What is Rancher?
Rancher – the container orchestration platform
Containerisation has revolutionised how applications are developed and managed, offering a more flexible, portable and efficient way of managing them across various environments and infrastructure.
What is Rancher?
Rancher is an open-source platform for managing container clusters. It has been supporting all container orchestrators on the market (Docker Swarm, Apache Mesos and Kubernetes) for a while now. It gives users the flexibility to deploy and manage their applications.
Rancher simplifies the deployment, management, scaling, life cycle and continuous improvement of containerised applications in Kubernetes.
What are the features of Rancher?
With Rancher, a multi-cluster can be managed via an intuitive user interface — making it easier to manage clusters, view resources, and configure applications. Rancher has a catalogue of pre-configured applications that can be used to automate recurring tasks and deploy them. It is equipped with tools for monitoring and managing cluster resources, such as performance monitoring, logging and alerts features. In addition, it offers advanced security features, such as authentication solutions, and access and permissions management. Designed to be scalable, it allows businesses and organisations to manage small- and large-scale container deployments in the cloud. In a nut shell, Rancher is a comprehensive solution for orchestrating and managing containerised applications in various environments.
Why use Rancher?
Rancher simplifies the orchestration and management of container clusters, and can be used to efficiently deploy, monitor, and maintain containerised applications. The Kubernetes overlay unifies clusters. Its user interface allows you to install and maintain clusters, set up user IDs, and balance traffic load.
Centralised user management
Rancher provides a unified graphical interface for managing container clusters. The application significantly simplifies the deployment, monitoring and maintenance of containerised applications.
Infrastructure versatility
Rancher supports any existing compliant Kubernetes cluster, and allows provisioning on any infrastructure or cloud. Users can choose the deployment method that best suits their needs.
Simplified deployment
Rancher has an extensive catalogue of pre-configured applications, which makes them easy to deploy. With pre-configured models, users can quickly improve, configure and deploy containerised applications.
Resource management
Rancher offers advanced resource management tools for monitoring performance, logging and alerts. These tools ensure optimal resource usage and performance.
How does Rancher work?
Rancher functions as an abstraction layer between users and container orchestrators. An abstraction layer provides a user-friendly interface that hides the complexity of underlying systems. This, combined with standard features, allow them to execute projects without dealing with the intricacies of managing their systems internally. Rancher thus makes it easy to link containers to build service architectures when needed.
Cluster provisioning
With Rancher, container clusters can be provisioned regardless of the deployment method: on-premises, in the public and private cloud, or on dedicated servers.
Graphical interface
Rancher’s graphical user interface gives developers a simple, clear interface for managing and configuring clusters.
Application catalogue
Rancher users can choose and deploy their applications with pre-defined configurations using the catalogue available on the platform.
Integration with Kubernetes
Rancher makes integration with Kubernetes seamless, providing a consistent and easy-to-use cluster management experience for users.
Rancher use cases
The Rancher platform can be used for varied purposes.
Multi-cloud and multi-cluster deployment
The Rancher service allows you to deploy applications on a variety of infrastructure (public cloud services, on-premises hosting, etc.). The platform makes it easier to manage containers in various cloud environments.
Centralised Kubernetes cluster management
Rancher can be used to manage multiple Kubernetes clusters, whether they are hosted on the cloud or in hybrid environments. With this, SysAdmins and DevOps can manage clusters in one place. Rancher is also intended for organisations that use multiple container orchestrators.
Simplified deployment and management
Rancher’s user-friendly graphical user interface makes it easier to deploy, scale and manage containerised applications. Thanks to Rancher’s catalogue of pre-configured models and easy-to-use tools, applications can be deployed faster.
What’s the link between Rancher and Kubernetes?
Rancher and Kubernetes are both open-source containerisation technologies. However, each plays a distinct role in containerisation. Kubernetes focuses on container orchestration, whereas Rancher provides a unified interface for managing container clusters.
Thus, Kubernetes balances load across container clusters, monitors their health, and enables their automatic scaling. However, configuring it can be difficult. This is where Rancher comes in — its additional tools, services, and graphical interface makes Kubernetes easy to use, more accessible and complete. While Kubernetes serves as a container orchestration engine, Rancher acts as an interface and management tool that simplifies and improves the use of Kubernetes, or managed Kubernetes.
Use a single platform to manage Kubernetes clusters
Rancher offers an all-in-one solution for Kubernetes cluster management that makes deploying, configuring and monitoring easier. With Rancher, technical teams can work together on a unified interface to manage their Kubernetes clusters on-premises, in a hybrid, or multi-cloud. This allows them the flexibility to use other orchestrators when needed. The simplified management of containerised environments ensures consistency.
