What are Containers in DevOps? Benefits, Use Cases

The reason why developers use cloud spaces is that they make virtualization faster and easier. And this is where DevOps containers come into play. So if you are asking what are containers in DevOps, and what are their benefits, then we are going to answer all of your questions in this article. You can think of a DevOps container as a virtual sandbox where every necessary tool to run microservices and even larger applications. This is a packaging system that allows developers to store everything they need to run an application, like runtimes, binary codes, runtimes and much more in a single place. If you want to learn more about DevOps and containers, then you can take DevOps Classes Online to help you through the process.  

What Are Containers in DevOps?

Before we get into how and why Containers are used in DevOps, we first have to talk about what is a Container in DevOps. As we already said, virtualization is a really important factor in the IT sector right now.  

Containers are basically a type of OS virtualization. They provide a standard approach that you can use to package an application’s important executables such as configuration files, libraries, binary codes, runtimes and other system tools. However, unlike machine and server virtualization, containers do not carry the operating system images. This feature makes them very lightweight and they also have a lot fewer overheads.  

If there are multiple applications being deployed at once, then multiple containers can also be used in the form of a container cluster. You can look at the Best DevOps Training Courses online and learn more about DevOps Containers there.  

Why Use Containers in DevOps?

Developers can run into some problems while moving the application from one place to another. For example, when it is being moved to a virtual environment from the developer’s laptop or being moved into the production stage from the initial stage. It may be problems like the software and configuration settings being different on the production end than the developer’s end. These problems can occur any time there is a difference between the network, storage or security policies between the two environments.  

This is when DevOps Containers are used. As we already mentioned before, containers have all the necessary tools like binary codes, runtimes, and other files that are needed to run an application. You can run a Container in any environment as these things cannot be different in any environment. By their nature, they streamline the movement of the application from one environment to the other and make these problems disappear. 

How Do DevOps Teams Use Containers?

Now that we have talked about what is Containers in DevOps, we will get into details about how DevOps teams use Containers. By definition, Containers are systems that can store all the necessary information that a developer needs to deploy an application. They make the process of deployment faster when different teams are working simultaneously. Since they behave the same way in different environments, Containers are reliable and easy to use for developers. DevOps is a method through which applications are deployed faster and Containers help DevOps teams achieve that velocity.  

If multiple or more expensive applications are being deployed, then teams use multiple Containers, which are also known as Container Clusters. There are also Container orchestrators that these teams use in order to manage these clusters. Some of these orchestrators are K8s, Docker, and ECS for Amazon Web Services. But there are also some other benefits to Containers than just increased speed that we will discuss later in the article.  

Building Containers into a DevOps Process: Deployment Considerations

While container deployment in DevOps processes can significantly catalyze the underlying server infrastructure, there are certain factors and considerations you must keep in mind during container orchestration in DevOps to obtain optimum performance.  

Building and Publishing Container Images

Container management is a significant part of DevOps processes and can even be influenced by a simple change in the containing image, leading to the need for container reconstruction. Following the right steps can ensure that the approach to implementing new application code directly draws minimum security and functionality risks on the container. 

It is recommended to use scripts and automation tools like Kubernetes to streamline the container-building stage while maintaining a relevant workflow. Under the guidance of Kubernetes, images are generated from container registries. These registries obtain images from the CI/CD pipeline that builds them and publishes them to container registries. As a result, the orchestration tool gets the latest image to optimize containerized images. 

Using Open-Source Base Images from Public Registries

The image change process can be simplified using image compilation support that container registries such as Amazon ECR, Azure, and DockerHub tend to offer. Automated support such as third-party solutions, command-line tools, and connecting source code repository to container registry while activating image rebuilding can also help publish container images in a regulated environment.  

Deploying Containers to a Cluster

DevOps teams deploy containers within a cluster by applying the semiotics of container API and applying the configuration in YAML formats. The container orchestrator mentions factors such as- 

• Resource management of nodes within clusters 
• Networking requirements to connect internal containers 
• Rules for scheduling containers 
• Lifecycle management of clusters 
• Persistent and container-mounted volumes 
• A specific container image’s number of instances within the runtime 

Different Types of Containers

When you are looking for a Container platform, you have a lot to choose from. Even though Docker is the most popular one in the market right now, there are a lot more competitors who have their own benefits and use cases. You can read about them below and choose the one you think fits the purpose of your organization.  

