EDITOR ’ S COMMENT
You can start by auditing your current position by creating a dashboard using the data from your containers .
SERGEY PRONIN , PRODUCT OWNER , PERCONA
An increasing number of companies are adopting containers to deploy their implementations . Containers simplify the software delivery process as they make it easier to move those application images around . You can use Kubernetes to control those containers and automate processes around them . This makes it simpler to run containers and create the resources they need . However , automation doesn ’ t mean you can just ‘ set and forget ’ those containers . Without close management , costs can spiral .
When you implement containers , there are two main areas where costs will be incurred : Computing resources and storage . As you add more containers to cope with demand , compute and storage will be automatically provisioned to each image . Kubernetes can do this automatically to deal with failure events or if you get a spike in demand . Public cloud services then bill for all the storage that gets provisioned , rather than how much you are actually using .
Many developers see an increase in cloud costs as they expand their use of containers . It ’ s therefore important to track the resources you use to avoid unexpected costs . This involves getting the right data on your containers , as well as understanding how much those containers use over time .
To get this data you need to implement observability tools that can gather information from each container and deliver it back to a central repository . Without this data , it is difficult to make the right decisions to avoid waste . For example , Prometheus is an open source project that can deliver that information centrally , and you can use a tool like Percona Monitoring and Management to create a dashboard to analyse the data .
You can start by auditing your current position by creating a dashboard using the data from your containers . To do this , you can measure how your clusters perform and what is taking place over time . This will be useful for two reasons – firstly , it will show you how healthy your applications are in general . Secondly , you can look at how many resources your clusters are given at the start and work out how much they actually use . Depending on the utilisation you see in practice , you could reduce the amount of storage you have in place per container and cut your costs .
Overprovisioning and wastage can occur in many places throughout your containers . Create a similar visualisation for CPU and Memory to find out where spending can be reduced . If you find that utilisation rates are low , look at other factors in your applications and edit the setup accordingly , such as running your nodes with more memory and less CPU .
After this high-level analysis you can also look at your namespaces and tune each request . This should ensure each container gets the appropriate resources for its workload , reducing waste and costs . •
Many developers see an increase in cloud costs as they expand their use of containers . It ’ s therefore important to track the resources you use to avoid unexpected costs .
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 38
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