Leveraging Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)

Overview

• GKE provides a blend of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS).
• Ideal for those needing managed infrastructure with a developer-friendly platform.
• Suitable for workloads that are containerized and do not require kernel changes or non-Linux OS.
• No need to manage servers or infrastructure directly with GKE.

Comparison: IaaS vs. PaaS

• IaaS (e.g., Compute Engine)
  • Virtualizes hardware via VMs.
  • Users can deploy OS, access hardware, and build apps with chosen runtimes and libraries.
  • High flexibility but higher costs and slower scaling.
• PaaS
  • Provides hosted services and scalable environments.
  • Users write code in self-contained workloads, abstract from hardware specifics.
  • Scales apps by decoupled microservices efficiently but lacks fine-tuning capabilities.

Introduction to Containers

• Containers combine the scalability of PaaS with the flexibility of IaaS.
• Uses OS-level virtualization to run multiple isolated systems on a common host OS.
• Key Features
  • Fast startup (few system calls).
  • Independent scalability of workloads.
  • Encapsulation of app with necessary dependencies.
  • Modular architecture supporting microservices.
  • Efficient deployment and management across multiple hosts.
• Benefits
  • Rapid scaling and deployment of workloads.
  • Independent scaling of containers and hosts.
  • Efficient resource usage.
  • Supports modular code development and deployment.

Kubernetes and GKE

• Kubernetes
  • Open-source container orchestration tool.
  • Simplifies management of containerized environments.
  • Supports deployments, rollouts, rollbacks, and monitoring.
  • Built to manage applications at scale.
• Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
  • Managed environment for deploying containerized apps.
  • Built on Kubernetes and runs on managed Compute Engine instances.
  • Automates container management based on CPU, memory specs, etc.
  • Offers flexibility for on-premises, hybrid, or public cloud infrastructure.
• Use Cases
  • Manages containers as a cluster, scaling them as microservices.
  • Efficient resource management and time-to-market acceleration.

Containerization at Google

• All Google services (Gmail, Search, Maps, etc.) run in containers.
• Launches over 2 billion containers per week.
• Docker
  • A tool to encapsulate applications and dependencies into containers.
  • Ensures portability across different environments (laptop, server, cloud).

Summary

• GKE provides a powerful orchestration system leveraging Kubernetes for efficient management and scaling of containerized applications.