Many businesses today use legacy applications for their virtual needs. Legacy applications utilize local file systems for storage. This local storage method causes app files and data files to become intermingled. The intermingling of data often results in poor documentation and optimization because legacy apps are designed assuming that only one instance of the app will run on a server at a time.
A helpful solution – app containerization
In recent years, the virtual workspace has become more dependent on cloud services and storage. Due to this, several disadvantages have arisen from using legacy applications in a multifaceted workspace. Luckily there exists a more optimal alternative method for deploying and utilizing applications. Containerizing an application allows you to deploy and run the application under a docker that will enable you to encapsulate it entirely. The application container will act similarly to a complete control system. Considering this, containerizing an application makes it more cloud-friendly and thus better for a modern workspace. The benefits of containerizing applications are extensive. Container apps are compatible with automated functions and deployment. Uniformly updating an app can also be automated with less risk of the update deployment failing. You can also use a copy of the containerized app as a test environment to ensure everything functions correctly. A system failure isn’t a huge concern with a container app because you can run a new container in the failed app’s place. Furthermore, these benefits are ideal for software developers. For example, developers can locally test container apps in specific environments to achieve desired settings efficiently. In addition, containerizing your work applications allows for no-downtime upgrades, easy availability, and horizontal scaling.
Containerizing process
The process of adequately containerizing an application has several steps, such as:
The first step is to identify where the data is written and the filesystem locations. Next, locate configuration files and values that vary depending on the environment.
Services that run locally that can be externalized should be identified. Now that all the necessary components have been identified, you’ll need to create a docker file that installs the application. A docking file’s installation process can be automated.
If your application has configuration values that depend on the environment, you’ll need to create a startup script.
Once the build is complete, it is time to push it into a docker registry and create an image tag for the application. Once that is done, you’re all set to deploy your app, which you can do by using something like Kubernetes.
Conclusion
Digital workspaces and cloud storage have become normalized in modern industry. However, with these standards comes a need for optimized methods that can be spread quickly to the entire staff. Containerizing applications can provide a solution for both of these factors and more.
