INDUSTRY WATCH
“USING CONTAINER NATIVE
STORAGE, IT DEPARTMENTS
BENEFIT FROM A SOFTWARE-
DEFINED, HIGHLY SCALABLE
ARCHITECTURE, WHICH CAN
BE DEPLOYED IN AN ON-
PREMISE DATA CENTRE AND
IN PUBLIC CLOUDS.”
T
he key features of Linux
containers can be summed
up in a few sentences: They
pack program code and necessary
dependencies into an isolated
package, running on a single instance
of the host operating system. This
is done either directly on physical
hardware or in a virtual machine, and
this can be in an on-premise data
centre or in a public cloud.
Containers clearly differ from
hypervisor virtualisation:
Virtualisation involves linking
virtual machines to a full operating
system which generates significant
overheads. To address this
issue, an application container
already contains all the required
dependencies, like middleware
and the runtime environment. As a
result, multiple containers on one
server can share the kernel of the
operating system.
Containers promise quick and cost-
effective development, as they can
be quickly and easily ported between
and within development, testing,
and operating environments. This
enables enterprises to solve many
organisational problems encountered
in large-scale, conventional software
development projects. Dozens of
programmers are no longer needed
to work on a single application.
Instead, there are small teams, who
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focus on particular sub-tasks and
processes, and are therefore able to
work in a much more agile manner.
When containers are transferred
into productive operation, it is
possible in the simplest case to
initiate the procedure using the
systemd server process. In current
Linux distributions, the systemd
server process acts as an init
system to start, monitor, and end
other processes, and it can also
be used for basic management
of container images. For small,
simple applications, systemd
may be sufficient. Conversely,
large-scale business applications
place high demands on container
management, which can be summed
up in seven points.
1. Optimised alignment of
resources and workloads
In contrast to standard monolithic
software or a customised solution,
a container-based application
consists of a number of mutually
independent components that are
largely capable of operating as
standalone components. Each of
these individual components and
their relationships with one another
must be taken into account in a
container management solution.
Complexity increases further if
the IT team follows the DevOps
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