The topic of container storage has become quite popular. Why? You have surely heard of Docker and Kubernetes, right? Well, you can link the increase in the use of these systems. With the help of a Docker container, you can develop apps with a team from anywhere! Isn’t that cool? Real time collab without worrying about dependencies or other issues. As simple as creating a Docker image and sharing it with the same resources as you used on it.
Kubernetes is designed specially for stateless workloads, which means that the workloads do not really store anything on Kubernetes itself, and they can close any time. The concept of CSI is key here– it is discussed below. However, cloud storage with databases are one of the most traditional stateful services. As such, cloud storage needs persistence. That is, it needs something that does not go away or “shut down”. But why? What are the reasons for this?
- Kubernetes has evolved to be able to handle persistency (stateful workloads) in a much better way.
- It can scale better than traditional solutions do.
Container storage has become the ideal option for most developers. This is true for a lot of app developers. More so as companies shift tasks to the cloud. Storing programs in a container is a packaging process. It isolates the apps from the server hardware.
Container Storage for Beginners
But what does that mean? For this example, let’s consider a Docker container. Okay, so basically, it allows you to run a software instance without caring about its requirements. This is a crucial feature as it allows you to use the same instance of a Docker container used by someone else with all its functionalities regardless of your hardware.
Building a Docker container is like building full virtual systems. Apps can access all system resources on that docker container. Consumers can access cloud native apps in no time. This is due to the idea behind container storage and how they are used.
For instance, you can run a WordPress image on a Docker container. Using it in a Docker container allows you to virtualize changes and updates made to your code without affecting the actual site. If you’re a developer, you know how cool that is. That is why container storage, led by Docker and K8, is so popular today.
In this article, we will go over the idea of container storage and how to get started with it.
A Container Storage Ecosystem: What Does it Contain?
Storage providers can give a plugin for adding or deleting storage volumes. This can be across many docker container systems. This can also be done via a container storage interface (CSI). They can be used with Kubernetes V1.13– CSI upgraded to GA level.
Also, CSI satisfies the performance demands of big, distributed apps. These apps need fast input and output. CSI helps to enable storage providers and devs to make their file systems accessible. The main goal is to become accessible to programs that run within containers. As a result, storage is more flexible. For instance, an app can use a very robust parallel file system (PFS) leveraging CSI. This enables the mass use of the latest storage goods.
New and improved apps must be able to include the most recent changes that users want. The Kubernetes’ CSI plugin combines extra storage so that apps can exchange data across several cloud storage providers. This is while apps still enable certain security protections.
Given all this information, let’s look at the idea of Containers as a Service. On its own, it’s gaining a lot of popularity as a complete solution.
Container as a Service (CaaS)
What is a Container as a Service or CaaS? It allows developers or companies to upload, organize, run, and manage containers with container based virtualization. A CaaS provider will commonly provide a framework that allows users to make use of the service. It is a hot commodity as more businesses are deploying this service model. CaaS, or container as a service, includes all needed parts and management services for:
- Starting
- Setting up
- Scaling, running
- Replacing
- Stopping containers
Adding packaged I/O volumes through the CSI is a vital component of a CaaS solution.
What is Container Storage: ELI5
Okay. Let’s clear the fog. Often, you think you know the internal working of containers storage, but you don’t. However, IT teams must know everything, especially the various elements of a container ecosystem. So, if you didn’t before this article– that’s okay. The working variable and environment are also vital to understanding the concept.
Take this as a starting point. You can use this article to help your personal growth. Here’s what you need to know about the design and how to use it.
You landed the Cloud Storage of the future internet. 
Planning the Container Storage System and Design
Understanding the scope is vital for creating. This includes the user needs and elements involved. Be it a skyscraper or an IT infrastructure. This base is crucial for making the app characteristics, use cases, and dev requirements, especially for container infrastructure.
The connections to current infrastructures, such as:
- The bare-metal systems
- VM platforms
- Software environments (OS, other systems)
The app runtime environment is only a tiny portion of a production container platform. Therefore, proper planning also uses knowledge of the many components of a container ecosystem. A corporation already has one in place will also be necessary.
