To reduce costs and strive to make their applications that are not only simpler to deploy but also easier to maintain, Docker and Kubernetes are at the top of their lists. It’s not just because they’re popular but also because there’s a valid reason to begin implementing cloud-native patterns. For instance, instead of deploying your applications onto VMs and managing their scale by yourself, orchestration systems can handle the job for you.
Once you’ve architected and understood why you’d like to use Docker and Kubernetes, The next question is how do I begin?
This blog entry will help you learn about the fundamentals of Docker, what Docker is, what Kubernetes is, and which one you must learn first by pursuing the Kubernetes Course.
What Is Docker
Docker is a tool with a myriad of uses; however, the main reason is the ability to take your app and make it an incredibly compact version that can be deployed anywhere. If you’re thinking about applications, there’s likely an application that runs “somewhere.” The “somewhere” could be a virtual machine, or cloud instance. Instead of taking this code base and moving it on an example of a virtual machine, it is possible to pack the codebase up for use wherever you want, in the cloud, and even on your device. Docker will be entirely about creating a portable app.
Consider thinking about Docker or every container-based engine (containerd or CRI-O.) like a car engine. The car engine, on its own, when connected to the appropriate components and equipped with the proper fuel, will start instantly. It’s possible to work, but it cannot move anywhere. The engine is stuck.
The biggest issue with Docker in its own right is that it needs some essential attributes. Because containers are intended to be portable, they need to be meant to be able to operate on their own. There must be replications (copies), self-healing, higher availability, and more to ensure that the application is in good shape. When you use Docker containers, it runs only one container. This means that it’s just one source of failure.
This is when orchestration (Kubernetes) can play its role.
What is Kubernetes
Consider thinking about Kubernetes as an automobile’s wheel and body. The engine and the car are running, but it’s time to move. It must move from point A to B. The vehicle may need to hold one or more persons (think about if people in the car have many uses).
Kubernetes acts as the orchestrator. It gives containers instructions on what they need to do and what they should do to achieve it. With no orchestrator in place, containers may be run, but they won’t grow. They can’t be controlled to the length required for a production environment. Kubernetes ensures that the containers are running and is managed in a completely hands-off way.
From the box, you will get tons of unique features such as:
- Self-healing
- High availability
- Auto-scaling
- Network management
- Plus a lot more
Which one should you learn first?
There’s a debate on whether I should learn Docker before learning Kubernetes. It’s true. However, the argument on that issue isn’t about whether you should master Docker first. The problem is whether you need to be able to master a containerization engine before you learn Docker. Docker offers a variety of uses, and one is an engine for containerization. There are a variety of containerization engines available, including:
- Rkt
- runC
- containerd
- CRI-O
- Windows Containers for Hyper-V
- LXC
Although each container engine operates differently, they all share the same goal: to run several separate instances of an application within the exact OS kernel. The isolated instances are called containers. These containers operate virtually over the OS (not to be confused with the system-level virtualization, such as VMware’s ESXi). Containers are an environment that is run in conjunction with an operating system. However, it is separate from the OS.
How to Learn Docker and Kubernetes
Once you’ve figured out the difference between orchestration and containerization, you might wonder which is the best method to master Docker and Kubernetes. The answer is more accessible than you think from your personal computer! On one of the CloudTruths additional Kubernetes blogs, you’ll learn to create an environment called minikube, which you can read about in this post. Minikube is one method that users can use Kubernetes in a local environment on their computer or desktop.
If you’re looking to become imaginative, You can get some Rasberry Pi’s to run something called K3s, a lighter version of Kubernetes which is widely used on ARM and edge devices.
Another great local option that lots of users are using is Docker Desktop. Docker Desktop can be installed on both Windows and macOS, allowing users to set up a local Kubernetes cluster controlled through Docker Desktop.
Suppose you’re not looking to install Kubernetes everywhere. In that case, you can make use of Kubernetes’ online Kubernetes play area Play with Kubernetes that is fully managed within the browser of your web browser.
Real-World Kubernetes Cluster
While learning about Docker as well as Kubernetes in the test environment is lovely, at some point, you’ll need to understand how it functions in the real world. Without this, it won’t be easy to get Kubernetes operational in the workplace successfully.
