Containers as a Service: Types, Benefits, and Best Software in 2023

The longevity of the underlying software is responsible for a product’s lifetime, but businesses working with traditional software deployment have a hard time enhancing the depth of their apps. Most of their time is spent troubleshooting and completing production.

Deploying the old way using barebone computers has been replaced by Containers as a Service (CaaS). It’s used to push containers to live software projects.

Using container management software helps DevOps teams focus on adding functionalities and services to applications rather than worrying about their production, scheduling, and testing. It also integrates with multi-cloud environments across multiple operating systems within a networking hub.

Containers as a Service system that handles various data workload functionalities like cluster management and multilevel stack implementation so that you can run your apps with ease. You’ll be able to scale your services across diverse networks and build a strong software infrastructure.

Containers as a Service architecture

Containers as a Service have all the data you need to set up a host computer to run any service. The containers are deployed in a mindful way that doesn’t drain data or skip any process.

This architecture is divided into five explicit layers.

• The infrastructure layer comprises the hard drives required to install containers on a computer. The infrastructure is the bottom layer of container architecture and hosts several software programs.
  
• The container orchestration layer packages applications, software libraries, and dependencies into one container and stores them within a container engine like Docker Hub or Kubernetes. Once the production is set, these containers are called from the global class.
• The containerization layer is the process of scaling, deploying, running, and distributing containerized applications. The applications are scaled and loaded across on-prem or cloud servers, leading to agility and convenience.
• The platform services layer is an integrated data environment interface, particularly a graphical user interface (GUI), that executes applications via application programming interface (API) calls. API calls can connect to any console or web app and execute the code.
  
• The application layer is the main programming compiler that executes software services. It can be created using different frameworks, like .NET, Java, Swift, or Ruby on Rails. Packing all these layers into one unit takes the burden off DevOps teams.

Running multiple stacks together on autopilot shifts the focus of IT teams toward more crucial issues like bugs, code incompatibility, or ransomware.

How do Containers as a Service work?

Containers as a Service providers have functions and resources that your DevOps and software engineering teams need to test, deploy, and produce multiple containers. For example, if a virtual machine contains a node.js stack to be implemented as a dry run, the container would package all software dependencies and libraries for a common reference point. Hosting providers can refer to the container registry address to extract app components without harming the infrastructure.

This helps operationalize the process of app development and research. Hosting providers like Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR), Amazon Fargate Cloud One, and NetApp help scale containers with different operating systems within a single production environment. This, in turn, guarantees seamless usage of applications between virtualized servers and virtual machines.

Businesses can scan and deploy container images within the private or public cloud to optimize their software cycle.  The containers are adopted in virtualized environments and managed without external interference from cloud engineers and full-stack developers. CaaS solutions resemble Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) in that they provide an integrated window to run multiple stacks or projects at fixed intervals. 

Containers as a Service has eased the concern of software teams, as it helps automate the app cycle and manage data in the cloud. This takes the load off DevOps teams to package and install apps and services across multiple servers.

Benefits of Containers as a Service

The deployment of Containers as a Service has made the software development lifecycle simpler and more flexible. By mixing cloud capabilities with network engineering, CaaS provides a common platform to manage all your apps, dependencies, and relationships from a singular platform. Here is a list of more benefits you can expect from a CaaS platform.

• Resource efficiency: By keeping a common location for containers, CaaS optimizes network resources and takes the pressure off DevOps tools to maintain audit cycles and bug detection trails.
• Simplified deployment: CaaS systems have gained popularity in recent days for their power to auto-scale and launch applications across networks. The apps go into production much faster and without reevaluating code.
• Load balancing: CaaS can orchestrate multiple container images in a way that doesn’t strain the infrastructure bandwidth. The model knows how much load to disperse over a particular cloud hosting provider and an operating system. 
• CI/CD pipeline: By deploying containers, businesses can reorganize their continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. Deployment of automatic containerized applications speeds up the CI/CD processes in app development.
• Auto-scaling: The robust software suite gives information about current containers orchestrated inside the premise or over local clouds. With the information in place, organizations can monitor, trace, and audit the execution of their apps and also scale them across different networks.
• Orchestration: You can orchestrate containers without open-source Docker Registry or Kubernetes support. The platform is powered by container images and engines that create an abstraction layer to transfer processes between two infrastructures.
  
• Microservices: The infrastructure and graphical user interface of a CaaS platform powers microservices on the cloud. It’s deployed over mesh infrastructure that supports microservices through additional features and functionalities.
• Integrated platform: Like PaaS, CaaS reduces the dependency on barebone systems to host applications and provides a unified cluster management service to store data. The platform offers as much ability to host, operate, and transfer containers as PaaS, but with added flexibility. The integrated data environment eliminates network hassles, versioning, and lazy loading.
  
• Cost savings: CaaS is a secure and affordable solution for deploying, training, and validating your production processes that takes the load off DevOps teams. With CaaS, you can set up automated logic to integrate and push apps into production, which reduces API investment and manual audit work by DevOps engineers.
  
