Finding the Right Fit in the Crowded Container Platform Market

Featured article by Miska Kaipiainen, CEO, Kontena

In “Game of Thrones,” the various factions are locked in a seemingly perpetual struggle to gain control of Westeros. Thankfully, leaders of container platform providers don’t have to duke it out with medieval weaponry – or the occasional dragon.

In other words, there doesn’t have to be one supreme ruler of this landscape. And that’s fine. Think about any other technology sector out there – there are always multiple solutions in every space. The same goes for container technology. When you create something that is super scalable, the drawback is that it’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all approach. However, one person’s drawback is another person’s advantage.

Decisions, Decisions…

When you’re trying to get the kids to school in the morning, you are not likely to fire up a farming combine to take them there. Likewise, you probably won’t see a compact sedan being used to haul cargo long distances. In each of these scenarios, someone has chosen a vehicle that best fits their precise needs. The same logic applies to container platforms.

So then, when making your choice, determine whether you want to build something from scratch, to make it as truly customizable as possible, or whether you’d prefer to use an existing solution and custom-fit it to your needs. Neither is the better choice – it’s a matter of which choice is best for you at the time.

Sometimes, though, choice can be as much a curse as it is a blessing. The sheer number of choices can become overwhelming if you don’t know the right criteria to drill down into. Fortunately, there are a few basic questions that will help you make the best choice for your needs.

DIY or Ready-Made?

The first question is whether you want to create a customized solution on your own or buy an off-the-shelf solution to tweak. Neither is the best choice for everyone – it varies greatly. For instance, if your stack consists of several web services and common databases, you don’t necessarily want a system that will require lots of integration and tuning work. In this case, an easy-to-use solution might be the best option, as opposed to something that requires more hands-on management.

It can be time-consuming and very difficult to create any kind of container platform. At first, it might seem you’ll find all the bits and pieces from various open source projects, but making this complex stack of technologies work nicely together while making it maintainable as a platform is very hard and takes a lot of time.

Define Your Goal

“What do I want to do with this platform?” This may seem like a no-brainer question, but as the developer, you must ask it. Many people find themselves unsure about what can actually be achieved with a container platform, which makes this an integral criterion to consider.

What is the scale you need today? Will the platform be used to run your web services? Is it primarily for running your Big Data databases? It’s important to understand that there are platforms for different needs; the platform geared toward Big Data is not necessarily a good choice to run your web services. The platform designed to serve Google-scale deployment might add unnecessary complexity and difficulty if your scale is not at Google scale.

Container platforms tend to operate in the same vein, but they offer different features and functionality addressing different kinds of developer needs. Pinpointing the use case for which you need a container platform makes navigating the options much simpler.

The container needs of a small company will vary greatly from those of a company running some of the biggest workloads in the world. According to a recent study, 66 percent of setups require less than 50 nodes. At the same time, many of the most popular container platforms out there are designed for setups with hundreds, even thousands, of nodes. Using one of these for a smaller scale can be overkill; choosing to scale will ultimately make your life much easier in the long run. A mismatch between size and business needs makes training and installation far more time-consuming. Likewise, spending less time on needlessly consuming training and installation gives developers more energy and time to actually build on their existing skills without getting bogged down in the muck.

Further Considerations

The platform you choose won’t be placed in a corner by itself. You need to consider what operating system you’re using, what type of cloud infrastructure you are using and what tools you will need to be able to integrate with. From there, you can do your research and determine the best fit.

One great aspect of containers is that they are highly portable across any underlying execution environment. That means you don’t need to stick with a platform that does not suit your needs. You can always switch to some other platform since the most difficult part is already done: your software is packaged and deployed as containers.

The good news and the bad news are the same: there’s a huge selection of container platforms to choose from. But the good news outweighs the bad, because the choice will be much simpler once you know the answers to a few basic questions. You’ll be able to find a platform that delivers just what you need – no more, no less.

About Miska Kaipiainen

Miska Kaipiainen is the CEO and founder of Kontena, the creator of the Kontena open source, developer-friendly container platform that was recognized by Black Duck as one of the Top 10 Open Source Rookies of the Year 2015. A serial entrepreneur and business developer, he has extensive experience in managing high-tech businesses in both the hardware and software sectors. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Vaasa.