Given the speed at which technology is running, you must be able to release your applications quickly to attract and keep business. This forces software development and support teams to search at time-saving and cost-cutting solutions at all times. An optimal solution would shorten the time it takes to create and configure deployment environments while still simplifying the software deployment process
This is where Containers come into the picture. The concept of using cloud containerization technologies to save time and money is gaining worldwide popularity. With containerization you don’t have to waste time installing operating systems and software to host a deployment. Lets take a closer look at Containers and how to use them in Microsoft Azure.
What are Containers?
A container is a typical software package that contains an application’s code, as well as the related configuration files and libraries, and also the dependencies needed for the app to run. This enables developers and IT professionals to distribute apps across many environments with ease. Containers, share the host operating system and execute using isolated operations, while machine virtualisation occurs at the hardware level and allows a means to run several instances of an operating system. Similarly to how the shipping industry uses actual containers to separate various cargos for shipment, software development technologies use an approach called containerisation.
What is the Use of Containers?
The problem of an application not running properly when moved from one environment to another is as old as software development itself. Differences in configuration, underlying library requirements, and other dependencies are common causes of such problems. However, Containers in Microsoft Azure solve this issue by offering a lightweight, immutable infrastructure for packaging and deploying applications. An application or service, its dependencies and its configuration are packaged together as a container image. The containerized application can be tested as a unit and deployed to the host operating system as a container image instance. Containers make it possible for developers and IT experts to deploy applications through environments with little or no modification.
Now that we understand the importance, let’s have a closer look at its benefits.
Are Containers same as Virtual Machines?
A container is a readymade software environment that includes the application code and its dependency’s preloaded within an image. Virtualization can take several forms, and one of them is containers. But you might be wondering are ‘Virtual machines and Containers the same’?
Well, that is not the case There are some fundamental differences between these two technologies.
At a high level, virtual machines (VMs) virtualize the underlying hardware so that many operating system (OS) instances will can run on it. Each virtual machine runs an operating system and has access to virtualized resources that representing the underlying hardware. Moreover, Virtual Machines come with a lot of advantages. These benefits include the ability to run multiple operating systems on the same server, more reliable and cost-effective utilisation of physical resource, and faster server provisioning. Each VM includes an OS image, libraries, applications, and other components, and thus can grow very large.
A Container, on the other hand, virtualizes the underlying OS, giving the containerised app the impression that it has the whole OS to itself, including CPU, memory, file storage, and network connections. Since the differences in the underlying OS and infrastructure are abstracted, the container can be deployed and run anywhere as long as the base picture is consistent. This makes it extremely appealing to developers.
Containers do not need to boot an OS or load libraries because they share the host OS. Containers become much more powerful and lightweight as a result of this. In comparison to a VM scenario, containerised applications can start in seconds and many more instances of the application can fit on the machine. The use of a shared operating approach also has the advantage of lowering overhead costs, such as patching and upgrades.
Why use Containers in Microsoft Azure?
Containers are becoming the preferred way to package, deploy, and manage cloud applications. They offer a plethora of advantages:
Agility
Developers build and package their applications into containers and give them to IT to run on a standardised platform. Thus, the total effort to deploy applications reduces, and the entire dev and test cycle streamlines. This also improves collaboration and efficiency between dev and operations teams, allowing apps to release quickly.
Portability
Containers offer a uniform format for packing and holding all of the components used to operate the desired application. This eliminates the issue of “it runs only on my machine ” and allows for portability across OS systems and cloud environments. When a container is deployed anywhere, it runs in the consistent environment that remains unchanged from one deployment to another. From the dev box to production, you now have a consistent format
Rapid scalability
Since containers don’t have the overhead like Virtual Machines, such as different OS instances, they can support a lot more containers on the same infrastructure. Containers’ light weight nature allows them to start and stop quickly, unlocking rapid scale-up and scale-down scenarios
Less resource intensive
Reduced overhead translates to better utilisation of computing power. Applications that formerly ran on their own virtual machines can now be clustered together, saving time and money.
Isolation
With containers, running multiple applications on the same server is no longer an issue. Any application crashes are contained and have no effect on other services thanks to isolation. When it comes to access boundaries, containers are also generally considered secure by.
