Re:Let's review Docker
by mwcampbell on Saturday February 07, 2015 @06:41PM
(#9015790)
If you're renting VMs from a provider like DigitalOcean or Linode, a VM per service can get expensive compared to running multiple containers within a single VM. So, if not Docker, some system for deploying containers in production can still be useful.
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Although I would agree that services such as EC2 are not cost effectively for 1:1, this argument is somewhat invalidated when you consider $5 instances from DockerOcean. $100/month for 20 concurrent VMs is enough to replicate even the most complex of deployments. But if you're running on a shoestring, in which case it's probably not production critical, then sure containerisation might be useful too.
Also remember that Docker is not a container deployment system, and afaik, they don't advertise themselves as such (though they also don't make much effort to explain this explicitly either)
If you're renting VMs for your own use, the answer is not to get more VMs, but to deploy multiple services onto one VM.
The challenges of doing this are less than many claim - the trick is to use a CM so you have a repeatable build process.
What does CM stand for? Also can you recommend some CMs that you've had success with?
Configuration Management - e.g. Puppet, Saltstack, Ansible, Chef; or if you're old school cfengine.
They are good at bringing systems to a known state; but not as good for cleaning systems up.
If not watched carefully, all of the cruft in your /etc directory will be ported to your CM because someone needs it.