Time-consuming, manual, repetitive tasks are a nightmare for any C-level executive because they're prone to human errors and scaling is near impossible. Instead, organizations want that competitive advantage with automation. That’s where Kubernetes comes in.
An increasing number of these organizations are turning to Kubernetes for state-of-the-art infrastructures.
Why?
Because Kubernetes is a highly portable, scalable, and powerful orchestration tool that manages containerized applications. Not only that, but it has many other benefits, which you’ll learn about in this article. Find out what’s in it for you and how you can benefit from deploying a mail server on Kubernetes.
Exploring the Benefits of Kubernetes
Portability
From the Benefits of Containerization article, you know that containerization allows you to deploy apps faster, or easily change configurations and versions of your software on Axigen, all with increased security. But when you have many containers, you need a container orchestration tool to take care of things like storage orchestration, autoscaling, rolling updates, and making the best use of your resources.
Compared to other orchestrators, which are tied to specific infrastructures or container runtimes, Kubernetes isn’t, making it highly portable. It can work with anything from a private to a public Cloud, to an on-premises server, including almost any type of container runtime. Because it can work on various infrastructure and environment configurations, you can use the same approach regardless of data center, Cloud, laptop, stateless or stateful, etc.
This also means that you’re not locked in to a particular infrastructure provider. Because Kubernetes works virtually the same everywhere, if you want to switch your Cloud vendor for any reason, it facilitates the workload and allows you to easily transition to a different provider.
Pro tip: ensure your host operating system is a 2016 Linux or Windows version or newer for best results.
Future-proof and Cost-efficient Solution
Depending on your organization’s needs you may require a cluster deployment. Traditionally, a cluster was harder to set up, but Kubernetes makes it extremely simple by distributing your workloads on nodes and applying the right configuration to tie everything together. You just need the right configuration.
Additionally, whether you’re running internal or custom enterprise apps, you have an incredibly fast-growing collection of complementary software tools and projects that are pre-integrated with Kubernetes. This makes it easy to extend its functionality and customize everything according to your needs. And considering that so many organizations are jumping ship to Kubernetes, your solution will likely be feasible for many years to come.
Another excellent feature of Kubernetes is that it allows you to scale up (depending on the needs of your apps and its required resources during peak times) or down (during less busy times of the day, week, or year). This auto-scaling feature allows you to further track which resources you’re using for apps to ensure none go to waste. You can essentially adapt your infrastructure to new load conditions. In turn, this leads to high utilization, more efficiency, and you don’t have to pay for resources you don’t need or use.
Reliability, Productivity, and Ease-of-use
The more an organization uses Kubernetes, the more efficient it is. This means that you’ll also be more productive the more you use it, relying on Helm charts to provide the preconfigured deployment templates. Additionally, Kubernetes allows you to change or update your software without downtime with rolling updates. Furthermore, you can set up Kubernetes to reach a high uptime with public Cloud vendors.
Fun fact: experts reported being twice as productive after adopting Kubernetes, while 68% of them say they want to increase their Kubernetes footprint.
Pro tip: to correctly implement Kubernetes into your workflows, familiarize yourself with the different tools and what they can do for you. For example, Drone makes it easier to create CI/CD pipelines, while Prometheus simplifies monitoring. Most of the Kubernetes tools in the collection are free to use and can drastically shorten release cycles and significantly improve software quality, from development to production, among others.
Reduced Cloud Complexity
Deploying to the Cloud is already complex (too many APIs to learn, anyone?) and requires planning and an understanding of the implications that come with this change.
To offset this need, you must use CI/CD tools in order to leverage Kubernetes to its full potential. It simplifies installation processes and you require fewer engineers to understand the technical complexities. Instead, you need people to understand the high-level processes. Ultimately, you should only focus on meeting your business deadlines and rely on the pipeline and the templates to take care of the deployment process for you.
Pro tip: use GitOps ideals to simplify Kubernetes operations and development, so you have everything in one place to more easily make infrastructure changes.
Additionally, because Kubernetes is currently a market leader, and 59% of professionals said they’re using Kubernetes in production (sometimes daily), experts are more aware of its uses and functionalities. This lowers the learning curve for businesses that adopt it, too. Add to this the aforementioned complementary tools you can combine to introduce, implement, and manage Kubernetes in your organization, and you’re on your way to reducing complexity.
TLDR: What’s in it for you?
- Ability to deploy new apps or features more quickly – since adaptation to a fast-changing world is vital, retailers and ISPs alike must keep up to speed with new releases. This is much harder to do without possibilities for fast experimentation with different app versions in a range of computing environments (i.e., Kubernetes). 73% of IT professionals said that deploying new apps more quickly was the main benefit of adopting Kubernetes.
- You can focus on what makes your business stand out – this is especially useful for ISPs because you’re always looking for new ways to optimize customer experiences. To be at the forefront of better services and new tech, you need to be able to manage container deployments in a flexible, efficient, and business-friendly way.
- Helm by Axigen will be your new best friend – the cluster takes care of everything for you - organizes deployments, installs, and configures your Axigen cluster, all in just a few minutes. In this way, you upgrade to a new version of Axigen almost instantly as you upgrade your old cluster to the latest version. Remember that you can use your cluster with any Cloud vendor. You may also choose to do it node by node if you wish. With built-in auto scaling, you pay only for the resources you need and use so you get to optimize your budget. You do need people that know what they’re doing, but costs and efficiency trump the downsides.
The Benefits of Deploying a Mail Server on Kubernetes
With the Axigen Cloud-Native Mail Server, you have a secure, growth-oriented email server based on Kubernetes (and Docker) containers, allowing you to adapt to this fast-changing world. You should run your mail server on Kubernetes for the following reasons:
- it simplifies your app’s deployment process and provides tools to make it highly robust
- you have a separate compute from storage in Kubernetes patterns by leveraging Axigen’s existing storage definition flexibility
- you have access to a distributed and consistent storage app.
You can even run a multi-node email platform on Kubernetes with Axigen, a flexible, scalable, and automatable email platform. Some of the benefits for this include:
- a pre-made Helm chart (easily start and scale a cluster; automated cluster provisioning; Prometheus integration-ready)
- a private or public self-hosted Kubernetes cluster
- access to various private or public vendors
- compatible platforms for extended storage use.
You can read about Creating a Mail Server Environment with Kubernetes here.
Ready to Take the Helm?
The Cloud transformation process is complex, so companies need providers and integrations that offer Cloud-native solutions. Furthermore, Cloud technologies allow companies like yours to tap into new markets and scale, renew, and innovate at lower costs. That’s why Axigen offers you a reliable solution to improve portability, productivity, reduce Cloud complexity, and not only. Are you going to have a competitive advantage? Try Axigen today.
*Additionally, Axigen X4 supports Kubernetes cluster deployment through the new Axigen Helm Chart, coming soon!