The difference between cloud and containers storage is that cloud storage offers a complete PaaS (platform as a Service). The company needs new admin processes that are specific to the domains for container storage.
What Should You Consider for Container Storage Design and System?
As a developer, knowing how the storage of containers works, the internal logic, is key. You can use this information for your benefit. Given that a company manages the basic system, on-site container installations need even more operational planning. IT should design for the following:
- Multitenancy. It refers to a “shared” access by only running one software instance on the server. Access is then shared among all the “tenants”– hence, the word. It is a useful way of grouping based on the need for similar resources, and it also saves overhead. Even privately owned clusters should take note of this, as they will serve users and apps from several units.
- Resource limitations, user and app split, and authentication. Although containers offer some runtime isolation, businesses with the stringent security needs should consider VM based containers. Role based access restrictions and interaction with current user directories help with authentication (RBAC).
- Logging of events. You must ensure that orchestration software (for example, Docker Swarm and Kubernetes) and container images record events. These should be sent to event monitoring systems. These are already installed on the system. Make sure containers using cloud services use tools like AWS CloudTrail. Certain businesses will link user data with debiting systems to support chargebacks.
- Container images and data backup. Most of the time, backup tools in place can do this. For example, use the docker save command to back up docker images. It allows you to create an archive of the current version for access later. It is a useful step for recovery.
- Handling third-party software licenses. Following license needs can be hard. Just like the early days of VMs. Plus, there isn’t a simple fix for this issue. This is because the container specifics depend on the software license types.
Address Organizational, Personnel, and Governance Problems
Containers cause problems because they enable closer co-op between IT and app devs teams. This happens too often. Thus, companies embracing DevOps culture are ready. Those that aren’t should think about it. Adding DevOps ideas to their work culture can be good for the company. For instance, Stateless containers do not support integrated enterprise requirements. Moreover, legacy storage systems are complex and lack API functionality. Another problem can be container security attack threats. These include attacks such as attacks against container images and authentication. Hence, these are some of the major issues that you need to consider and address.
It is important to address the occurring issues as they do, to prevent the snowballing effect.
Key Areas to Consider in Container Storage
Firstly, consider the costs of setting up and maintaining container storage for many years. Is it feasible? What will your business model be? Is it CaaS? If not, how are you using container storage in it? You need to ensure that the storage equipment you choose is compact to prevent an issue when there is more data. Furthermore, consider the container security to prevent data loss. This is vital to build trust with customers or users. You need to provide security measures to ease the concerns of container attacks. Do not skip this.
Dynamic provisioning is key for beginners in container storage. It can be managed by a DaemonSet (offered by Kubernetes or K8) that, by itself, checks the mapping of volume claims to Pod.
A DaemonSet ensures that all (or some) Nodes run a copy of a Pod. As nodes are added to the cluster, Pods are added to them.
A typical use case of a DaemonSet may be running a cluster storage daemon on every node or running a node monitoring daemon on every node. In a simple case, one DaemonSet, covering all nodes, would be used for each type of daemon.
A container storage app should scale smartly, balancing resources and usage. It should also perform excellently. Hence, it can support the tasks and data intensive work of AI.
Sinkevich said that it should be simple for the container storage to interact with your domain tools. Thus, it would make DevOps tasks easier and more useful.
Conclusion
Cloud storage and all aspects related to it are advancing quickly. The market is estimated to grow to 83.41 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Because of this, companies are upgrading their admins. Also, they are adopting cloud storage and CaaS solutions. Their internal storage systems are also getting an upgrade.
But like all upgraded tech, they need a battle plan in place. Or, in other words, a plan B. Hopefully, reading our thoughts and ideas about this gave you some insight into how fast the world of cloud storage is changing. Thus, this is a great time to learn this skill if you’re an individual. It’s in demand, and there’s a lot of demand in the market. If you internalize all the core principles, you stand a great chance.
Did you like reading about container storage? We have posted similar posts that you can check out for more practical use cases. Keep reading similar posts like Nextcloud Docker: Private Cloud Storage and Deploy WordPress on K8s. Also, if you’re looking to find a free cloud storage to use, you can read this post. Click here to read Free Cloud Storage: Top 9 Cloud Storage Services in 2022.
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Edited by: Syed Umar Bukhari.