It simplifies the deployment and management of Kubernetes clusters while adding enterprise features, developer tools, and security enhancements. It was originally developed by Google in 2014 and later donated to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) for open-source development. While Kubernetes provides the core orchestration capabilities, OpenShift extends it with additional features like simplified networking, enhanced security policies, and built-in developer tools. OpenShift also comes with Red Hat support and a hardened Kubernetes distribution, making it a preferred choice for enterprises requiring robust governance and compliance. OpenShift builds on Docker’s capabilities, adding features such as management tools and abstracted cluster orchestration. These features make OpenShift an all-encompassing solution for developing and managing containerized applications.
- It also enforces security policies to restrict running container images that require root access, including official and unofficial images.
- Similarly, OKD-based features are open-source and deliver community support, while proprietary services have support plans.
- The community-driven approach provides valuable support to Kubernetes users, and many cloud providers offer managed Kubernetes services, simplifying operations and support.
- Initially developed by Google and released in 2015, Kubernetes has gained significant popularity due to its robust features and flexibility.
- There are several advantages of using Docker over more traditional options, such as VMs.
- Note that OpenShift Container Platform is Kubernetes-based, thus compatible with not only K8s but also most third-party tools that work with Kubernetes and other certified Kubernetes distributions.
However, container instances and underlying resources must still be monitored and managed by the operations team. Enterprise applications don’t do very well with Docker and can involve various microservices. Based on the selected data management pattern, the microservices communicate with each other.
First of all, definitions of Kubernetes and then the definition of docker can support this discussion on OpenShift vs Kubernetes vs docker. We have strategic partnerships and integrations with key application and data centric independent software vendors (ISVs), hardware OEMs, and system integrators. Organizations that use OpenShift on AWS or Microsoft Azure also have the opportunity to use their committed spend on Red Hat products and services. OpenShift follows the same pattern, packaging Kubernetes with bug fixes, security patches, CI/CD tools and other development tools. Commercial support is also offered for troubleshooting and resolving any issues that come up. But which type is suitable for your project from Kubernetes Vs. Docker Vs. OpenShift?
Docker and OpenShift offer features that simplify containerized application deployment and scaling. Docker is an implementation of containerization that provides ways to package applications and services in a way that separates them from the underlying infrastructure. Docker is open source based which makes it easy to build, move, and run the application in the container. In its simplest terms, Kubernetes means that you can supervise a group of containers, guaranteeing that everything will work correctly across a set of connected machines. In the evolving world of containerization and cloud-native applications, choosing the right platform is crucial.
Automation & CI/CD Integration
Alternately, OpenShift’s open-source version, also called OKD, is a community edition platform that is limited to only ‘self-support’. It has been in use since the 1970s when virtual machines (VM) replaced mainframe processing with advanced multi-system resource sharing on one machine (or “node”). Developers could install multiple virtual operating systems on one computer. Developers used virtual machine segmentation, which enabled multiple users to access and share resources. It also enabled developers to test and run applications in an isolated environment. Insulating applications from other processes permitted them to run concurrently with less interference or disruptions to services.
Embracing Container Orchestration
Docker containers may be clustered and scheduled using Swarm, a scheduling and clustering technology. The Docker API is used on the front end, allowing us to utilize various tools to manage it. On the contrary, with an in-built image registry, OpenShift pairs seamlessly with DockerHub or Red Hat. Developers can easily search for and manage container images docker vs kubernetes vs openshift using image streams. K8s is managed through an ongoing collaboration between users of the global developer’s community. Though this means that the support is do-it-yourself, you also benefit from peer knowledge and collaboration within the open-source community.
OpenShift: Enterprise-Grade Containerization
OpenShift’s deployment process is also user friendly, enabling organizations to establish a reliable and scalable container orchestration environment quickly. Additionally, OpenShift provides pre-configured templates and guided workflows, further easing the deployment process for new and experienced users. OpenShift and Kubernetes are both powerful tools for managing containerised applications, and they offer distinct approaches to CI/CD practices. Kubernetes, being an open-source platform, provides the flexibility to design your CI/CD pipeline according to your specific needs.
Resources
Kubernetes is an ecosystem of components meant for orchestration based on multiple technologies, all around containers. OpenShift is a Kubernetes certified distribution, with strong opinionated setup made by RedHat. Similar, there are Charms Kubernetes, MicroK8s, Rancher, K3S and a lot more Kubernetes distributions. Setting up yourself Kubernetes from source, is a huge project, and would end up in another distribution actually. It’s an application that facilitates and controls the components necessary to execute containers much as the latter. Container management relies heavily on these technologies which make it simpler to execute and effectively deploy containers safely.
- These features make OpenShift an all-encompassing solution for developing and managing containerized applications.
- Docker provides a simple and portable containerization platform that can run on any infrastructure, while OpenShift provides additional features and functionality built on top of Kubernetes.
- It offers a rules-based access control (RBAC) feature that lets you manage and determine access to certain aspects of processes.
Kubernetes then orchestrates and manages the containerized applications that run on top of that infrastructure. Users often rely on third-party tools and scripts to streamline the deployment process. While Kubernetes offers flexibility and customization, the initial setup is challenging, especially for organizations without experience in container orchestration. The manual nature of Kubernetes deployment also requires a deep understanding of its architecture and components, making it less accessible for beginners. Containerization has become a cornerstone of building and deploying modern applications. However, managing and orchestrating containerized deployments requires a robust platform.
In a similar way, you could provide default quotas or LimitRange objects and make your new projects pre-configured according to your organization rules. Migrating between Kubernetes and OpenShift is possible, but the complexity depends on how the workloads are configured. Since OpenShift is built on Kubernetes, most standard Kubernetes workloads can run on OpenShift with minimal adjustments. However, moving from OpenShift to Kubernetes can be more challenging due to OpenShift-specific features.
While might be great for some projects where there aren’t experienced Kubernetes experts, I tend to think that avoiding vendor locking is healthier for a project. A PaaS architecture built on top of Docker containers, OpenShift is known as a PaaS. Almost everyone in the world uses both of these Docker vs red hat OpenShift technologies. Between the Docker enterprise vs OpenShift, the OpenShift uses the notion of cartridges to represent functional units, which are essentially shell script hooks that are called when a system call is invoked. Docker, on either hand, uses Docker images to do the same thing, and behind the doors, a lot of manual work is required.
Choosing Between Kubernetes and OpenShift
Due to this, we can see a number of Kubernetes-as-a-service platforms offered by vendors of different scale. It relies on Kubernetes’ core concepts like pods, deployments, services, and namespaces to manage and run containerized applications. OKD supports a wide range of programming languages, including Go, Node.js, Ruby, Python, PHP, Perl, and Java, making it a versatile choice for developers. Kubernetes and OpenShift are most widely used container orchestration tool with there unique features and services. Kubernetes can helps in the deployment of the application by integrates with the CI/CD application and also can scale the application dynamically depending on the incoming traffic. On the other hand Openshift which is used for containerization of applications with the help of kubernets underneath which helps applications run more efficiently.
Windows and Linux servers support the build, test, and deploy phases for desktop environments. Support plans available for proprietary features and community support for open-source tools. Kubernetes’ inherent extensibility and horizontal scaling capabilities make it the most scalable compared to Docker.
