Container as a service (CaaS): Best providers, examples, and more (2022)

CaaS, or containers as a service, is a subscription-based cloud service model that enables you to manage clusters, applications, and containers utilizing Web portals, APIs, and container-based virtualization. The development community has been paying close attention to the hot issue of containerization as they try to create portable application components for multi-cloud infrastructure setups.

The rise of cloud computing jobs shows us that cloud-related technologies are a hot topic. Do you know the cloud computing basics? Learning the pros and cons of cloud computing will help you with CaaS as a concept.

What is a container as a service (CaaS)?

CaaS is simply the automated hosting and deployment of software packages in containers. Without CaaS, software development teams would have to deploy, manage, and monitor the infrastructure that supports containers. It takes specialized DevOps resources to supervise and maintain this infrastructure, consisting of cloud computing machines and network routing systems.

Software developers and IT departments can upload, organize, run, scale, and manage containers using containers as a service (CaaS), a cloud-based service that uses container-based virtualization.

To execute on any host system, software must incorporate its dependencies, including code, runtime, configuration, and system libraries. Software development teams may quickly scale and deploy containerized apps to high-availability cloud infrastructures thanks to CaaS.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Container as a Service (CaaS) are two different types of cloud computing. While CaaS can deploy many stacks per container, PaaS is focused on explicit “language stack” deployments like Ruby on Rails or Node.js.

CaaS lies between Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) on the spectrum of cloud computing services. However, CaaS is frequently seen as a part of IaaS. Instead of a virtual machine (VM) or bare metal hardware host system, which are often utilized to support IaaS environments, a container serves as the fundamental resource for CaaS.

Are you wonder differences between CaaS, PaaS, and IaaS and what they mean? Check out CaaS vs PaaS, IaaS, and FaaS comparison.

The following are the most widely utilized orchestration technologies in the CaaS framework:

• Docker
• Kubernetes
• Data Center Operating System (DC/OS)

What is a container?

Containers are executable software units that allow for the standard packaging of application code, libraries, and dependencies. As a result, they may be run anywhere, including on a desktop computer, in a typical IT environment, or in the cloud.

What is Kubernetes in simple words?

A container, or containerized application, is managed by a system called Kubernetes. A container can be thought of as a portable virtual computer. You must create many containers and utilize Kubernetes to manage them to construct an application. The benefit is that Kubernetes can automatically produce and scale containers and manage storage among all the containers.

A cluster is a Kubernetes system that includes all available Kubernetes components. Virtual or physical machines (such as desktop computers or laptops) can execute the cluster. If you only have one computer running a complete Kubernetes system, that computer hosts your Kubernetes cluster. If you have two computers running Kubernetes, they serve as their hosts. Any mix of virtual and real machines may be used to execute the cluster.

What are the features of CaaS?

For small IT enterprises that are about to expand, CaaS is highly advantageous. These are some of the most important features of CaaS:

• Integrated and unified communication
• No investment
• Flexibility & scalability
• No risk of obsolescence
• No maintenance cost
• Business continuity

Let’s take a closer look at CaaS features:

Integrated and unified communication

Chat, multimedia conferencing, Microsoft Outlook integration, real-time presence, “Soft” phones (software-based phones), video calls, unified messaging, and mobility are some of the most modern unified communication capabilities.

More quickly than ever before, CaaS vendors now provide new features to their CaaS services. Because end users profit from the provider’s scalable platform architecture and ultimately, the many end users who use the provider’s service share this cost of an upgrade, it has become more cost-effective for providers to quickly add a new feature to their CaaS application.

No investment

The hardware and software deployed to deliver communication services to their customers are entirely under the management of the CaaS vendor. The user only pays for the services he receives from the provider of communication as a service (CaaS), not for the communication features installed to deliver those services.

Flexibility & scalability

Customers can contract with CaaS companies to provide them with communication services. Customers pay for the items they have requested. According to their needs, the consumer might increase their service requirement. This makes communication services flexible and scalable, as well as cost-effective.

No risk of obsolescence

To keep up with changing market demands, the CaaS vendors regularly update the gear and software that deliver communication services. Therefore, the consumer should not be concerned about the services becoming obsolete.

No maintenance cost

The cost of maintaining the technology used to provide communication services is not borne by the customer that outsources the CaaS service.

Business continuity

How long can your firm operate if a disaster hits the area where it is located? Because of this, businesses now divide their data across different data centers to preserve redundancy and aid in quick recovery from major events.

The CaaS providers adopted and implemented the same feature to ensure voice continuity or communication continuity even in the case of a catastrophic incident.

How does CaaS work?

CaaS offers the ability to deploy and host containers in numerous cloud environments automatically. Because CaaS is not dependent on a single code stack or language, it can be used in multicloud and hybrid cloud setups.

The automation offered by CaaS can greatly improve your pipeline’s efficiency. The productivity of the development and IT team grows due to the automation of various tasks. Automation can also expedite procedures and guarantee that the ecosystem is constantly updated.

Advantages of the container as a service (CaaS)

What is the main advantage of CaaS? The things that CaaS enables IT departments and software development teams to do—and refrain from doing—make it crucial.

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These are some of the advantages of the container as a service (CaaS):

• It is considerably simpler to deploy and develop distributed apps or create smaller services thanks to containers and CaaS.
• Customers of the CaaS company can contact them at any time.
• A group of containers may manage various tasks or coding environments during development.
• It is possible to define and bind relationships between containers in a network protocol for forwarding.
• Predetermined and specialized container structures can be swiftly installed in cloud capture thanks to CaaS.
• Features like log integration and monitoring can aid program performance by posting apps deployed on the CaaS platform.
• Automated measuring performance and orchestration management are already included with CaaS.
• Building distributed systems with high visibility for high availability is made possible by CaaS.
• CaaS facilitates quicker deployment, which strengthens team development.
• While CaaS can save engineering operational costs by decreasing the DevOps resources required to manage deployments, containers are utilized to avoid targeted deployment.

