Kubernetes on AWS: self-managed vs. managed application platforms

Published January 11, 2023•2-minute read
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Why Kubernetes on AWSSelf-Managed vs ManagedROSA or EKSWhy Red Hat

Kubernetes is anopen sourcecontainer orchestration platform that automates many of the manual processes involved in deploying, managing, and scaling containerized applications.

With Kubernetes you can:

  • Orchestrate containers across multiple hosts.
  • Make better use of hardware to maximize resources needed to run your enterprise apps.
  • Control and automate application deployments and updates.
  • Mount and add storage to run stateful apps.
  • Scale containerized applications and their resources on the fly.

And withLinux containers you can package and isolate applications with all of the necessary files to run making it easy for a contained application to move from development, to testing, and finally to production. Linux containers are much quicker to use than development pipelines that rely on replicating traditional testing environments.

Benefits of Kubernetes on AWS

Kubernetes can help you deliver and manage containerized, legacy, and cloud-native applications. Using Kubernetes, you can run any type of containerized applications using the same toolset on-premises and in the cloud.

With Kubernetes on AWS, you have flexibility and control to configure and manage your deployment by yourself when developing. Features of Kubernetes on AWS include:

Run applications at scale

Define complex containerized applications and run them at scale across a cluster of servers

Add new functionality

Do more with a community of developers and companies build extensions, integrations, and plugins

Seamlessly move applications

Move from local development machines to production deployments on the cloud using the same operational tooling

Run anywhere

Run available and scalable clusters on AWS while maintaining full compatibility with your Kubernetes deployments running on-premises

Learn about our partnership with AWS

Self-Managed Kubernetes vs Managed Application Platforms

There are two concepts that provide consistent cloud application development and operation: self-managed Kubernetes and managed container platforms. 

With self-managed, you can install, operate, and manage environments with maximum control, flexibility, and customization. You have control over the management layer on a self-managedKubernetes cluster.

Managed container platforms provide the necessary built in support and management for Kubernetes clusters. However, a managed container platform offers a control plane, simple deployment options, and ongoing platform maintenance.

Red Hat resources

Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS or AWS EKS

Red Hat® OpenShift® Service on AWS (ROSA) is a kubernetes-based turnkey application platform that provides a managed Red Hat OpenShift service running natively on Amazon Web Services (AWS). ROSA allows organizations to increase operational efficiency, refocus on innovation, and quickly build, deploy and scale applications.

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) is a managed Kubernetes service that manages the availability and scalability of the Kubernetes control plane nodes responsible for scheduling containers, managing application availability, and storing cluster data in the AWS cloud and on-premises data centers .

With Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA), everything you need to deploy and manage containers is bundled, including container management, automation (Operators), monitoring, and more, all backed by expert Red Hat site reliability engineers (SREs). ROSA provides you with benefits including:

Accelerate time to value

Focus on building and scaling applications that add value to the business

Focus on innovation

Simplify operations so your teams can refocus on innovation, not managing infrastructure

Optimize investment

Take advantage of current cloud investments and entitlements with AWS

Hybrid cloud flexibility

Get consistent OpenShift experience across any environment: public cloud, private cloud, edge

Get started with ROSA

Why choose Red Hat?

Red Hat is a leader and active builder of open source container technology, including Kubernetes, and creates essential tools forsecuring, simplifying, and automatically updating your container infrastructure. 

Red Hat OpenShift provides a single, integrated platform for operations and development teams, andRed Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA) helps simplify hybrid cloud operations.

Learn more about AWS ROSA

Red Hat a Leader in 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cloud Application Platforms

Red Hat was positioned as a Leader in the first-ever Gartner Cloud Application Platforms Magic Quadrant. Red Hat® OpenShift® was recognized as a Leader for its ability to execute and completeness of vision.

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Our no-cost product trials help you gain hands-on experience, prepare for a certification, or assess if a product is right for your organization.

Keep reading

What is a Linux container?

Find out more about Linux containers, which are a set of 1 or more processes that are isolated from the rest of the system.

What is container orchestration?

Container orchestration automates the deployment, management, scaling, and networking of containers.

What is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes is a container orchestration platform that eliminates many manual processes involved in deploying and scaling containerized applications.

Containers resources

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