Studies show that businesses are becoming more cloud-native. The world’s leading companies, including Netflix, Uber, and Amazon, have embraced the tag. But what does “cloud native” mean?
Different people might have different explanations for it. That’s why you’ll find several definitions of cloud-native floating online. This guide aims to simplify this term and explain its basics – key pillars, architecture, services, and stack.
If you want to learn more, enrolling in an online cloud computing course is a great option. We’ll discuss that further at the end of the guide.
What Does ‘Cloud Native’ Mean?
Cloud-native is the approach that enables the development of software that has been built, tested, modified, and deployed in a cloud environment. Its design is based on the templates and features available in cloud architecture.
You need to choose, allot, utilize, and manage the cloud resources to ensure a smooth operation of the cloud-native technology. It should enable the cloud services’ scalability, agility, flexibility, and resilience in its functionality. You are not restricted by location or systems when developing and delivering your application.
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What is Cloud-Native Architecture?
Cloud-native architecture is a design methodology that involves small parts of code using cloud application development capabilities to create a comprehensive cloud-native application.
Due to the division of the application into small pieces, the application can be tested and managed efficiently without overlap or a disastrous effect on the rest of the code pieces. As it uses a modular approach to create executable pieces of code, it is distinct and more agile than the traditional monolithic architecture.
Such a cloud-native architecture requires multiple pillars contributing to its operation, such as microservices, APIs, containerization, orchestration, CI/CD, and more.
Cloud-Native Pillars
Cloud-native pillars are defined as the capabilities inherent to the cloud that are used to create cloud-native applications. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Microservices
Microservices refers to the capability that helps generate small sections of application services. They possess unique features and can be assembled using application programming interfaces (API) to form a complete application. Each microservice uses its own data and completes a particular function.
Containers
They are groups of microservices containing every element required to run the code. They are lightweight components and executable as they contain the application source code and the dependencies. They are portable and deployed independently. Hence, they can be reused in other applications. This is similar to code libraries, without the associated mismatch in languages or frameworks.
Orchestration
It is the management of the containers and their synergistic operation. Some platforms enable capabilities such as monitoring and controlling the containers, flagging errors, balancing container loads, and generating documentation for future reference. Orchestration is critical if the number of microservices used in an application continues to grow.
DevOps
DevOps is the collaboration between development and operation teams for a smooth software development process. It is agile and, therefore, extremely favored for the cloud-native development process. The automation feature can be adapted to the cloud-native application development process and reduce the time-to-market.
Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)
CI/CD deals with the simultaneous integration of the application parts and delivery of the complete application. This method helps with quicker application development when used in a cloud-native environment. It is further aided due to the microservices that are advantageous for simultaneous operations.
APIs
API refers to the application programming interface. They are tools that assist the efficient information transfer between microservices. They facilitate the cohesive functioning of the microservices and are key to the formation of a user-responsive application. However, these are primarily for sharing information to external requests from users.
Service Mesh
A service mesh is similar to APIs but work internally to share data between microservices and containers. It operates on an infrastructure level, and improves the security and reliability of the application.
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What are Cloud-Native Services?
Cloud-native services are the technologies that assist you in creating an application. They provide functionalities that help you run, test, deploy, and update your application. For example, platform-as-a-service (Paas) is a service that provides a platform. You can use this platform, modify it, add features, and write an application.
APIs are also a form of service as they help connect your application’s multiple microservices or modules. Some examples of cloud-native services are the OCI container registry, the AWS Elastic container service, and Azure Virtual Machines.
What Is a Cloud-Native Stack?
A cloud-native stack is a collection of layers developers use to create, test, manage, and run cloud-native applications. The layers consist of tools and technologies specific to each development step.
Infrastructure Layer
The infrastructure layer comprises operating systems, storage, network, computing tools, and other supporting resources. It is the foundation layer of the stack provided by third-party cloud service providers who manage and control it.
Provisioning Layer
This layer deals with the creation and security of the infrastructure. This layer consists of tools to support container image scanning, storage, and policy settings. Configuration of the cloud environment is a key function of this layer.
Runtime Layer
The runtime layer comprises tools and codes required to run a container. The tools enable you to allot the storage necessary for the containers for an efficient operation. This layer also consists of a container runtime for container lifecycle management.
Orchestration and Management Layer
This layer collates all the application components into a single assembly. It works like an operating system and uses tools such as Docker or Kubernetes to deploy and manage containers in the application efficiently.
Application Definition and Development Layer
This is the final layer that developers use to build applications. It is crucial as it consists of the messaging systems, CI/CD pipelines, databases, features, modules, and container images associated with the application.
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Advantages of Cloud-Native
Cloud-native technology has come to the fore as a popular application development method due to several advantages. Here are some of the most compelling ones.
- As several people can access the cloud-native features at once, multiple parts of an application can be developed simultaneously. As a result, the application is completed much quicker, and the time-to-market is reduced.
- You can source talent from all around the world and ensure that the best minds are working on developing a superior application.
- As cloud-native can provide separate environments for testing, the application sections can be tested while it is still being developed. The developers can create multiple scenarios to ensure a robust testing framework.
- The bugs in the application can be treated separately and modified without affecting any other sections of the code.
- Developers can regularly monitor and test existing applications and address user concerns without requiring the user to uninstall the existing version and reinstall the new version. The updates can be seamlessly integrated into the existing versions.
- The development process can be scaled up or down without operational interruption, as the scaling is done via readily available cloud-native features. You can allot or reallocate resources for optimum usage and improve cost savings.
- Cloud-native services are portable and can be used from anywhere. They do not require a physical compact disc or thumb drive for installation and usage.
- A cloud-native application is highly reliable and secure due to the security measures inherent to the cloud service.
Disadvantages of Cloud-Native
Cloud-native is not without its disadvantages. Here are some of the main ones.
- While separating features into parts for simultaneous operation is beneficial, it may become unmanageable if the correct tools and processes are not used.
- It requires cultural shifts in the organization that may have relied on traditional application development processes.
- Although you may save costs in hardware, you may encounter difficulties with cost optimization if the cloud resources are not appropriately allotted, controlled, or wasted.
- A knowledge gap in the development team or the existing technology may lead to inefficient development and testing.
- The concepts of cloud-native technology may not be comprehensible to non-technical employees, and there is a chance of miscommunication of expectations and tasks.
Despite these limitations, knowledge of cloud-native technology is a must for all aspiring cloud computing professionals, especially as the expanse of internet-based applications is growing globally.
Gain Professional Knowledge of Cloud-Native and Other In-Demand Cloud Skills
Cloud-native is a popular approach today because it helps build scalable, resilient, and flexible applications, leveraging the full potential of cloud architecture, services, and delivery models. Due to this, the demand for cloud-native skills is on the rise.
Enrolling in an industry-recognized cloud computing course is a great way to add these skills to your repertoire. The program follows the curriculum of top certifications such as Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator: AZ:104 and AWS Solutions Architect and prepares you with job-ready skills.
You’ll learn key concepts and fundamentals of Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services, managing Azure resources, configuring and deploying virtual machines and networks, identifying data storage options, and integrating SaaS services on Azure. Besides theoretical knowledge, you’ll get hands-on training and exposure to real-world problem-solving through capstone projects.
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