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Need of Dockers and Kubernetes in Modern Software Development

According to Statista, In 2022, more than 60% of companies have already implemented Kubernetes. Docker declared on March 2024 that for the past four years, the developer community at Stack Overflow has ranked them as the #1 “most-wanted” tool/platform.

In today’s digital landscape, businesses rely on Docker and Kubernetes for effective resource use, scalability, and consistent deployment environments. Kubernetes and Docker enable enterprises to remain competitive in the modern digital era by fostering innovation that includes Microservices Architecture, Cloud Services, Edge Computing, and Web Applications. 

Many domains have been largely benefited through Dockers and Kubernetes. Explore more about their functioning along with real-time application scenarios.

What are Dockers and Kubernetes?

Docker is a platform that lets programmers create, launch, and operate apps inside containers. Regardless of the underlying infrastructure, Docker offers a standardized method for packaging, distributing, and managing programs, streamlining the software development process.

Kubernetes is an open-source platform for container orchestration. It automates the deployment, scaling, and administration of applications. 

With Kubernetes, enterprises can effectively manage containerized applications, scalability, and dependability in the real world.

In today’s IT landscape, Docker and Kubernetes work together to build, deploy, and manage applications more effectively.

Usage of Docker and Kubernetes in various Implementations

Docker and Kubernetes help form an extensive containerized development, deployment, and management ecosystem. Kubernetes and Docker facilitate innovation in the following areas allowing businesses to stay competitive in the current digital era. 

  • Microservices Architecture
  • Cloud Services
  • Edge Computing
  • Web Applications

Real-time use of Dockers and Kubernetes

  • Microservices Architecture

Docker and Kubernetes enable enterprises to deploy microservices in varied settings, such as public clouds, hybrid cloud environments and on-premises data centers. While Kubernetes offers an integrated platform for managing microservices across heterogeneous infrastructures, Docker containers can operate reliably across multiple platforms.

By offering resources and techniques for containerization, orchestration, scaling, and automation, Docker and Kubernetes are essential to effectively use a microservices architecture. They enable businesses to create, implement, and oversee microservices-based apps more effectively, providing value to clients.

Use Case:

After nearly Eight years, Pinterest (1) claimed 1,000 microservices, several infrastructure tiers, and a wide range of configuration tools and platforms. They looked for a new computing platform, giving developers the quickest route to production irrespective of the underlying infrastructure.

Transferring services to Docker containers was the first stage. Once they were in production, the team started investigating orchestration to boost their productivity. Following a review of several options, Pinterest decided to use Kubernetes.

The company regained over 80% of its capacity outside peak hours. Compared to the used static cluster, the Jenkins Kubernetes cluster utilizes less than 30% of hours per day compared to the previously used cluster.

  • Cloud services 

Cloud services may improve scalability, dependability, and efficiency while optimizing resource utilization and speeding up cloud innovation by utilizing containerization, orchestration, scaling, and automation through Docker and Kubernetes. 

Containerization and orchestration are two tools that cloud services can use to design, deploy, and manage applications more effectively. It will lead firms to foster innovation and experimentation for new services and products.

Use Case:

Ancestry is a renowned consumer genomics DNA (2) network serving over 2.6 million subscribers and holding 20 billion historical records and over four million people within its network.

The organization decided to start transitioning its infrastructure to cloud-native technologies. 

Using Kubernetes orchestration, Prometheus for cluster monitoring, and Docker containerization, the organization switched to a cloud-native architecture.

Since they switched to Dockerization, the company now deploys most of their work in less than a minute, compared to the 20 to 50 minutes it took to deploy a new piece of code. It also saved a great deal of time.

  • Edge Computing

Enclosing edge computing programs and their dependencies into lightweight, portable containers is made simpler by Docker’s containerization technology. 

Meanwhile, orchestration tools for handling containerized workloads by Kubernetes enhance this capability. Kubernetes enables enterprises to automate edge application deployment, scaling, and management, guaranteeing effective resource use and high availability even in dispersed edge environments. 

By improving scalability and enabling effective management, the tools Docker and Kubernetes work together to edge-computing projects for real-time processing.

Use Case:

Around 2017, eBay (3) used “re-platforming, using Kubernetes and Docker and moving away from OpenStack” to entirely restructure its data center architecture. At the time, eBay’s OpenStack cloud hosted 167,000 virtual machines (VMs) and 4,000 apps, accounting for 95% of all traffic.

In addition, eBay decentralized its US data center cluster as part of a comprehensive infrastructure makeover. “Through this edge computing approach, we can create a faster, more consistent user experience, saving 600-800 milliseconds of load time,” stated their CTO.

  • Web Applications

Docker simplifies the development process by facilitating testing and deployment of web applications. Kubernetes automates load balancing, scalability, and self-healing features for containerized web applications to guarantee high availability and dependability.

In today’s digital landscape, Docker and Kubernetes work together to enable enterprises to efficiently build and scale web applications, fostering innovation and improving user experience.

Use Case:

Buffer (4)provides social media management services through a team of eighty people operating in over a dozen different time zones. They were facing a classic monolithic code base problem. They wanted to have the kind of liquid infrastructure where a developer could create an app, deploy it, and scale it horizontally as necessary.

Buffer adopted containerization, switching its Elastic Beanstalk infrastructure on Amazon Web Services to Docker on AWS, managed by Kubernetes.

According to Farrelly, architect at Buffer, the new technology “leveled up our ability with deployment and rolling out new changes.” “Building something on a computer and knowing it will function has greatly accelerated the process. Our feedback processes have also accelerated significantly.”

Conclusion

Docker and Kubernetes have revolutionized through areas of application development and deployment for enterprises. These tools will be essential for fostering innovation and enhancing productivity in a rapidly developing digital environment. Technology will continue to be significantly shaped by Docker and Kubernetes.

 

Author: GeakMinds

GeakMinds, a trusted IT and Analytics consulting firm and a classical partner of Microsoft brings over ten years of experience in delivering Data & AI, Digital Transformation, Testing, and Staffing solutions.