At the OpenStack Summit, held in Austin, USA, CoreOS released ‘Stackanetes’, a framework that deploys standard OpenStack services into containers and uses Kubernetes’ application lifecycle management capabilities to allow organisations to run OpenStack Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and containers side-by-side.
Stackanetes utilises Tectonic, CoreOS’s commercial distribution of Kubernetes, which was created to enable organisations to deliver infrastructure and platforms that are being labelled as “Google Infrastructure for Everyone Else (GIFEE)”. CoreOS have worked with OpenStack and Intel with the goal of creating the simplified lifecycle management of OpenStack services from deployments to upgrades, and the ability to easily scale and operate OpenStack IaaS in a resilient manner within private data centers.
InfoQ sat down with Wei Lien Dang, Head of Product, CoreOS, and asked more about the motivations for running OpenStack on Kubernetes, Stackanetes and deploying Google style infrastructure.
InfoQ: Welcome to InfoQ! Could you briefly introduce the motivation and work at CoreOS behind the ability to run OpenStack on Kubernetes please?
Dang: We at CoreOS are focused on helping bring Google-style infrastructure to enterprises. We have built many of the required components in open source over the past few years that previously did not exist - this was white space that needed to be filled in order to make GIFEE (Google’s Infrastructure For Everyone Else) a reality. This includes our projects like CoreOS Linux and etcd, as well as contributing to Kubernetes.
The growing community around OpenStack has proven the huge demand for an open source IaaS that can be run in any environment. One of the biggest challenges with OpenStack adoption to date has been the complexity related to deployment and on-going lifecycle management of the platform itself.
A month ago we first announced a collaboration with Intel to bring VMs and containers together via OpenStack and Kubernetes. And at the OpenStack Summit in Austin, we introduced “Stackanetes,” an initiative to deploy and manage OpenStack as an application on Kubernetes, which is another step forward in filling that white space. By running OpenStack on Kubernetes, you get the benefits of consistent deployments with containers and the robust application lifecycle management of Kubernetes. Once it is easier to deploy and manage OpenStack, we believe we’ll see further acceleration in adoption, quality, and development of the project.
InfoQ: Could you offer your thoughts on how many organisations will begin running a hybrid infrastructure of IaaS, CaaS and PaaS? Is OpenStack the best abstraction for managing all of this?
Dang: We anticipate there will be a significant number of organizations that will run these services to meet the needs of their business. We’re already seeing companies in all types of industries shifting their infrastructure strategy to provide web services at scale. Kubernetes, and GIFEE more broadly, is the best platform for managing all of these different services securely, reliably, and at scale.
InfoQ: We are seeing increasing mention of 'GIFEE', including in relation to the OpenStack/Kubernetes news. Not every organisation is (or aspires to be) Google, and so do you believe the is an appropriate meme?
Dang: Absolutely. The strength of GIFEE is the ability to easily scale as desired while maintaining stability and security. Operating with GIFEE means having a robust infrastructure to securely and reliably deploy and manage distributed applications at any scale, regardless of the size of your business.
InfoQ: We see that CoreOS and Intel will integrate Kubernetes and OpenStack into a single open source software-defined infrastructure (SDI) stack, which will ultimately be contributed upstream into OpenStack. How did CoreOS, Intel and OpenStack begin this collaboration?
Dang: Our partnership with Intel started about a year ago, with the mission to deliver a complete infrastructure solution from hardware through software stack. Collaborating with our partners at all levels allows us to build the best architecture for our customers. A single approach to cluster management and orchestration across VMs and containers simplifies and streamlines deployment, taking us one step closer to that goal.
InfoQ: Will the work be conducted in the open? If so, what is the best way for readers to get involved and contribute?
Dang: We are committed to keeping the software open, and are hosting the code on GitHub to reach a broad audience and get feedback from both the OpenStack and Kubernetes communities. Readers who want to get involved should go to https://github.com/coreos and contact us.
We are also working with the OpenStack community to integrate “Stackanetes” into upstream OpenStack.
InfoQ: Thanks for talking to InfoQ today. Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers?
Dang: CoreOS Fest is coming up in Berlin on May 9 and 10 – a fantastic way to get involved with the community and learn more about open source projects driving GIFEE forward. In its second year, and first time in Europe, CoreOS Fest gathers technical minds from around the world in open source, distributed systems, Linux containers, security, Kubernetes, and more. We welcome you all to join us, and are offering a 15 percent discount on tickets to CoreOS Fest to InfoQ readers with the code “EssentialEurope” at https://coreos.com/fest/.
More information on Stackanetes can be found on the CoreOS blog.