Managed Kubernetes Comparison

TL;DR

What is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes is an open-source platform for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Containers package applications and their dependencies to enable fast deployment and consistent execution. Kubernetes manages these containers across clusters of hosts and provides tools for scaling, managing, and monitoring containerized applications. In this post, we compare the most popular European Managed Kubernetes providers.

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AWS EKS

AWS EKS is Amazon Web Services’ Managed Kubernetes service. This means AWS manages the underlying Kubernetes infrastructure, including the provisioning, configuration, and maintenance of Kubernetes clusters. With EKS, developers can create and manage Kubernetes clusters on the AWS platform without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure.

A major difference between EKS and other offerings is that EKS is seamlessly integrated into the AWS ecosystem. This means EKS users can directly access AWS services like EC2 instances, Elastic Load Balancer, and CloudWatch monitoring. This enables seamless integration of Kubernetes applications with other AWS services and features.

The pricing of EKS is flexible but somewhat complex. It is based on factors such as the number of EC2 instances used, the AWS services utilized, and data transfer. This can initially be confusing for users unfamiliar with AWS pricing.

Azure AKS

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is Microsoft’s Managed Kubernetes service in the Azure cloud. Similar to AWS EKS, Azure manages the underlying Kubernetes infrastructure for users, simplifying the deployment and management of Kubernetes clusters.

AKS offers deep integration with other Azure services, facilitating the development and deployment of applications. For example, AKS users can leverage Azure Active Directory for authentication and authorization of their Kubernetes applications and use network security groups to control traffic.

The pricing of AKS is more transparent than EKS and is primarily based on the chosen node type and the number of nodes in the cluster. This makes it easier for users to understand and plan the costs of their Kubernetes deployment.

Google GKE

Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is Google’s Managed Kubernetes service in the Google Cloud Platform. As one of the first offerings on the market, GKE holds a strong position in the Kubernetes community.

GKE provides a powerful and highly scalable Kubernetes infrastructure based on the Google Cloud platform. This means GKE users benefit from Google’s scalable and reliable infrastructure, which is globally distributed and offers high availability.

A key advantage of GKE is its deep integration with other Google Cloud services such as Stackdriver for monitoring and logging, Cloud IAM for access control, and Google Cloud Storage for data storage. These integrations enable seamless development, deployment, and management of Kubernetes applications in the Google Cloud.

The pricing of GKE is similar to AWS EKS, being somewhat more complex and based on factors such as node configuration, storage needs, and other services used in the Kubernetes deployment.

Summary

Overall, AWS EKS, Azure AKS, and Google GKE offer similar features for deploying and managing Kubernetes clusters in the cloud. The main difference, however, lies in their integration with the respective cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud) as well as their pricing and complexity.

For companies that already have a preference for a specific cloud platform or are heavily invested in a particular cloud infrastructure, it may be sensible to choose the corresponding Managed Kubernetes service to benefit from seamless integration and existing resources. Ultimately, the choice of Managed Kubernetes service should depend on the specific requirements of the project, the team’s existing skills, and the long-term business goals.