{"id":3840,"date":"2019-11-25T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T02:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upnxtblog.com\/?p=3840"},"modified":"2020-04-23T12:48:18","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T07:18:18","slug":"using-docker-application-packages-to-deliver-apps-across-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.upnxtblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/25\/using-docker-application-packages-to-deliver-apps-across-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Docker Application Packages to Deliver Apps across Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Cloud native applications typically use different technologies, each with their own packaging formats. For example, If you\u2019re working on Microsoft Azure then it would be ARM templates, or if its Kubernetes, then its Helm charts, or if it\u2019s on AWS then it would be CloudFormation and so on.<\/p>\n

Distributed applications usually comprise\u00a0executable units<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0supporting API-based services<\/em>. Executable units could span across environments like IaaS (like OpenStack or Azure), container orchestrators (like Kubernetes or Nomad), container runtimes (like local Docker or ACI), cloud platform services (like object storage or Database as a Service) and Functions-as-a-Service (FaaS), as well as higher-level PaaS services. Along with these components, many managed cloud services (e.g. load balancers, routers to databases) are provisioned and interconnected via REST APIs.<\/p>\n

In the industry, currently, there is no single solution for defining and packaging multi-service, multi-format distributed applications.<\/p>\n

In this article, we will look at how the CNAB packaging format<\/strong> provides application providers and developers with a way of installing a multi-component application into a distributed computing environment, supporting all of the above types, and makes it easy to deliver apps across teams, organizations and marketplaces.<\/p>\n

Cross posted from : InfoQ.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Introducing Cloud Native Application Bundle (CNAB)<\/h2>\n

CNAB<\/a> <\/strong>is an open-source, cloud-agnostic specification for packaging and running distributed applications. Created by Microsoft, Docker, HashiCorp, Bitnami, Pivotal, and many others. It unifies the management of multi-service, distributed applications across different toolchains into a single all-in-one packaging format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Simplifies complex deployments.<\/strong><\/td>\nWith CNAB, you can package multi-service, multi-format distributed applications. So deployments can be done with ease & simplified.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Open Source, Cloud Agnostic<\/strong><\/td>\nCNAB bundles can have varied infrastructure components or services that you need. CNABs is the right choice for your multi-cloud strategy.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shareable Apps\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nEnables Developers\/Application Providers to share\/deliver apps across teams, organizations, and marketplaces.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
<\/div>\n

Key benefits of CNAB<\/strong><\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

According to the\u00a0CNAB Spec<\/a>, CNAB packaging format brings in:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Support for packages\u00a0targeted to different runtimes and architectures<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  2. Internally uses containers for encapsulating installation logic so its independent of the underlying cloud environment it runs in.<\/li>\n
  3. Comprises of a\u00a0bundle definition file<\/strong>\u00a0(bundle.json<\/em>) to define the app, and\u00a0an invocation image<\/strong> to install the app. The invocation image’s job is to install the required components into the host environment.<\/li>\n
  4. CNAB\u00a0bundle definition<\/em>\u00a0is a single file that contains the following information:\n