The Cloud Native Landscape is a classification system for cloud-native technologies and platforms, created and maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). It provides a comprehensive overview of the cloud-native ecosystem, including projects and tools for container orchestration, service discovery and load balancing, continuous integration and delivery, and more.
The Cloud Native Landscape is divided into several categories, including infrastructure, networking, security, storage, and others. Each category contains a list of projects and tools that are relevant to that area, along with a description of their features and use cases.
The purpose of the Cloud Native Landscape is to help organizations and developers understand the different options available for building, deploying, and running cloud-native applications, and to make informed decisions about which tools and technologies to use for their specific needs.
The Cloud Native Landscape is updated regularly to reflect the latest developments and trends in the cloud-native ecosystem, and is widely regarded as a valuable resource for anyone working in this field.
The categories of the cloud native landscape are:
Orchestration refers to the automation of complex application deployment, scaling, and management processes in a cloud environment.
The key components of cloud native orchestration include container orchestration, service discovery, and load balancing, automatic failover and self-healing, and automation of updates and rollbacks. Some of the most popular tools for cloud native orchestration include Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, Apache Mesos, and Hashicorp Nomad.
Cloud native orchestration provides several benefits including increased efficiency, improved scalability, reduced operational overhead, and increased speed and reliability of application deployment. Despite its benefits, cloud native orchestration also presents several challenges such as the need for specialized skills and knowledge, the complexity of managing multiple clusters, and the need for strong security controls.
As cloud native technologies continue to evolve, trends in orchestration include the increasing use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the integration of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments, and the move towards more automated and self-healing systems.
Service mesh provides a dedicated infrastructure layer for managing service-to-service communication within a microservices architecture. It helps with traffic management, service discovery, load balancing, and security features such as encryption and authentication.
The category includes popular service mesh projects such as Istio, Linkerd, and Consul Connect, among others.
Service mesh can improve observability, allowing for better monitoring, tracing, and debugging of microservices.
Serverless computing is a cloud computing model that allows developers to build and run applications without managing servers or infrastructure.
The category includes serverless platforms such as AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, and Microsoft Azure Functions, among others.
Serverless can help with scalability, as the cloud provider handles the infrastructure scaling automatically in response to demand. It can also reduce costs by allowing for “pay-per-use” pricing models, where you only pay for the actual usage of the application.
Serverless can be used for a wide range of use cases, including web and mobile applications, data processing, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
Monitoring is a critical aspect of cloud native computing, providing visibility into the performance, health, and status of applications and infrastructure.
The category includes monitoring tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, and Datadog, among others.
Monitoring can help with observability, allowing for better insights into the behavior of applications and infrastructure. It can also help with troubleshooting, as issues can be quickly identified and resolved before they impact users. Monitoring is often used in conjunction with other cloud native tools such as service mesh and container orchestration platforms to provide a comprehensive view of the entire system.
Observability within the Cloud Native Landscape refers to technologies that enable monitoring, logging, tracing, and other forms of observability in cloud-native environments. The main points of this category include:
- The need for visibility into complex, distributed systems
- The use of metrics, logs, and traces to gain insights into system behavior
- The importance of real-time monitoring and alerting to detect and respond to issues quickly
- The use of distributed tracing to track requests across microservices
- The integration of observability tools with other cloud-native technologies, such as Kubernetes and service meshes.
“Security” category within the Cloud Native Landscape refers to technologies that address security concerns in cloud-native environments. The main points of this category include:
- The need to secure containers, images, and application code throughout the development and deployment process
- The importance of securing network traffic and ensuring secure communication between services
- The use of identity and access management to control access to resources and services
- The need to detect and respond to security threats, including vulnerabilities, exploits, and attacks
- The use of compliance and auditing tools to ensure that cloud-native applications and infrastructure meet regulatory requirements and security best practices.
“Storage” within the Cloud Native Landscape refers to technologies that enable data storage and management in cloud-native environments. The main points of this category include:
- The need to store and manage data in a scalable and resilient manner
- The use of distributed storage systems to ensure high availability and fault tolerance
- The importance of data backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning
- The use of storage orchestration and automation tools to manage and provision storage resources
- The integration of storage technologies with other cloud-native technologies, such as container orchestration platforms and service meshes.
The “Networking” category within the Cloud Native Landscape refers to technologies that enable networking in cloud-native environments. The main points of this category include:
- The need to manage network traffic and connectivity in a distributed and dynamic environment
- The use of service discovery and load balancing to ensure reliable communication between services
- The importance of secure communication between services, including encryption and authentication
- The use of network policies and segmentation to enforce security and compliance requirements
- The integration of networking technologies with other cloud-native technologies, such as container orchestration platforms and service meshes.
Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery
“CI/CD” (Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery) within the Cloud Native Landscape refers to technologies and processes that enable the rapid and automated delivery of software in cloud-native environments. The main points of this category include:
- The need to automate the building, testing, and deployment of software in a continuous and repeatable manner
- The use of container images to package and distribute applications and their dependencies
- The importance of automated testing and quality assurance to ensure reliability and consistency
- The use of continuous deployment to rapidly and safely deliver changes to production
- The integration of CI/CD tools with other cloud-native technologies, such as container orchestration platforms and service meshes.
The “Registry” category within the Cloud Native Landscape refers to technologies that enable the storage, distribution, and management of container images in cloud-native environments. The main points of this category include:
- The need to store and manage container images for use in a distributed environment
- The use of registries to store and distribute container images to various nodes in the cluster
- The importance of security in the storage and distribution of container images
- The use of registries to manage access to container images and enforce policies for their use
- The integration of container registries with other cloud-native technologies, such as container orchestration platforms and CI/CD pipelines.
Who is the cloud native landscape for?
It is used by a wide range of organizations and individuals, including:
- Software Developers: Developers use the landscape to explore and learn about the various cloud native technologies and tools that are available, and to make informed decisions about which technologies to adopt for their projects.
- IT Operations: IT operations teams use the landscape to understand the different options for deploying and managing cloud native applications and services, and to choose the tools that best fit their needs.
- Enterprise Companies: Large enterprises use the landscape to stay up-to-date with the latest cloud native technologies and to assess the suitability of these technologies for their organizations.
- Startups: Startups use the landscape to learn about the cloud native technologies that are available, and to determine which tools will best support their growth and scalability goals.
- Vendors: Vendors use the landscape to promote their cloud native products and services, and to connect with potential customers who are interested in adopting cloud native technologies.
In general, the Cloud Native Landscape is used by anyone who is interested in learning about and adopting cloud native computing practices and technologies. The landscape provides a comprehensive view of the cloud native ecosystem and helps users to navigate the many different tools and technologies that are available.
Who are the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)?
The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2015 by companies including Google, Intel, and Red Hat. The foundation is dedicated to promoting and supporting the development of cloud native technologies and practices, which are designed to allow organizations to build and run scalable, high-performance, and reliable applications and services in a cloud environment.
The CNCF defines “cloud native” as an approach to building and running applications that leverage cloud computing models and technologies, such as containers, microservices, and continuous delivery. The foundation provides support for open source projects and technologies that are relevant to cloud native computing, including Kubernetes, Prometheus, and Envoy, among others.
In addition to supporting these projects, the CNCF also provides resources and educational materials to help organizations adopt cloud native practices and technologies. The foundation also hosts events and conferences, such as KubeCon + CloudNativeCon, to bring together the community of developers, users, and vendors working in the cloud native space.
