113 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
113 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
Kubernetes and Nomad are both platforms for the management and orchestration of containers, but the underlying concepts and architectures differ. To compare the two systems, especially with regard to terms such as deployment, job, pod, and their implementation in both systems, it is important to understand the respective architecture and concepts in detail.
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=== Basic architecture ===
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- **Kubernetes** consists of a master node (control plane) and several worker nodes. The master node is responsible for controlling, scheduling and managing the cluster resources. The worker nodes execute the containers (pods).
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- **Nomad** has a centralized architecture in which a Nomad cluster consists of servers and clients. The servers manage the state and scheduling of jobs, while the clients actually run the jobs. Nomad is slightly more flexible as it can orchestrate not only containers but also other types of workloads (e.g. non-container applications, batch jobs).
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=== Comparison of the most important concepts ===
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[cols="^a,2a,2a", frame="none"]
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|===
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| Konzept | Kubernetes | Nomad
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| **Pod** | A pod is the smallest deployment unit in Kubernetes and can contain one or more containers. All containers in a pod share network and storage. | Nomad does not have an exact equivalent to pods. A Nomad job can contain multiple "tasks" that can work closely together like containers in a pod.
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| **Deployment**| A deployment in Kubernetes describes how many instances of a pod are to be provided and how they are updated. It ensures self-healing (replications). | In Nomad, this is referred to as a "job", whereby a job can also have multiple instances of tasks. Updates and rollouts can be controlled by update strategies in the job.
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| **Job** | Jobs in Kubernetes (e.g. `CronJob` or `Job`) are intended for one-time or recurring tasks where pods should only run for a limited time. | A job in Nomad is the central construct that comprises a collection of tasks or services. It describes the entire deployment process, which can be similar to a deployment in Kubernetes. Nomad jobs can also include batch-like processes.
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| **Service** | Kubernetes uses service resources to abstract network access to pods and provide load balancing. | Nomad uses "Service Discovery" to register services and provide load balancing, often in conjunction with Consul.
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| **Namespace** | A Kubernetes namespace is a logical partitioning within a cluster used to organize resources. | Nomad also supports namespaces, but to separate different applications or teams in a cluster.
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| **Scheduler** | The Kubernetes scheduler assigns pods to available nodes based on resource requirements and settings. | Nomad also uses a central scheduler that assigns jobs to clients based on resource requirements and scheduling strategies.
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| **StatefulSet**| Kubernetes uses StatefulSets for stateful applications that require individual, persistent storage and ordered starts and stops. | Nomad supports stateful applications through the use of volumes and persistent data. However, there is no direct equivalent to Kubernetes' StatefulSet.
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|===
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=== Correspondences for a mapping from Nomad to Kubernetes ===
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The following concepts are most relevant for mapping Nomad to Kubernetes:
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- **Nomad "Job" -> Kubernetes "Deployment" or "Job"**
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- A Nomad job that runs continuously corresponds to a **Kubernetes deployment**, while a batch-type Nomad job can be better assigned to a **Kubernetes job** or **CronJob**.
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- If a Nomad job contains multiple tasks, it is possible to implement it using a **Pod** in Kubernetes, where each task is a separate container in the pod.
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- **Nomad "Task" -> Kubernetes "Container"**
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- A task in a Nomad job is comparable to a container in a Kubernetes pod. Each task in Nomad has its own definition and can use Docker or a different runtime. In Kubernetes, multiple containers can be defined within a pod.
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- **Nomad update strategies -> Kubernetes deployments**
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- Nomad jobs support update strategies such as rolling updates. These can be implemented in Kubernetes directly with a deployment and its rollout strategies (e.g. `rollingUpdate` in Kubernetes).
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- **Nomad "Task Group" -> Kubernetes "Pods"**
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- In Nomad, there are "Task Groups", which represent a group of tasks within a job that are deployed together. This is comparable to Kubernetes pods, which contain several containers.
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=== Special deployment scenarios ===
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- **Stateful applications**:
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- In Kubernetes, StatefulSets are used to deploy stateful applications, while Nomad works with individual jobs and persistent volumes instead.
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- **Service Mesh and Service Discovery**:
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- Kubernetes uses services by default and optionally additional service mesh solutions like Istio to control network traffic. Nomad often uses Consul for service discovery and can be integrated into a service mesh.
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=== Example: Nomad Job as Kubernetes Deployment ===
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#### Nomad Job Definition:
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```hcl
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job "example" {
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group "web" {
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count = 3
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task "nginx" {
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driver = "docker"
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config {
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image = "nginx:latest"
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port_map {
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http = 80
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}
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}
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resources {
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cpu = 500
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memory = 256
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}
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}
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}
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}
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```
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==== Corresponding Kubernetes Deployment: ====
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```yaml
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apiVersion: apps/v1
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kind: Deployment
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metadata:
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name: example
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spec:
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replicas: 3
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selector:
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matchLabels:
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app: web
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template:
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metadata:
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labels:
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app: web
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spec:
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containers:
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- name: nginx
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image: nginx:latest
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ports:
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- containerPort: 80
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resources:
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requests:
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cpu: "500m"
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memory: "256Mi"
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```
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=== Most important differences and similarities ===
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- **Pods in Kubernetes** correspond to **Task Groups in Nomad**, with each task in Nomad corresponding to a container in Kubernetes.
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- **Nomad Jobs** are more flexible and can include both batch processes and services, while in Kubernetes batch jobs are distinguished from deployments (for continuously running services).
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- Kubernetes offers extensive **network and service options** (e.g. Services, Ingress) as well as special features such as **StatefulSets** and **DaemonSets** for specific use cases.
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Rewriting from Nomad to Kubernetes seems a very difficult task considering how many little differences come up when comparing the two systems. However, on a basic level the concepts are similar and can be mapped to each other with some effort.
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