Kubernetes deployments can define every aspect of an application's lifecycle, including the number of pods, the images to use, and how pods can be updated. Basically, by describing Pods' desired state, a controller can modify the current state to the desired one. Pods are the basic unit of Kubernetes, and each consists of a group of co-located containers. In comparison, in Kubernetes, an application can be deployed by using a combination of deployments, pods, and services. Hence, these files allow containers and services to run on several networks and machines. These files, also known as Docker Compose Files, can additionally detail the overlay network configurations and which services must be assigned to them, enabling security and compartmentalization.įurther, a collection of services in Swarm can be deployed using a single docker-compose.yaml file, and extra files are often created to change values for other deployments (e.g., testing, production, and staging). More precisely, deployment is described by using the Docker Compose specification in YAML (YAML Ain't a Markup Language) files. In Docker Swarm, users can use predefined markup files to define and deploy applications by declaring the desired state.
Even though it is a bit more complex to install than Swarm, it is not a big puzzle either, and there's plenty of documentation on how to do it. The not so simple news is that While Docker Swarm comes out of the box with the native installation, a binary to orchestrate Kubernetes containers is required - Kubectl. The good news is that it is possible to install it on almost any platform. However, keep in mind that it is also important to establish a manager node and worker nodes before initializing Swarm.Ĭontrarily, Kubernetes is not as straightforward.
Considering the user has Docker Engine installed in a machine, the only two missing things are assigning IP addresses to hosts and further opening the ports and protocols between them. Kubernetes is definitely a more popular solution than Docker Swarm when it comes to container orchestration technologies.ĭocker Swarm is easier to install than Kubernetes. That's a big difference and does not leave much space for doubt. Plus, by looking at Github, we can conclude that while Kubernetes has 81.1k stars, Docker Swarm only has 5.8k stars. Regarding popularity, Kubernetes has a clear advantage, as we can observe according to the Google Trends chart. Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes: key differences Popularity Keep reading to find how they differ and which one to choose. The Docker platform is also written in Go.Īs we can see, both Docker Swarm and Kubernetes were created to fulfill the same purpose. Thus, Swarm allows developers or DevOps engineers to efficiently deploy, manage, and scale clusters of nodes on Docker. It is native to the Docker Platform, and was created to ensure applications can run seamlessly across various nodes that share the same containers. What is Docker Swarm?ĭocker Swarm is also a container orchestration tool. Currently, the platform is maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation ( CNCF), and it is written in Go.
Kubernetes, which can also be named "Kube" or k8s, was initially developed by Google in 2014. These platforms allow the automation of containerization processes, such as deploying, managing containers, and scaling containerized applications. Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform.
Curious to find out? Table of Contentsĭocker Swarm vs Kubernetes: key differencesĭocker Swarm vs Kubernetes: how to choose? Thus, this article will compare which technology to choose while considering their main differences regarding popularity, installation, deployment, scalability, networking, and other aspects. Facebook LinkedinĪs our previous blog post explained, when someone refers to Docker vs Kubernetes, what they truly mean is (most likely) Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes, which makes a lot more sense since they are both container orchestration technologies.