SUSE's CaaS Platform Update Aims to Simplify Containers

SUSE has bolstered features in SUSE CaaS (Containers-as-a-Service) Platform 3, its latest product to help IT administrators begin or expand their use of containers within their company IT infrastructures.

Now included in the latest version of SUSE CaaS are expanded cluster optimization, new support for more efficient and more secure container image management, and simplified deployment and management of long-running workloads.

Built with the Kubernetes-based, open-source container orchestration platform, the newest CaaS version expands data-center integration and cluster reconfiguration options, allowing IT administrators to optimize their cluster configurations, according to SUSE. Also included is easier Kubernetes setup through improved integration of private- and public-cloud storage, and automatic deployment of the Kubernetes software load balancer.

The platform’s integrated SUSE MicroOS container operating system now supports custom configurations using a new SUSE tool-chain module, which lets users transform a startup cluster into a scalable and highly available environment.

The latest version also includes a new local container registry, which helps users manage container images more efficiently and securely, SUSE said. Using the new tools, customers can download a container image from an external registry once, then save a copy in their local registry for sharing among all nodes in the cluster.

“Connecting to an internal proxy rather than an external registry and downloading from a local cache rather than a remote server improves security and performance whenever a cluster node pulls a trusted image from the local registry,” the company noted. A new lightweight CRI-O container runtime has also been added in the latest version, which was designed specifically for use with Kubernetes.

A new Kubernetes Apps Workloads API is also included in the latest CaaS platform, which simplifies deployment and management of long-running workloads. It also facilitates orchestration processes such as self-healing, scaling, updates and termination of common types of workloads.

Using CaaS Platform 3, application development and DevOps teams can work to deploy, manage and scale container-based applications and services more easily as they grow their use of containers to simplify their business IT systems.

Jennifer Kotzen, a SUSE senior product marketing manager, told Channel Futures that the latest CaaS platform release builds on the company’s mission of helping customers to more efficiently deploy, configure and manage their IT infrastructures, while also integrating more efficient processes such as DevOps and Agile development.

Jennifer Kotzen

Jennifer Kotzen

“Customers and partners talk about their digital transformations,” including how applications are delivered, deployed and packaged, said Kotzen. “The goal is to get applications out more quickly and to get updates out more quickly to make businesses more agile.”

For business decision-makers, it’s about decreasing application cycle times from between 12 and 18 months to a month, weeks or days or even minutes, she said. That’s the goal for IT and that’s where containers and CaaS come into play, she added.

“Developers embraced containers because they made it easy to package up code in portable ways,” said Kotzen. “Containers are driving a lot of action, and as we move there, we need tools to manage that for users.”

By using SUSE CaaS, IT administrators can add Kubernetes capabilities to their infrastructures more quickly and more easily than if they did it on their own, especially for customers who are already users of other compatible products from SUSE, she said.

This is the third version of SUSE CaaS to be unveiled in a year.

Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT, told Channel Futures that SUSE CaaS builds on the company’s previously announced strategy of “multimodal IT,” where its products can be used together to build out a company’s IT infrastructure. That was also the case with SUSE’s recently announced SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 platform, he said.

Charles King

Charles King

“Practically speaking, these efforts reflect the increasing adoption by SUSE customers of hybrid, software-defined computing environments spanning physical servers and storage, virtualization, cloud services, containerized workloads, edge computing and high-performance computing,” said King. “In essence these new products let those customers know that SUSE has their backs wherever their IT infrastructures, resources and workloads reside.”

The new functions and support features in CaaS Platform 3 “offer focus on lower costs, improved IT management and enhanced DevOps efficiency, all of which are top of mind for SUSE’s midsize and large enterprise clients,” said King.