Disadvantages of the container as a service (CaaS)

What are the possible disadvantages of CaaS? Let’s take a closer look at the disadvantages of the container as a service (CaaS):

• There are restrictions on the CaaS, depending on the provider.
• It is risky to retrieve company data from the cloud.
• Security issues
  • Although they have inherent hazards, containers are considered safer than rivals like Microsoft Machines.
  • Containers share the same kernel as the operating system, even if they are agnostic platforms. This increases the possibility that the containers will be targeted.
  • As more containers are deployed in the cloud via CaaS, the hazards exponentially will rise.

• Performance limitations
  • Containers are visible areas and do not run directly on bare metal.
  • The additional layer between the bare metal and the application containers and their characters leaves something out. This results in a considerable loss of speed.
  • Despite the high-grade hardware available, enterprises have to deal with some functional losses in the containers.

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Container as a service examples

Like other cloud computing services, users can only select and pay for the CaaS resources they need. CaaS examples include load balancing, compute instances, scheduling options, and more options that depend on the company’s needs.

The best container as a service providers

CaaS services are provided by almost all public cloud providers, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and IBM.

Some of the best container as a service providers are:

• AWS
• Google Cloud
• IBM
• Docker Enterprise
• Alibaba Cloud
• Azure
• Oracle

So, what do they offer?

The container as a service AWS launched in 2015. Amazon ECS is one of the most dependable and secure container services. It is a fully managed container service appropriate for sensitive and mission-critical data apps.

Core features:

• Serverless option
• Reliable with 77 availability zones
• Batch processing

Regarding the top CaaS providers, Google Cloud Engine is regarded as one of the best solutions for deploying and running your apps. With this Container as a Service solution, you can reliably execute and scale your applications from a single computing environment.

Core features:

• Autopilot mode
• Automatic scaling
• Built-in dashboard

Another of the top platforms for Container as a Service where you can install and manage your application on distributed clusters is IBM Kubernetes Service. Using this outstanding CaaS service, you may scale your application efficiently and easily.

Core features:

• Logging & Monitoring
• Self-healing Containers
• Secure clusters

One of the top companies offering containers as a service is Oracle Container Service, where you can receive fully managed containers with excellent features. Oracle Container Service makes creating, distributing and managing your applications on containers in distributed clusters simple and efficient.

Core features:

• Automate Kubernetes operations
• Automatic upgrades
• Cluster management tools

Container as a service Azure is another great solution. Microsoft offers one of the best Container as a Service options with its Azure Container Service. With fully managed containers, which have fantastic functionality to scale and manage your apps, you can easily and rapidly deploy and run your application.

Core features:

• Automated rollouts & rollbacks
• Easier cluster upgrades

Due to its extensive feature set, Alibaba Container Service is recognized as one of the top providers of containers as a service. You can quickly deploy and manage your application in container clusters by managing the infrastructure.

Core features:

• Alibaba cloud accounts
• Networking

The container as a service Docker is the last solution that we explain. Docker Enterprise is a complete solution for managing and scaling your applications. Another excellent choice for a CaaS supplier is this one. Effective building and management of the entire application are possible.

Core features:

• View container clusters
• Monitoring & Scanning

CaaS vs PaaS, IaaS, and FaaS

Let’s examine how containers as a service differ from other well-liked cloud computing methods.

CaaS vs PaaS

What is Platform as a Service (PaaS)? Platform as a Service (PaaS) refers to the provision of a platform that combines hardware and software by third parties. With the PaaS approach, platform providers manage the infrastructure while end users create, maintain, and execute their apps. Providers often offer application development, testing, and deployment tools in addition to storage and other computer resources.

CaaS is different from PaaS because it is a more basic service that simply provides one particular piece of infrastructure—a container. CaaS services may include development services and tools like CI/CD release management to be comparable to a PaaS model.

CaaS vs IaaS

What is Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)? Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) in the public cloud offers basic computing resources like servers, storage, and networks. It enables enterprises to scale resources with less risk, overhead, and no up-front cost.

In contrast to IaaS, CaaS offers an abstraction layer over the bare hardware resources. Compute instances, which are essentially computers with operating systems running in the public cloud, are offered through IaaS services like Amazon EC2.

CaaS services enable customers to operate containers directly on bare metal resources or run and manage containers on top of these virtual machines in the case of services like Azure Container Instances.

CaaS vs FaaS

What is Function as a Service (FaaS)? Serverless computing, also known as Function as a Service (FaaS), is appropriate for customers who need to run a specific application function or component without managing servers. With FaaS, the user merely supplies code and pays based on the time or the number of executions. At the same time, the service provider automatically maintains physical hardware, virtual machines, and other infrastructure.

Users can configure and manage containers using CaaS, which varies from FaaS because it allows direct access to infrastructure. To deliver container services while separating servers from users, certain CaaS services, like Amazon Fargate, use a serverless deployment strategy; as a result, they are more comparable to a FaaS paradigm.

Conclusion

CaaS is a potent contemporary hosting paradigm that uses containers and necessitates expertise with them. Software development teams that are very agile can benefit greatly from CaaS. Establishing continuous deployment on a project can benefit greatly from it. Since most contemporary cloud hosting companies offer CaaS solutions at reasonable pricing, you won’t have to travel far to find a reliable CaaS.