geard : Combining OpenShift Origin with Docker

geard is an approach by RedHat OpenShift Origin to get stuffs working with Docker. Cloud Automation is important and weakest point for PaaS. Weakest point – because on any IaaS, it is possibly to install any work with any platform and software. PaaS has the basic disadvantage of not being so much flexible. Previously we discussed how Docker becoming the centre of interest to Cloud Providers and geard is such example for OpenShift Origin by RedHat.

 

geard : Combining OpenShift Origin with Docker

 

geard is a command line tool for integrating Docker containers across multiple hosts. This is the core of the next generation of OpenShift Origin. OpenShift thinks that this will help the developers’ to install and manage the components of their. Official page can be found here :

 

Why geard instead of Chef for OpenShift Origin?

 

Docker is the product which is exciting the most since last year. Docker started as an open-source project named dotCloud. It is a Linux-only tool developed in the Go language and it builds on LinuX Containers (LxC) to create Virtual Environments (VE™s). As VE is radically different from a virtual machine (VM), Docker’s simple abstraction gives the combination of already powerful linux containers (LXC) and file systems (like AUFS). Chef practically in most cases is an improvement over the bash scripts. Chef is a CM. But there are value in Chef – Chef has mature recipes, relatively large community, support for environments other than Linux.

Possibly RedHat OpenShift selected Docker thinking about the future. However, almost all OpenStack (not OpenShift) based on Chef. It is really difficult to “convert” one from the other. From developers point of interest, Docker has some very nice advantages over Chef. Another important member in this context is Vagrant. There is Vagrant and Docker combo too, they basically can not be compared.

One thing must to be remembered from the lesson from the past few years – what Rackspace does, usually it becomes the standard. As a developer, it is dangerous to either delay in learning things which has bright prospects or rush for a new stuff.