Cloud Foundry Foundation on Wednesday launched Cloud Foundry Container Runtime, or CFCR, as the default deployment and management platform for containers using Kubernetes and BOSH.
The Foundation announced Container Runtime, a project supported by The Linux Foundation, at its annual conference of European users.
Cloud Foundry is an open source platform as a service offering used to create and manage applications in the cloud or in data centers.
CFCR is an updated version of the Kubo project under a new name. The new default approach makes it easier to deploy and manage containers, according to Cloud Foundry.
Given to the foundation in June by Pivotal Software and Google, the project expands the options for the Cloud Foundry Enterprise User Base, according to Devin Davis, vice president of marketing at Cloud Foundry.
Cloud Foundry users can now use Container Runtime to deploy Kubernetes or Application Runtime (formerly Elastic Runtime) for a cloud application platform.
In either case, BOSH underlies the provisioning of infrastructure for both Cloud Foundry executions.
Container Runtime can also provide default support for
Istio, an open platform to connect, manage and secure microservices. CFCR now provides default support for the persistence of Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services and Vsphere.
"Application Runtime is the application-centric platform that focuses on simplifying the entire lifecycle of development," said Davis Davis of Cloud Foundry to LinuxInsider.
Platform Pillars
The new project allows Cloud Foundry to continue to expand the choices for users. For example, a Kubernetes user can deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters with BOSH. BOSH is Cloud Foundry's open source tool for distributed service deployment and management.
The Cloud Foundry cloud application platform – Application Runtime – remains an option.
Container Runtime simply enhances Cloud Foundry's capabilities, says Davis, using some of its best and most unique components – such as BOSH, which provides a uniform way to instantiate, deploy, and manage Kubernetes clusters. highly available on any cloud.
Cloud Runry Application Runtime and Container Runtime are designed for the developer, he added. They provide the flexibility to run applications in any language or structure on any cloud.
This flexibility also extends to services, Davis said.
Many options
The Cloud Foundry project reinforces the suitability of the container and Kubernetes as a whole, suggested Chris Ciborowski, CEO of
Nebulaworks. Some organizations would like to deploy a container platform like Kubernetes, but are looking for best practices to do so.
"To this end, the CFCR (Kubo) is an option for organizations looking for this feature," Ciborowski told LinuxInsider. "For existing users of container platforms – like Google Container Engine, Amazon Elastic Container Service or Mesosphere DC / OS – the announcement is likely of little interest."
Other options exist, he said. There are a number of ways to achieve a production-ready Kubernetes environment that can be deployed on any infrastructure idempotently.
For example, to help this agnostic approach, Nebulaworks exploits a set of tools: Terraform and Packer, with Kubeadm, which is a tool that is part of the Kubernetes project.
"This approach reaches the same level of automated and agnostic deployments while allowing the use of a common set of tools that can do much more than just deploy Kubernetes," Ciborowski said.
Slow adoption rate
Despite the continued interest in containers, only 25 percent of companies actually use them in production, according to a recent study by Cloud Foundry Foundation. This represents a negligible increase of only 3% over 2016.
"Companies are the colossal cargo ships of the industry, they move slowly, regularly and with a rigorous navigation system," said Founder Devin
.
Companies can not always afford to be as agile and agile as a small business – it takes time to evaluate new technologies before they are implemented.
"Until now, there was no solution on the market that could evolve within the company," Devin said. "Kubernetes is the first container option with scale and enterprise functionality, and Cloud Foundry Container Runtime makes this technology ready for the business easier, thanks to the power of BOSH.
Key development
As customers move more of their workload to container-based systems, the management and orchestration of these containers becomes more and more important, "said Lee Atchison, Senior Manager of the Container Systems. 39, strategic architecture at
New Relic.
"The industry as a whole has recognized the need for better container management and container orchestration tools, and Kubernetes is playing an increasingly important role in this area," he said. he told LinuxInsider.
The Cloud Foundry Announcement shows Pivotal's leadership in adopting and standardizing Kubernetes and related technologies. This helped to solve the important container management issues that customers faced, Atchison said.
Integrated solution
Container operation is not a mandatory upgrade or an ideal replacement tool for all users, but it is important for companies using containers now, and for those who plan to use them at the future, noted Davis.
Many companies are reluctant to invest and adopt advanced technologies, including containers. Container Runtime gives large companies the opportunity to run large scale containers and in production. Cloud Foundry's enterprise user base relies on BOSH to run large-scale applications – and CFCR allows Kubernetes to take advantage of BOSH, Davis explained.
However, alternatives exist. Cloud Foundry users can continue to use Cloud Foundry Application Runtime exactly as they have been without switching to CFCR.
"Think of Container Runtime as a Lego piece that you can incorporate into Application Runtime when you need it," Davis said. "Our end users wanted to use containers to improve the efficiency of their business processes, but up to the execution of Container Runtime, there was no ready solution to it. job on the market that can meet their needs. "
For 12-factor cloud-based applications, a cloud-based application platform is likely to be the best deployment method, he said. If users need more flexibility and containers built by developers for apps, or if they use pre-packaged apps delivered in a container, Container Runtime adds control over the delivery of apps.
Jack M. Germain has been a journalist at the ECT News Network since 2003. His main areas of interest are computer science, technology Linux and open source. He wrote many reviews of Linux distributions and other open source software.
Email Jack.