Docker

Docker is currently one of the most widely used Container platforms on the market. You can create and use Linux containers with Docker. You can easily create, deploy and run applications using Docker. Canonical and Red Hat both use Docker and also companies like Amazon, Oracle and Microsoft have embraced it.  

LXC

LinuxContainers.org’s open-source project LXC is also a popular Container Platform on the market whose goal is to provide app environments that are like the VMs but they do not have the overhead. LXC does not have a central daemon because it follows the Unix process model. This means that instead of having one central program that manages it, all the containers behave like they are being managed by different, individual programs. LXC is pretty different from Docker because, in LXC, you will be able to run multiple processes using an LXC Container, on the other hand, it is better if you run one process in each Container in Docker.

CRI-O

CRI-O is also an open-source tool. It is an implemented version of the Kubernetes CRI (Container Runtime Interface). The goal of this tool is to replace Docker and become the Kubernetes Container Engine.

rkt

Much like LXC, rkt also does not have a central daemon and therefore it gives you the freedom to control individual containers more easily. But Docker offers end-to-end solutions, which they do not. But they have a community and set of tools that rival Docker.

Podman

This Container Engine is also open-source. This has pretty much the same role as Docker but they function a bit differently, because like LXC and rkt, Podman also lacks a central daemon. This means that in Docker if the central daemon is out of service, all the containers will stop functioning. But the Containers in Podman are self-sufficient and can be managed individually.

RunC

runC is a universal lightweight container runtime. Even though it began as a low-level component of Docker, it is now a separate modular tool. It provides you with a more portable container environment. This container runtime can work both with Docker and without any other container system.

containerd

Windows and Linux both support containerd, which is technically a daemon. Its purpose is to act as an interface between a container runtime and a container engine. It was also one of the building blocks of Docker, much like runC. And also like runC, it is now an open-source project.

Benefits of Containers in DevOps

Now that you know about some of the different types of Containers, let us talk about some of the benefits of Containers in DevOps.  

Speed and Efficiency

Without containers, developers will have to duplicate the environment in which they developed the application. But when they use a Container, they can just run the code on their local machine and there is no need to match the configuration requirements of the new environment. Everything they need to run the application is already in the Container which makes the process faster and more efficient. They are also more consistent as development and operational teams do not have to provision environments with a Container.  

Cost Reduction

Since they are more lightweight, Containers require a lot less memory than VMs or Virtual Machines. If a company or organization wants to cut back on their cloud computing costs, they can always opt for Containers instead of VMs as they have less expensive needs.  

Security

There are no interactions that take place between different containers. So, if one of them crashes or gets hacked for some reason, the others can run smoothly despite that hiccup. Since the problem will be confined to one of the Containers, the whole development process will not slow down too much.  

Portable

As we have already mentioned, Containers are very light and agile. They can be run on virtually any system, be it, Macs, Windows, Linux, or the Cloud. If a developer needs a Container, it will be ready to run under any circumstances.  

If you want to know more about DevOps containers and how they work, you can take the DevOps Foundation Certification Training. Here you can learn all you need about how to work with Containers, the types of Containers and why developers use them in greater detail.

Best Practices for Containers and DevOps

Now that you know what is a Container DevOps, here are some of the most common ways that organizations use Containers. You can also use them if you see that they can reduce your expenses and make your development process more streamlined and efficient.  

You can also see what are some of the most common ways to make sure you are taking full advantage of the Containers. Here is how - 

1. Containers are used by some organizations when they want to move applications to more modern environments. This process has some of the benefits of OS Virtualization. However, a modern, Container-based app architecture has more benefits. This process is also known as lift and shift migration.  
2. You can also refactor the applications that you already have for Containers. Though it will be more comprehensive, you will also be able to use all the benefits of a Container environment. And if you develop applications that are Container native, you can also reap the benefits of a container environment.  
3. If you use individual Containers, then you can distribute microservices and applications alike to be easily located, deployed and scaled.
4. Jobs like Batch Processing and ETL functions which are repetitive and usually run in the background can be easily supported with the help of Containers.  
5. Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) can also be easily pipelined with Containers as they can create, test and deploy simplified images. This also unlocks the full potential of a Container environment much like refactoring. 

Conclusion

Now that you have learned about DevOps Containers, their use cases and their benefits, you can take up a course that will be able to give you a more thorough insight into the ins and outs of Containers. You can look for online courses like the KnowledgeHut DevOps classes Online to learn how to use Containers and how you can improve your organization with them.