DEV Community

Cover image for Kubernetes or Cloud Foundry : Cloud-Native App Deployment
Rahul Kumar
Rahul Kumar

Posted on • Updated on

Kubernetes or Cloud Foundry : Cloud-Native App Deployment

What should you choose : Cloud Foundry or Kubernetes?

When building a microservices-based program from the bottom up, selecting an application deployment platform is critical. It will be your first step in establishing the process for updating and deploying your application code, whether you want to construct your platform on bare metal servers, IaaS or a comprehensive PaaS solution.
Choosing the correct platform allows your application developers to spend more time developing new application features rather than packaging and deploying code each time a feature or bug fix is released.

1. As App Deployment platform

Cloud Foundry :
Cloud Foundry is a higher-level abstraction of cloud-native application deployment that shares capabilities with Kubernetes. As the platform's founders put it,
"You give it the software, and it takes care of the rest."
It recognizes application requirements, creates the container, deploys it, scales it, links it to the network, and directs traffic to it. As a result, the developer may concentrate solely on the application code. As a result, Cloud Foundry claims that the application is the platform's primary currency.

Kubernetes :
How does it compare favorably against Kubernetes? Because the container is Kubernetes' fundamental unit of currency, it adds to the complexity of developers' job by requiring them to construct the container for the app and give other deployment requirements, whereas Cloud Foundry does not. In other words, Kubernetes conceals nothing from developers, allowing both developers and operators to engage with it in the same way, but Cloud Foundry differentiates between cloud operators and cloud developers, simplifying the latter's interface.

2.The ability to run the platform from anywhere

The second significant distinction is that, whereas Kubernetes may be difficult to deploy on your infrastructure, Cloud Foundry is designed to host workloads on any hardware, including on-premise, public cloud, and basic VMs! It also enables operators to move tasks between all available solutions in a matter of minutes, without having to modify the software.

To summarize, Cloud Foundry works at a high degree of abstraction, providing a better level of efficiency to its users, particularly application developers, but with significant limits in terms of runtime customization. It's an excellent solution for new cloud-native apps and smaller teams who need to deploy often.
Kubernetes, on the other hand, is a lower-level abstraction that can be used to develop your own customized deployment platform, giving you more options. However, it adds to your teams' workload, which might lead to a loss in production.


Kubernetes, Cloud Foundry or Both?

With that in mind, why not combine the advantages of both systems? Because Kubernetes is designed to accommodate any workload, we can use it to run Cloud Foundry!

There are two open-source projects (KubeCF and cf-for-k8s) that enable Cloud Foundry to execute workloads on the same K8s cluster as the Cloud Foundry platform.

Using a combination of BOSH and Kubernetes, the Cloud Foundry Container Runtime is then utilized to deliver workloads. It combines Kubernetes' customization capabilities with the CF platform's deployment and administration capabilities. It's all because to the great Project Eirini, which is still one of the Cloud Foundry Foundation's ongoing initiatives.

As you can see, when it comes to cloud-native application deployment platforms, there is no one optimal choice. You may choose from a variety of ways depending on the complexity of your project, the size of your team, and other criteria.
Kubernetes is one of the most widely used systems in the world, and it can be utilized for almost any task. Cloud Foundry, on the other hand, is the ideal route to go if you have more generic needs and want to focus on your developers producing business value rather than worrying about deployment setup.

You may also mix the benefits of both worlds by using Cloud Foundry installed directly on Kubernetes.

Reference [to know more...] :


The above blog is submitted as part of 'Devtron Blogathon 2022' - https://devtron.ai/
Check out Devtron's GitHub repo - https://github.com/devtron-labs/devtron/ and give a ⭐ to show your love & support.
Follow Devtron on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/devtron-labs/ and Twitter - https://twitter.com/DevtronL/, to keep yourself updated on this Open Source project.

Top comments (0)