The global accelerated the growth and growing tendency to shift to cloud computing in 2020; however, businesses have been taking the advantages of cloud-based solutions since 2000. Cloud native technology has changed a lot over the years and is still changing and heading towards perfection. However, the core technical and business objectives have remained the same.
In the technical circle, the term cloud native is widely used; it has little to do with the environment your application is deployed to. The term is undoubtedly applicable to on-premise and public cloud environments.
Cloud-native applications are purpose-built for the cloud with reusable components like microservices that can be seamlessly integrated into cloud environments. The elements of Cloud-native applications include Application Design, API Exposure, Operational Integration, DevOps, and Testing. These applications are designed to exist in the cloud to fully utilize the benefits that the cloud has to offer. Shortcomings of traditional monolithic applications have highlighted the role of cloud-native applications in introducing iterative improvements through DevOps processes and Agile methodologies.
Cloud native technology empowers enterprises to build and run scalable applications in a modern, dynamic environment (Public, private and hybrid cloud); the most integral factors for cloud native architecture are:
Containers
Service meshes
Microservices
Immutable infrastructure
Declarative APIs
All these techniques enable the entire system to run in a resilient, manageable, and observable environment. With a robust automation system, the system allows the engineer to make high-impact changes with minimum hurdles.
What is cloud native storage?
Cloud native storage has to behave in the same dynamic, API-driven way likewise the other components in cloud native ecosystem. To enhance cloud native credibility, you need to determine the two following things:
It is purpose-built for Kubernetes.
It is compatible with Amazon s3 API
Cloud Native storage is object storage
Today, modern application architecture is dependent on object storage and S3. It is the only storage that is designed to manage the enormous amount of data. Enterprises can easily afford the cost of cloud native application, as per the expected speed and environment.
The Amazon S3 API is the basic standard for object storage to a point where all object storage software claims compatibility. Given the complexity and size, operating system, and hardware architecture.
The next criteria of cloud native are to be used as a distributed architecture, leveraging external container orchestration. As being an industry winner, the six fundamental criteria Kubernetes offer are listed below:
Highly multi-tenant
Lightweight
Scalable
PI-driven
User Space
Technology and Infrastructure
Cloud generally refers to the infrastructure located in a data center accessible over the internet. However, the cloud is more like a statement, how you are interacting with the infrastructure. Three, cloud today is about engaging with the infrastructure and should provide the following things:
Self-provisioning: requisition of virtual resources like storage, servers, networking, immediately.
Elasticity: it is to automatically scale resources and related costs based on the project demand.
Auto recovery: significant resources are designed to rescue from failure without the chance of getting lost, with a minimum impact on service availability.
Cloud native implies greater abstraction from the existing infrastructure:
Immutable deployment
Declarative provisioning
Runtime agnostic
Component orchestration
Apart from these above specifications, other significant preoccupations are automated building, service mesh, logging, tracing, analytics, storage, and software-defined network. Thus, over time, the properties of cloud-native infrastructure have changed.
Architecture and Design
With the added term ‘native,’ cloud solution is specially designed to leverage the uniqueness of cloud platforms. An application does not magically inherit the benefits of cloud infrastructure; the systems need to be implemented. There are very crucial implications for architecture and design. Developers need to write the solution to ensure scalability with an auto-recovery mechanism. Cloud-native might overlap the microservice concepts, the writing components of are:
Minimize statefulness
Reduce dependencies
Well-structured interfaces
Lightweight
Disposable
With a well-defined interface and disposable components, cloud native ingredients are mutually reinforcing. On the other hand, the cloud native approach also requires changes on many fronts at the same time.
People and Process
With the changing nature of technology and infrastructure, developers get the opportunity to change the way they handle human resources and their approach.
Microservices indicate you can work in a compromised and autonomous team. If you want the system to be composed of decoupled, small components, you will allow the team to work proficiently and interact formally through a governed interface.
It also implies agile methods and the application of DevOps guidelines to the development process. With DevOps, one can suggest different approaches and improve the existing structure.
DevOps demands to adopt specific technical processes within automated testing and strongly leads. The cloud infrastructure enables developers to achieve more operational and generic cloud platforms.
It radically decreases the learning curve for people associated with multiple technology areas, enables a broader role and knowledge. It also encourages a shift to site reliability for the engineer.
Immutable container image along with declarative infrastructure, one can increase the consistency of deployment across multiple environments.
Cloud Native Benefits
Easier to manage – as compared to the traditional applications and platforms, cloud-native applications are easier to manage. Various updates take place using DevOps as well as Agile procedures.
Greater customer experiences – the improvements in the applications made non –invasively, hence the end-users experience no-downtime or trouble while using.
The defined set of policies- it is allied with the policies that are defined through the governance model. For instance, if it is used in an enterprise, the IT officials of the company will define the policies to assign possessions for every department.
No operating system dependencies – there is no dependency on any specific operating system or machine in cloud-native infrastructure. The applications are operated at a higher intellection level.
Automated – it can be automated as it runs well with the notion of infrastructure as a code. However, a certain level of automation is needed for managing the complex as well as large applications.
Cost-effective – in the initial stage, the user doesn’t require paying for buying anything upfront; they only pay for the period they use.
To conclude
On a superficial level, cloud native claims are quite complex to practice. Public cloud object storage providers perform quite well; one would expect the same treatment from credible sources like Kubernetes (Google) and S3 (Amazon). Smooth performance, cloud native object storage is the ultimate way to get the expected performance, scalability, and reliability in cloud native applications.