Cross-provider Cluster - on Which Level?
Content
If a company uses multicloud and Kubernetes then it has to resolve this simple fact – on which level should the resources be shared.
As multicloud is becoming a more frequent visitor in companies, its cooperation with clusters and other approaches and processes is put in the spotlight as well. If a company uses multicloud and Kubernetes, then it has to resolve one basic fact – which level should experience resource sharing?
Options follow – on the level of workloads or on the level of infrastructure itself. As in most cases, it cannot be said that one is better or worse than the other generally. The main factor is what kind of environment you have that requires this approach and would see the most benefits.
What Are We Actually Talking About?
If a company deploys multicloud to its IT department then it wants to use services from different providers. But beware, this is not just a case of large companies. This approach is mmore likely the business of companies that intensely and dynamically work with large quantities of tasks within IT.
Infrastructure is a word that is not unknown to companies. It is actually a collection of computing resources in a certain format, with specific properties and architecture.
But workload doesn’t have to be that clear at first sight because you can imagine various things under this word. But if we stick with Kubernetes, then a workload is very simply put each application, process or service running in a cluster.
Why Do We Care About Various Levels?
Now that we know there are specific levels that can be run across providers, let’s look at why your company should care.
The answer is fairly simple – because each approach has its advantages that are advantages only for specific groups of companies. As soon as you would select the option that doesn’t fit your needs, advantages would be gine and you would find yourself on the road to inefficiency.
Clusters on the Workload Level
As the name suggests, it is a cluster focused on grouping resources for a specific workload – an application. It is a set of resources that are dedicated to a specific app- This group is defined based on the requirements of this application so the groups differ one workload from another.
It is an approach that is aimed at devoting the biggesst care and attention to individual applications running on the infrastructure. This leads to benefits – isolation, optimmization and scalability.
Isolation
This word sounds more like a con than a pro. In the case of workload clusters it really is a benefit. Because each workload has its resources dedicated, it could never happen that workloads would interfere with one another and usurp resources.
Optimalization
That appears on the level of power output because workloads can work with resources individually within each group. Thanks to this the resources are perfectly adjusted to the needs of the specific workload.
scalability
If there is a change in needs, then it is just necessary to adapt with regard to these changes and not think about what stays the same. Work with resources becomes mmore efficient because each app is scaled to the level it needs.
These benefits and also the description of the approach itself give us clues that cluster on the level of workloads is used when a company focuses on output optimization and resource isolation for individual and separated workloads.
Cluster on the Infrastructure Level
This approach is also called a shared cluster or a multi-tenant cluster. It is a pool of shared computing resources that are available across workloads and apps.
If you have a pool of computing resources – that includes computing power, storage and networks – then all workloads deployed in the cluster access this one group. This approach also has its benefits – resource efficiency, simple management and adaptability.
resource efficiency
When resources are shared across workloads, then the resources are efficiently used because at any point in time any of the workloads can access it. Resources are not dedicated so you can save more.
simple management
One set of resources is less than more sets of resources. That is simple math and it also shows the level of difficulty that has to be taken into account when you look at the management of individual clusters.
adaptability
When a need arises, resources are just reassigned. That is where the adaptability relies in this type of approach to cross-provider cluster management. Again it stems from the fact that the resources are not dedicated to individual workloads.
Benefits of a cluster on the infrastructure level tells us it is a more appropriate approach for companies that are looking for savings and multicloud environment consolidation.
Which One Should You Choose?
The foundation for your decision is already in your hands – do you need dedicated resources and scalability or shared resources with emphasis on low costs? This is our brief summary that can give yu a hint on which approach might be a good choice for you for your company to receive the best benefits.
