What is Containers as a Service (CaaS)?

CaaS is a category of cloud services where the service provider offers customers the ability to manage the deploy containerized application and clusters. CaaS is important due to the rising popularity of container technology, microservices-based architecture, and cloud computing. The use of containers has become a staple of DevOps methodology due to the efficiency and scalability offered by container services. 

The ability to automate certain IT functions through orchestration paired with the improved portability of containers helps reduce the development lifecycle and the time between deployments without increasing risk. Containerized applications can be deployed through either on-premises data centers or the cloud, and can migrate easily between hybrid and multi-cloud environments or to different cloud providers.  

 As with other cloud computing services, CaaS makes it possible for users to pay for the specific resources that would be beneficial to their project or organization, such as load balancing or scheduling capabilities, and allows organizations to reap the benefits of container management without having to invest in the required infrastructure to support it.

Cloud service models have seemingly taken over the tech landscape in recent years as agile development trends have evolved. The prominence of cloud computing has introduced many “as a service” offerings. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Containers as a Service (CaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS) are three popular options:  

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

IaaS allows IT departments to implement a robust, fully configurable computing infrastructure without the cost, burden, and space involved with building and managing a private datacenter. IaaS environments are typically supported by virtual machines and provide only basic infrastructure, so the platform, environment, and applications still must be configured, managed, and deployed. Google Compute Engine, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Rackspace Managed Hosting are all examples of IaaS platforms. 

Containers as a Service (CaaS)

CaaS is a form of container-based virtualization where applications and their dependencies are bundled into lightweight, portable containers. CaaS helps development teams deploy and manage applications more efficiently while offering more control of container orchestration than is allowed by PaaS. Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, and Microsoft Azure are examples of well-known CaaS platforms.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS allows end users to develop and deploy applications without the burden of building, managing, and maintaining infrastructure. PaaS offers less granular control but more agility and is a good choice for software developers working on a complex application that would benefit from a single source code and automated testing and deployment. Google App Engine, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, and Salesforce Heroku are examples of PaaS service providers.

Highly distributed or complex infrastructures that can come with cloud computing may have a negative impact on visibility without a comprehensive monitoring strategy. AppDynamics simplifies APM in any environment by offering end-to-end visibility into every component of your applications, down to code-level details, for a flawless application experience.

AppDynamics helps your teams accelerate release cycles and empowers your development teams without server or cluster management overhead. With advanced capabilities around user-friendly cluster management and monitoring, AppDynamics offers container monitoring that enables you to understand how your infrastructure affects your application and business performance.