MEPX
Chapter 3 of 10All chapters
  1. 1What the cloud is
  2. 2Service models
  3. 3Compute
  4. 4Storage and data
  5. 5Regions and zones
  6. 6Cloud networking
  7. 7Identity and access
  8. 8Cost
  9. 9Infrastructure as code
  10. 10Running things

Chapter 3 of 10

Compute

Machines, containers and functions.

Three shapes

Virtual machines are familiar and flexible. Containers package an application with its dependencies and start in milliseconds. Functions run a single piece of code per event.

  • Containers share the host kernel, which is why they are lighter than virtual machines.
  • Functions suit spiky, short work and are awkward for long-running jobs.

Orchestration

Kubernetes schedules containers across machines and restarts what fails. It is powerful and heavy, and most small products do not need it yet.