Cloud orchestration is the process of automating the deployment, management, and scaling of cloud infrastructure and applications. It involves using software tools and frameworks to coordinate and automate the provisioning and configuration of cloud resources, such as virtual machines, containers, storage, and networks.

Cloud orchestration typically involves defining infrastructure and application templates, which describe the desired state of the resources to be provisioned. These templates can be used to automate the creation and configuration of cloud resources in a repeatable and scalable manner. Orchestration tools can also monitor the state of the infrastructure and make adjustments as needed to ensure the desired state is maintained.

Cloud orchestration works by using declarative configuration files or scripts that describe the desired state of the cloud infrastructure and applications. These files are typically stored in a version control system and are used by orchestration tools to automate the deployment and management of the infrastructure. Orchestration tools may use APIs provided by cloud service providers to interact with the cloud resources and make the necessary changes to the infrastructure.

There are several cloud orchestration products available in the market, and the right choice depends on the specific requirements and use cases of an organization. Here are some of the main cloud orchestration products and how they compare:

1. Kubernetes: Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that is widely adopted in cloud-native environments. It provides a powerful set of tools for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications across clusters of hosts. Kubernetes offers a high level of flexibility and extensibility, with a large and active community supporting its development.
2. AWS CloudFormation: AWS CloudFormation is a service that helps automate the deployment of AWS resources using infrastructure as code templates. It allows users to model and provision AWS resources, such as EC2 instances, RDS databases, and S3 buckets, using a JSON or YAML file. AWS CloudFormation provides a high level of consistency and repeatability in infrastructure deployments across environments.
3. Azure Resource Manager: Azure Resource Manager is a cloud orchestration service from Microsoft that provides a unified API for managing Azure resources. It enables users to provision and manage Azure resources using declarative templates and provides features such as role-based access control and tagging. Azure Resource Manager is designed to provide a high level of automation and repeatability for infrastructure deployments.
4. HashiCorp Terraform: HashiCorp Terraform is a tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure safely and efficiently. It supports multiple cloud platforms, including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, as well as on-premises infrastructure. Terraform provides a declarative configuration language for defining infrastructure as code and supports a wide range of resource types.
5. Ansible: Ansible is an open-source automation tool that provides a simple, agentless way to automate infrastructure configuration management and application deployment. It supports a wide range of platforms, including cloud providers, and uses YAML-based playbooks to define infrastructure as code. Ansible provides a high level of flexibility and extensibility, with a large and active community supporting its development.

Overall, Kubernetes is a widely adopted cloud orchestration platform for containerized applications, while AWS CloudFormation, Azure Resource Manager, Terraform, and Ansible are popular choices for infrastructure as code automation across various cloud platforms.

Orchestration is one of the main categories of the Cloud Native Landscape.

Choosing a cloud orchestration product requires careful consideration of several factors, including:

1. Complexity: Some orchestration products are more complex than others, and require more expertise to implement and maintain. Consider the skill level of your team and whether the product aligns with their experience and expertise.
2. Compatibility: Consider the cloud platforms and tools your organization is already using or planning to use in the future, and ensure that the orchestration product is compatible with these tools.
3. Scalability: Consider the scale of your infrastructure and applications, and whether the orchestration product can handle the load and scale effectively.
4. Customizability: Consider whether the orchestration product provides the level of customization required to meet the specific needs of your organization.
5. Community support: Consider the size and activity level of the product’s community support, as well as the availability of resources such as documentation and tutorials.
6. Cost: Consider the cost of the orchestration product and whether it aligns with your organization’s budget and expected ROI.
7. Security: Consider the product’s security features and whether they align with your organization’s security requirements.
8. Vendor lock-in: Consider the potential for vendor lock-in with proprietary orchestration products, and whether open-source alternatives would provide greater flexibility and control.

Overall, the choice of a cloud orchestration product depends on the specific requirements and use cases of an organization. It is important to evaluate each product based on its features, compatibility, scalability, customization, community support, cost, security, and potential for vendor lock-in.