Use Cases of Containers
Containers are widely popular in organisations around the world in following ways:
Cloud-native applications
Containers are used for cloud-native applications to have a common operational model across environments, including public, private, and hybrid. Containers are suitable for delivering cloud-native applications because of their low overhead and high density. This allows many of them to be hosted inside the same virtual machine.
Batch
Batch processing refers to tasks that can be completed without the need for human intervention or on a resource-available basis. Generating reports, resizing images, and transferring files from one format to another are a few examples. Containers make it easy to execute batch jobs without having to manage an environment and dependencies. To effectively ingest source data, process it, and place it in a durable store like Azure Blob storage, dynamic computing options like Azure Container Instances (ACI) can be used. Using this approach instead of statically provisioned virtual machines will save a lot of money thanks to per-second billing.
Lift and shift
Migrating to the cloud can provide substantial advantages to a company, but it might not be feasible to rewrite an entire application. You can potentially migrate your applications to the cloud using containers without modifying the coding.
Machine learning
Machine learning uses algorithms to analyse data and make predictions based on the based on patterns found in the data. Also, Containers can make machine learning applications self-contained and easily scalable in any environment.
Running a Container
Docker is a containerization platform used to develop, ship, and run containers. The Docker platform consists of several components that help you uild, run, and manage containerized applications. Lets have a overview of running containers in Azure:
Run a container
To start a container, run the docker run command. You only need to specify the image to run with its name or ID to launch the container from the image. The command, in this case, only returns the ID of the new container. Also, Docker locates the file, loads the container from the image, and executes the command as the entry point after an image is specified to run
Example: docker run -d tmp-ubuntu
Pause a container
To pause a container, run the docker pause command. Pausing a container will suspend all processes. This command enables the container to continue processes at a later stage. The docker unpause command un-suspends all processes in the specified containers.
Example: docker pause happy_wilbur
Restart a container
To restart containers, run the Docker Restart command. The container receives a stop command, followed by a start command. If the container doesn’t respond to the stop command, then a kill signal is sent.
Example: docker restart happy_wilbur
Stop a container
To stop a running container, run the docker stop command. The stop command sends a termination signal to the container and the process running in the container.
Example: docker stop happy_wilbur
Remove a container
To remove a container, run the Docker rm command. After you remove the container, all data in the container is destroyed. It’s essential to always consider containers as temporary when thinking about storing data.
Example: docker rm happy_wilbur
Container Orchestration
The use of container orchestration is the next big thing for learners when it comes to using containers. It’s important to remember that an enterprise’s cloud infrastructure would require several containers for each application. As a result, container orchestration is critical for handling and organising the functions of various containers in an organisation’s cloud environment. Here are the main options available for deploying containers on the Azure cloud.
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Kubernetes, also known as an orchestration framework, is an open source container and cluster management tool. AKS is a Microsoft-managed Kubernetes service that eliminates configuration overhead. Moreover, Kubernetes has become the industry standard for container orchestration. If you’re looking to run containers at scale with flexible networking and customisation options you should use Kubernetes.
Azure Container instances (ACI)
Azure Container Instances ACI is a serverless offering, meaning it is billed on consumption rather than pre-provisioned resources (virtual machines). It’s intended to be an easy and quick way to start with containers, with no underlying virtual machines to manage. Within AKS, ACI can also include ‘virtual nodes’ to form the backbone of a serverless cluster. You should use ACI if you’re only getting started with containers or have simple needs (Dev/Test, Small web app etc.) and want to pay based on consumption
Azure Service fabric
As a platform service, Azure Service Fabric is a proprietary Microsoft stack that includes its own development framework, tooling, scaling, and cluster management. It provides a forum for modernising Windows.NET applications in Azure. Moreover, it can run both guest executables and containers. Azure Service Fabric’s importance has waned as other services have begun to support Windows containers. You can use Service Fabrics in deployments that are complex and large-scale, with a strong demand for native functionality.
Summing Up
Wrapping it up, containers are a relatively new technology that can assist you in developing, deploying, moving, managing, and scaling your applications. There are several advantages of working with containers. They’re a lot easier than virtual machines. Moreover, Containers have revolutionised the way we ship software. Also, thanks to the buzz surrounding Kubernetes, nearly every technology company is eager to begin their modernization journey with containers. Knowing how to use Azure’s containers will not only improve your skills as a developer, but will also make you a valuable asset to your organisation.