• Fault isolation: As CaaS oversees several containers deployed in unison, sometimes it can get cluttered. With fault isolation, containers can be orchestrated into different virtual machines and then connected with one or more Docker Registry hubs to enable smooth cloud transfers.
  
• Ecosystem and marketplace: The platform can self-implement container images and create an autonomous ecosystem across different infrastructure layers. It sends or receives server responses, rolls back or isolates apps, and adjusts OS compatibility. This service guarantees the automation of containers and builds a production unit ecosystem without relying on virtual machines or barebone computers.
• Network version control: It’s possible that a particular container might not be compatible with hosting an application over a network.  Network version control makes it possible to execute any version of software on a platform or a container without compilation or runtime errors.
• Role-based access control (RBAC): Once a container is deployed on a virtual machine or virtual OS, it can open and migrate any server data. Because these logs and data are sensitive to an infrastructure, CaaS platforms have an RBAC service that doesn’t allow unauthorized access to networks.

Challenges of Containers as a Service

Though Containers as a Service can replace traditional container deployment processes, a few challenges stand in the way of being a common software deployment solution. 

• Limited flexibility: The concept of automated container deployment is relatively new. Enterprises must be careful while operating these containers on physical or cloud systems and go through a security checklist to ensure the software functions as it should.
• Compatibility issues: Server connections, responses, redirects, and network protocols must be up and running for CaaS platforms to work properly. If any part of the connectivity is out of place, services won’t work.
  

• Data privacy: CaaS isn’t just a local or on-prem solution. Open source CaaS platforms like Amazon ECR, Google Kubernetes Engine, or Docker Datacenter are prone to cyberattacks. These tools should have proper security features like identity and access management, deep tissue scanning, vulnerability scanning, and network isolation.
  

• Poor data management practices: Data manipulation and orchestration haven’t been successful with the container as a service platform. Mishandling containers can result in a company facing losses. This is why CaaS hasn’t replaced the traditional data federation models that store data in SQL databases.
  

• Resource allocation: Enterprises need to monitor and log resource distribution to keep a check on their budgets and costs. Containers are resource-effective, which means they won’t increase your infrastructure loads. Tracking resource utilization and configuring networks accordingly is crucial to long-term cloud success.
  

• Complex data orchestration: Connecting with different operating systems and working with container data is tricky. CaaS platforms are deployed over public servers with little guarantee of data management. This is the reason containers aren’t used widely for executing applications or trusted with critical data.
  

• Compliance and governance: The services and features of CaaS platforms change as a result of industry compliance and governance policies. Enterprises must manually assess these industry policies and make their data compliant and legal.
  

• Licensing and vendor lock-in: The licensing or subscription costs for containers as a service tool are high. Further, the vendor lock-in obstructs these providers from offering complete flexibility to their users. 

Best practices for Containers as a Service 

To deploy containers successfully on hosts, a set of best practices is followed by every company. Running cloud-native apps can go wrong. By monitoring your resources, consumption, and data continuously, your teams can be rest assured that containers have been deployed properly. 

Here is a set of best practices you should follow while managing your CaaS platform.

• Regular scans: Make sure your containers and container images go through regular vulnerability scans to ensure it doesn’t have an incompatible file in the memory.
• Continuous monitoring and logging: Set up weekly or monthly checks to keep track of the health of containers being deployed into production. Ensure they comply with service level agreements, implementation checklist, and client configuration requirements.
• Container orchestration and automation: For private organizations, securing containers with container orchestration platforms like Docker Swarm, Amazon ECR, or Kubernetes keeps their functions intact and stabilizes the production environment. Automating container deployment in pipelines helps keep minimum interaction between containers to not eat into each other’s processes.
• Infrastructure as a code (IaC): Using infrastructure as a code (IaC) to execute containers speeds up the process since you do them in batches. IaC is an easy way to scale your code editing and programming workflows by reusing code for different containers.
• CI/CD: Integrating container images with CI/CD validates the agility of applications before they go into production. CI/CD pipelines are used for updating the files with canary releases, which is an early part of software testing. 

Containers as a Service vs. Platform as a Service 

While both platforms are used for native app development, there is a bit of an edge that containers as a service have over the platform as a service.

Container as a Service is a data abstraction platform between infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and PaaS that helps deploy, install, and test containerized applications. The tool is used to gain more control over enterprise applications and custom enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation. 

A CaaS platform automates container orchestration, builds effective CI/CD pipelines, and adjusts and scales applications across data centers.

Platform as a Service is an integrated web interface used to create cloud-native or OS-native applications. This is a platform-independent tool that delivers hardware and software tools for the product development lifecycle.

Containers as a Service vs. Infrastructure as a Service

While Containers as a Service and Infrastructure as a Service are both cloud computing platforms, the former initializes apps, while the latter provides resources to businesses.

Containers as a Service has a container engine that stores, distributes, scales, and deploys container images within a particular on-premise infrastructure. It scales app efficiency, optimizes DevOps resources, and speeds the production of different applications and services within an enterprise.

