{"id":18288,"date":"2020-09-17T15:00:04","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T14:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/?p=18288"},"modified":"2020-10-12T17:15:44","modified_gmt":"2020-10-12T16:15:44","slug":"why-is-kubernetes-exploding-in-the-cloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/technetuk\/2020\/09\/17\/why-is-kubernetes-exploding-in-the-cloud\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Kubernetes, and why is its popularity exploding in the cloud?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/p>\n

We see Kubernetes in headlines, hear about it on Twitter, and at user groups and conferences. So, what\u2019s behind the Kubernetes buzz? Why is Kubernetes taking off the way it is\u2014and what is this new offering of managed Kubernetes in the cloud? These are the questions we\u2019ll be exploring in this blog, with a view to shedding light on what\u2019s driving the popularity of containers, the cloud, and Kubernetes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The rise of containers<\/h2>\n

A container is a standalone package of software comprising everything you need to run an application. This includes the application code, runtime, system libraries, and settings.<\/p>\n

Containers have been around for some time. In fact, they\u2019ve been part of the Linux world since the 1980s. After Docker entered the market in 2013 with its own format and tools for containers, the trend towards containerisation has grown tremendously. Today, many enterprises either run containers or have plans to use them in the near future. IDC\u2019s 2018 Container Infrastructure Market Assessment<\/em> found that 76 percent of enterprises are running mission-critical applications as containers in production. The RightScale 2019 State of the Cloud Report<\/em> found that container adoption has increased to 57 percent from 49 percent in 2018. In addition to this, many cloud providers\u2014including the top three\u2014have launched container offerings that have seen enormous growth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is Kubernetes?<\/h2>\n

With the rise of containers comes the challenge of having to manage hundreds or even thousands of containers running complex enterprise applications. This is a significant task that requires an orchestration platform. Kubernetes has become the go-to orchestration platform since it was launched in 2014. Originated by Google and now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), Kubernetes was created to work in any environment, including on-premises or in the public cloud.<\/p>\n

According to the RightScale 2019 report, Kubernetes adoption in enterprises has increased from 27 percent in 2018 to 48 percent in 2019. Another familiar theme is that all of the top-three cloud providers have managed Kubernetes offerings for their cloud customers and have seen wide take-up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Enter Azure Kubernetes Service<\/h2>\n

Released in 2018, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is a managed Kubernetes service on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform and the fastest-growing service in Azure. AKS streamlines deployment of Kubernetes clusters. It uses Azure infrastructure-as-a-service virtual servers for the nodes: Microsoft handles management of the master nodes, while the customer manages the agent nodes.<\/p>\n

A major difference between running your own Kubernetes instance versus AKS is that Microsoft has integrated AKS with many Azure-native services for further enhancement, including:<\/p>\n