3 Key Benefits to Container-Based Background Job Processing
Whether deploying applications or providing microservices, being able to get tasks done in the background without user intervention is key to operating efficiently for IT and development teams. One effective way to facilitate background job processing is with the help of containers.
Container-based background job processing comes with a whole host of benefits. Here are the topics that will be covered in this post:
- Difference Between Containers and Virtual Machines
- Worker System: 3 Benefits of Container-Based Job Processing
- How Iron.io's Worker System Can Help
Related Article: Top 10 Uses of a Worker System
Difference Between Containers and Virtual Machines
Containers might sound similar to server virtualization. However, virtual machines are more resource-intensive. Each separate virtual machine requires its own operating system to run in an independent environment, Multiple virtual machines can pool resources such as CPU, storage, and memory between them. However, since each virtual machine runs its own version of the OS, deploying virtual machines can be taxing on your IT resources.
Containers, on the other hand, can share an OS kernel. Thus, several containers can share a copy of the operating system between them, which makes them resource-light, when compared to virtual machines. In fact, it is possible to make containers incredibly lightweight - think container images that are only a few megabytes in size - with the help of microcontainers.
Related reading: Microcontainers - Tiny, Portable Docker Containers
IronWorker Is The #1 Background Job Solution
Whether you have a proof of concept or an enterprise project, IronWorker is easy to implement so you can spend more time building your application.
Worker System: 3 Benefits of Container-Based Job Processing
Being able to perform tasks asynchronously is a crucial part of any cloud-based distributed application. Whether deploying applications or providing microservices, being able to get tasks done in the background without user intervention is key to an efficient worker system. One effective way to facilitate background job processing is with the help of containers.
Container-based background job processing comes with a whole host of benefits. Here are some of the key benefits of using container-based background job processing that IT and development teams can leverage.
Enhanced Security
With ever-increasing data breaches and ransomware threats, keeping applications secure during deployment is vital. Managing the deployment of applications often calls for working with several development teams distributed across different locations. Having more people work on these teams can create a higher risk of exposure and data breaches due to errors or vulnerabilities from mistakes by the staff.
The great news is that containers offer enhanced security. That's because more effort has been put in place to safeguard containers. For instance, container systems and container management systems, such as Docker and Kubernetes, require container image signing to ensure your team is deploying containers from trusted resources.
Moreover, container scanning solutions also help enhance security by quickly identifying vulnerabilities that may exist in your containers, including the containers that were signed. This helps reduce security risks, including deploying unsafe containers.
Versatile Background Job Capabilities
Being able to provide on-time delivery to clients is essential for enhancing the customer's experience. With the help of container-based background job processing, IT and development teams can manage a variety of background tasks.
For instance, tasks such as email delivery, automated scaling, calculating bandwidths or automating push notifications can be handled by containers. That's because containers can fragment applications into smaller components while enabling communication among developer teams. This also helps facilitate speedy software development and testing. Moreover, using a container-based workload platform from development tool expert services, such as Iron IO, helps enterprises free up staff from handling background job processing so they can focus on more vital tasks, such as testing and developing their software applications.
Flexible Deployment
Thanks to the container's shareability, enterprises can leverage flexible deployment options, including the shared, on-premise, dedicated or hybrid deployment options offered by a reliable container-based workload hosted platform, such as Iron IO's Worker. That means enterprise leaders can choose a deployment option that's customized to their needs.
For instance, development teams working in enterprises that often deal with classified or highly sensitive data or personal information, such as banks, hospitals or federal agencies, often have to follow several compliance regulations. Having the ability to use on-premise deployment solutions can help support background tasks in a secure manner.
At the same time, enterprises that must support staying in compliance with enterprise and federal rules while facilitating a distributed team may find a hybrid deployment approach more feasible. This deployment option is ideal for handling secure background job processing for tasks, such as scheduling and authentication, while letting development teams run their containers on-premise.
How Iron.io’s Worker System Can Help
From flexible deployment options to versatile background task processing capabilities, containers offer so much for development teams to leverage. IronWorker is a flexible platform that allows developers to run large, concurrent tasks and complete them quickly. The platform's containerization approach means you have an incredibly lightweight application-deployment solution that can scale automatically. Complex tasks can be broken down into subtasks for faster completion.
In the past, clients have used IronWorker to reduce a 9-hour job to a 9-minute job.
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