Infrastructure as a Service is a macro version of the CaaS platform but is used to manage software infrastructure. It comprises networks, object storage, servers, and virtualization that secures data. It is a combination of physical and virtual machines that contains an enterprise’s critical data logs.

Best Containers as a Service software platform in 2023

Containers as a Service facilitates cloud operations by deploying a specific service model and functionalities so users can install and run apps. It returns some bandwidth to DevOps engineers, network engineers, and system administrators by operationalizing the infrastructure between two companies. 

The advent of CaaS platforms has simplified resource management, reduced testing issues, and launched apps into production at a much faster speed.

To be included in this software category, a software must:

• Organize containers and monitor container engines over on-premise or public cloud servers.
• Orchestrate applications and container images with service functionality. 
• Secure network hosting providers and reduce virtual machine consumption.
• Automate container deployment and CI/CD pipeline.
• Replicate containers for simultaneous orchestration

Below are the five leading container management systems from G2's Fall 2023 Grid® Report. Some reviews may have been edited for clarity.

1. Google Cloud Run

Google Cloud Run is a cloud computing platform that orchestrates containers as a service over public cloud servers. With its assistance, you can run code automatically, support your web developers, and make the product development workflow more fun and intuitive.

What users like best:

"I can securely store all my data or photos, and if I want more memory, I can pay for more storage. This application does leave me calm because I know that my information will never be lost.”

- Google Cloud Run Review, Igor P.

What users dislike:

“I have been using a client-side Google Cloud account, so it didn't debit any money from my account. But it is quite risky for the people who use their personal bank account. After the free trial, it might be possible some amount will be deducted from your account. So users need to keep an eye on the end date of the free trial.”

- Google Cloud Run Review,  Pratiksha N.

2. Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS)

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service tests, monitors, and deploys services and product lifecycle management. It’s an easy and effortless way to fault-isolate apps, manage services, and scale cloud infrastructure capacity.

What users like best:

"The essential features of AWS cloud are flexibility and a fully managed infrastructure. AWS cloud gives you the flexibility to choose the system configuration and availability. Also, It manages all the backed functionality of the server itself. We choose the system according to our requirements, use it whenever we like, and pay accordingly."

- Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) Review, Neha M.

What users dislike:

“Empowering a few add-ons like service mesh and observing would be decent, rather than having to introduce them yourself after the creation of the cluster.”

- Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) Review, Simran R.

3. AWS Fargate

Amazon Fargate is a container tool for elastic container registry and Elastic Kubernetes Service that regulates container images and operates containers without managing data registries. This CaaS links AWS Azure cloud for seamless transfer of networks and data.

What users like best:

"I have been using AWS Fargate for quite some time now. It gives a lot of freedom to have all applications running in a serverless environment where we don't have to manage the servers themselves, and AWS does it for us. It's more secure and reliable as well."

- AWS Fargate Review, Nithees Balaji M.

What users dislike:

“It can be quite expensive if not used with proper pre-planning. Also, I don't prefer the VPC Subnet service because if you delete default subnets by mistake, you can't retrieve them again. So I feel some improvements can be made here.”

- AWS Fargate Review, Paras A.

4. Digital Ocean 

Digital Ocean, designed for businesses of any size, consolidates large volumes of notebooks, compiled information, and runtime monitoring. 

What users like best:

“The platform offered by DigitalOcean lacks the depth that certain other Platforms such as AWS contain. DigitalOcean lock port 25 on Droplets, making it impossible to use for email without an external SMTP relay. DigitalOcean also does not offer an SMTP relay, making it necessary to look elsewhere for such a tool if you plan to use the server for email hosting - as someone managing a web server, this is disappointing but not a dealbreaker.”

- Digital Ocean Review, Matt D.

What users dislike:

To be fair, not all team members of the support team were great; there were some canned responses on occasion, but for me, it's the result that counts. From a tech point of view, there have never been any issues.

- Digital Ocean Review, Dan B.

5. RedHat OpenShift Container Platform 

RedHat OpenShift Container Platform is an enterprise-level container orchestration platform that manages, stores, tests, and deploys containerized applications. The system provides role-based access control (RBAC), network access control (NAC), vulnerability scanning, and protection against cyber attacks.

What users like best:

“I highly recommend considering the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. It offers a powerful and feature-rich Kubernetes solution for managing containerized applications. It provides an enterprise-ready environment with automation, scaling, and deployment features. Red Hat's commitment to open-source ensures continuous improvement and support from a vibrant community.“

- RedHat OpenShift Container Platform Review, Shivam S.

 What users dislike:

“Since RedHat OpenShift frameworks encourage more security compliance (as soon as you start building), real-time interactive applications are not the best suited to use OpenShift because that may introduce some latency. “

- RedHat OpenShift Container Platform Review, Kapil K.

Data up in the clouds

Seeding your infrastructure without harming your internal servers and connectivity is the way to the future. Data currently stored and used physically will float to hybrid storage servers. Containers as a Service system will drastically change how organizations maintain their databases, run IT checks, and serve their end users.

Be smart, not binary! Learn the best ways to manage your data on-premise with an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provider and build a secure facility system for your business.