engine to maintain the registry of images and compose containers as the need arises enables the software developers and DevOps engineers to work much more efficiently. In addition, this allows splitting the monolithic applications into separate modules, so-called microservices. While this increases the infrastructure management complexity, this greatly decreases system vulnerability and shortens the software development time.
Different modules can be developed by different teams who can write the code, test it and deploy it to staging and production environments independently of each other. In production, these modules can interact via API while being run in separate Docker containers. This way, even if one of the modules is compromised or suffers a failure, it will not deteriorate the system performance as a whole and the faulty component can be rebooted quickly.
IT Svit uses the combination of Terraform + Kubernetes + Docker to enable swift provisioning and configuration of environments of any complexity. Leveraging the features of Jenkins and Ansible ensures automating the cloud infrastructure management to remove the room for human error. Thus said, IT Svit can implement the Docker infrastructure and workflows for your IT operations to help any kind of software development project succeed.
Why opt for IT Svit Docker container services?
It is undoubted that leveraging the Docker containers if hugely beneficial for business. However, in order to utilize these benefits to the fullest of your extent the company must follow one of three paths:
- hiring them in-house
- renting their services from a cloud service provider
- hiring an MSP that employs them
We ensure you that obtaining access to an experienced team of DevOps engineers is best done through a Managed Services Provider for a variety of reasons.
First of all, hiring DevOps engineers with profound knowledge of Docker Engine nooks and crannies is just the same as hiring any other type of IT specialists. The perfect ones are non-existent; the good ones are happily employed and are tired of offers; the ones available on the market are usually meager and need to be additionally trained until they are any good. Thus said, a company can build its own DevOps team, of course — but it will most definitely require an inordinate amount of time and money spent on recruiting process.
The second approach means employing the skillset and mindset of the cloud platform you go for. While every cloud vendor has services and tools that can be used to build cost-effective, secure and performant infrastructures and processes, using platform-specific features for this results in vendor lock-in — and this is a situation every business would like to avoid at all costs.
This is why working with a DevOps team from a Managed Services Provider like IT Svit is actually the best variant. This is exactly the team you’d like to hire in-house, but won’t be able to, as they are quite content with their current mode of employment. Why so?
Because instead of dealing with the same product for years using outdated technology (as is usual in many companies), DevOps engineers at MSPs have a capability to engage with a wide variety of projects and use any tools to get the job done. This allows them to learn and use the latest versions of popular DevOps tools and quickly improve their skills while accomplishing the job before they are bored with it.
Thus said, IT Svit DevOps team has rich hands-on experience with design, implementation, optimization, and management of cloud-based infrastructures for running Docker containers. Contact us and we will help your next project come true!
