Kubernetes alternatives and competitors

We have clients with different use cases. We have a customer who is a service provider who sells services in the cloud and Kubernetes. Our clients have cloud and on-premises deployments.

The most important feature of Tanzu Mission Control is its integration with the other products, especially with ESX and vSAN. This is a strong part of Tanzu Mission Control. In other solutions, such as OpenShift or Kubernetes, you can find similar features, but they don't have similar integration. 

With Tanzu Mission Control, you get a total solution with only one provider. You have the integration with the infrastructure, virtualization of networking, and virtualization of storage. You have a natural integration, and you don't have the problem of integrating it with different products or providers. Sometimes, different companies have good integration, but it is not always guaranteed. For example, many years ago, Cisco and VMware were good partners in networking, but when VMware started to sell ESX, the relationship was broken. This is the problem that you can face when you are using solutions from two different companies.

It is not easy to build a solution with containers. It has a graphical user interface, but you need to have a lot of knowledge of Linux and how to work in the command mode. Its support can also be improved.

Currently, its biggest disadvantage is that it is a new product, and the clients prefer to go for a solution that has been in the market for a long time. There are not that many people who know this product.

I have been working with this solution for more than six months. It is quite a new product.

Its stability is good. I didn't find any major problem that broke the solution and impacted the services.

Its scalability is good. I didn't find any issues with its scalability. One of our clients is a big company here, but if you compare it with an American company, it would be considered a small company.

Their support is not good, but it is also not bad. The support is normally outside of America. Sometimes, it is in Europe. There are people with a lot of VMware experience in Europe but not in America. However, VMware is building its support.

Its initial setup is not very easy. When you work with containers, you work in Linux. It has a graphical user interface, but you need to have a lot of knowledge of Linux and working in the command mode. It is not easy to build a solution with containers. 

Its implementation takes a long time. It took us 90 days for one customer and 60 days for another customer.

You need to connect it with other parts of the infrastructure. We have ten people who are into networking and storage.

Our clients evaluate other free products. Two of our clients have a strong relationship with VMware. They don't evaluate other products.

I would rate VMware Tanzu Mission Control a seven out of ten.

Our company deploys the solution as a container platform that balances node availability and load. 

The most valuable feature is that the solution can be deployed in the cloud which removes the expense of a server. Everything you need is provided in the cloud where you can make clusters, add masters and worker nodes, and install ports. 

The solution includes an integrated file agent and a control center director that embeds within the release. It is much easier to configure the install or file agent through the GUI than having to work on command lines in a CLI. 

The solution does not work on a route-wise NFS.

I have been using the solution for two years. 

The solution is more stable than others because it allows for redundancies. Data can be stored on the PV and transferred to many worker nodes. 

The solution is easily scalable by joining worker nodes with masters. 

For example, your customers increase so you want to jump your worker nodes from four to forty. You simply install the solution, join worker nodes with masters, and create a larger cluster of servers within a matter of minutes. 

I serve as a DevOps expert for my customers and don't have the need to contact support. 

Our company used Docker but switched around the time it was acquired by Mirantis. 

The initial setup is straightforward. If you have an adequate amount of CPU and memory, then setup can be as fast as eight minutes. 

I rate the initial setup a nine out of ten. 

We currently use both Kubernetes and OpenShift. 

It is beneficial to be aware of Linux or Unix concepts when working with the solution and managing clusters. 

I rate the solution a ten out of ten. 

We are using Rancher Labs' for the overall management of our Kubernetes cluster. For example, we manage the production and UAT environment of all our applications or containers.

The solution has a lot of good features, such as you can access the console and edit through the GUI. The dashboard and the UI are designed well, user-friendly, and easy to manage, and access.

The solution could improve by adding more features in the dashboard, such as monitoring, scanning, and security. This would be a great benefit.

I have used Rancher Labs for approximately one year.

The solution is stable.

We have not had any issues with scalability.

We have not paid for the support for the solution.

The initial setup is easy.

We did the implementation of the solution.

The solution is free and open source but there is a fee for support.

We have been evaluating Red Hat OpenShift, Kubernetes, Tanzu, and Nirmata.

I rate Rancher Labs an eight out of ten.