06 Mar 2020
4 mins read
Every day, we face a new topic amid the storm of hype. The latest is better than the previous. At least that is how it often feels if you listen to the buzz on the internet and the discussions of front runners. So much of bombarding leaves us with confusion and lack of clarity. I get it! The discussion is progressing at a speed that is sometimes difficult to follow. I see people applying for expert jobs but failing to explain fundamentals. Let’s explore one area together – compute services from the Cloud.
Let’s look at a comparison of virtual machines, containers and serverless computing in layman’s language.
A virtual machine can be compared to the home you buy (not build!). It is already there and sitting on a ground (HW, Host OS, Hypervisor). But it is empty, there is no furniture and you even have the possibility to change some of the interior walls (Guest OS Image).
It is fully yours and you pay for it independent of the load. You can scale within your house, let’s say you are getting kids, but there is a limit to it. When you reach that limit you will go for a bigger house. This is the reason why –
a) the houses are usually sized beyond the need and
b) scaling is time consuming (you are moving to a new house)
In addition, maintenance and cleaning is your job. Getting the heater maintained (or the versions up to date in your image) is a cost and effort on your bill as is the risk if you choose not to do it.
You want less effort around the house and more focus, let us say on living. Your option is to go for a furnished apartment which is the comparable model to the container in IT.
It is already there, and you rent it for the time you want to use it. The rent while independent of the amount of usage (nights and weekends or full time with home office) gives you at least more flexibility should you have the need for change. The furniture is in place and you need not to worry about it (standardized environment).
If you want to scale, you can rent identical apartments in the same block. That is quick and easy.
For a furnished apartment, you pay as long as you rent it, independent of the usage. But fora purpose-built location, you will have to pay only while you use it. Would you buy a space for permanent use or on rental basis (furnished apartment) for the full month if you only need the space for a few hours for an event? Purpose-built locations are being used while you need them and only a pay-per-use system can be followed. If you need more, you use more and pay for more, but that additional space is not permanently or temporarily bound to you after its intended usage.
The advantage is that you only have to pay for the real usage. You can even tie this into volumes, e.g. number of guests in case of an event location. Even if you do not have the choice in designing the space to your needs, you can choose from the different locations available in the market.
In the same way, serverless offers you a range of services or functions which allows you to run your code without having to worry about servers and the bill will only ever show the time and volume you used the service.
Just the way different solutions are available for space needs, solutions and services are available for server needs too. You may not want to host a biker party at your house but be renting an apt location may be a better option.
In the same way, not all applications benefit from serverless or containers. There are specific categories of applications that fit specific compute service models better than others. Here are some examples from a container consideration (extract):
You can avoid most pitfalls by using automation and working with a partner that understands the technology, the enterprise needs and cultural tendencies within your organization. Some of your teams might want to rush ahead while others object the change completely.
Here are 5 takeaways with regards to Virtual Machines, Containers and Serverless Computing:
In case you are looking for the respective offerings, here are the names and links for the key players.
Virtual machines: Azure Cloud Compute Container: Azure Container / AKS Azure Kubernetes Service Serverless Computing: Azure Functions
Virtual machines: AWS Compute Container: Containers on AWS Serverless Computing: Lambda
Virtual machines: Compute Engine Container: Containers on Compute / Kubernetes Engine Serverless Computing: Cloud Functions
About the Author
Matthias has more than 20 years of IT experience. He is dedicated to Cloud services fulltime since 2007. He has a unique set of experiences in areas including consultancy management through portfolio management, creation of cloud products, and classic data center delivery. Matthias is focused on enterprises adopting “modern delivery” as a standard way of working. In doing so, he works with customers on strategy, organization, processes and technology.
Infrastructure Mgmt. Services
22 Oct 2020
19 May 2020
04 May 2020
05 Mar 2020
Infrastructure Mgmt. Services, Cloudify Everything
08 Jan 2020
07 Nov 2019
18 Jun 2019
13 Mar 2019
22 Mar 2016
07 Mar 2016
02 Mar 2012
BI & Analytics
19 Mar 2009
26 Nov 2010
Digital Assurance
02 Jan 2012
17 Feb 2012
03 Jan 2013
04 Feb 2013
06 Feb 2013
Digital Assurance, Enterprise Solutions
14 Feb 2013
18 Feb 2013
21 Feb 2013
27 Feb 2013
Others
01 Mar 2013
04 Mar 2013
Enterprise Solutions
05 Mar 2013
18 Mar 2013
Digital Assurance, Enterprise Solutions, Others
22 Mar 2013
12 Apr 2013
26 Apr 2013
29 Apr 2013
13 May 2013
11 Jun 2013
17 Jun 2013
25 Jun 2013
19 Aug 2013
26 Aug 2013
27 Aug 2013
03 Sep 2013
10 Sep 2013
19 Sep 2013
24 Sep 2013
26 Sep 2013
30 Sep 2013
01 Oct 2013
03 Oct 2013
01 Nov 2013
19 Nov 2013
Enterprise Solutions, Manufacturing and Consumer
28 Nov 2013
03 Dec 2013
20 Dec 2013
03 Jan 2014
22 Jan 2014
27 Jan 2014
31 Jan 2014
12 Feb 2014
13 Feb 2014
20 Mar 2014
24 Mar 2014
17 Apr 2014
11 Jun 2014
Manufacturing and Consumer
26 Jun 2014
30 Jun 2014
10 Jul 2014
15 Jul 2014
16 Jul 2014
18 Jul 2014
28 Oct 2014
13 Jul 2015
06 Aug 2015
26 Aug 2015
28 Sep 2015
07 Oct 2015
26 Oct 2015
13 May 2016
23 May 2016
Application Transformation Mgmt.
11 Jul 2016
25 Aug 2016
03 Sep 2016
14 Sep 2016
15 Nov 2016
22 Nov 2016
25 Nov 2016
Business Process Services
25 Apr 2017
Banking and Financial Services
18 May 2017
30 May 2017
23 Jun 2017
27 Jun 2017
18 Jul 2017
26 Oct 2017
Healthcare, Insurance
28 Nov 2017
11 Dec 2017
25 Jan 2018
21 Feb 2018
14 Mar 2018
( Mandatory field * )
The information you provide will be used in accordance with our terms ofPrivacy Policy
Please Check on "I Agree" to register for the blog.