Workload orchestration is vital in our modern world, where automating the management of application microservices is more important than ever. But there’s strong debate on whether Docker Swarm or Kubernetes is a better choice for this orchestration. Let’s take a moment to explore the similarities and differences between Docker Swarm and Kubernetes and see how to choose the right fit for your environment.
In a nutshell, containers are a standard way to package apps and all their dependencies so that you can seamlessly move the apps between runtime environments. By packaging an app’s code, dependencies and configurations into one easy-to-use building block, containers let you take important steps toward shortening deployment time and improving application reliability.
In enterprise applications, the number of containers can quickly grow to an unmanageable number. To use your containers most effectively, you’ll need to orchestrate your containerized applications, which is where Kubernetes and Docker Swarm come in.
Kubernetes is a portable, open-source platform for managing containers, their complex production workloads and scalability. With Kubernetes, developers and DevOps teams can schedule, deploy, manage and discover highly available apps by using the flexibility of clusters. A Kubernetes cluster is made up of compute hosts called worker nodes. These worker nodes are managed by a Kubernetes master that controls and monitors all resources in the cluster. A node can be a virtual machine (VM) or a physical, bare metal machine.
In the early days of Kubernetes, the community contributors leveraged their knowledge of creating and running internal tools, such as Borg and Omega, two cluster management systems. With the advent of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) in partnership with the Linux Foundation, the community adopted Open Governance for Kubernetes, a set of rules for Kubernetes clusters that help teams operate at scale. IBM, as a founding member of CNCF, actively contributes to CNCF’s cloud-native projects, along with other companies like Google, Red Hat, Microsoft and Amazon.
Docker Swarm is another open-source container orchestration platform that has been around for a while. Swarm — or more accurately, swarm mode — is Docker’s native support for orchestrating clusters of Docker engines. A Swarm cluster consists of Docker Engine-deployed Swarm manager nodes (which orchestrate and manage the cluster) and worker nodes (which are directed to execute tasks by the manager nodes).
Not to confuse matters too much, but Docker Enterprise Edition now supports Kubernetes (link resides outside of ibm.com) too.
Now that’s we’ve covered the advantages and challenges, let’s break down the similarities and differences between Kubernetes and Docker Swarm. Both platforms allow you to manage containers and scale application deployment. Their differences are a matter of complexity. Kubernetes offers an efficient means for container management that’s great for high-demand applications with complex configuration, while Docker Swarm is designed for ease of use, making it a good choice for simple applications that are quick to deploy and easy to manage.
Here are some detailed differences between Docker Swarm and Kubernetes:
Because of the complexity of Kubernetes, Docker Swarm is easier to install and configure.
Kubernetes offers all-in-one scaling based on traffic, while Docker Swarm emphasizes scaling quickly.
Docker Swarm has automatic load balancing, while Kubernetes does not. However, an external load balancer can easily be integrated via third-party tools in Kubernetes.
Both tools provide a high level of availability.
Like most platform decisions, the right tool depends on your organizations’ needs.
Kubernetes has widespread adoption and a large community on its side. It is supported by every major cloud provider and do-it-yourself offerings like Docker Enterprise Edition. It is more powerful, customizable and flexible, which comes at the cost of a steeper initial learning curve. It requires a team that’s experienced and capable of running it; however, companies are also opting to use a managed service provider to simplify open-source management responsibilities and allow them to focus on building applications.
Docker Swarm’s advantage comes with familiarity and emphasis on ease-of-use. It is deployed with the Docker Engine and is readily available in your environment. As a result, Swarm is easier to start with, and it may be more ideal for smaller workloads.
Now that you’ve covered the differences between Kubernetes and Docker Swarm, take a deeper dive in the IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service and learn how to build a scalable web application on Kubernetes.
Want to get some free, hands-on experience with Kubernetes? Take advantage of IBM CloudLabs, a new interactive platform that offers Kubernetes tutorials with a certification—no cost or configuration needed.