The world today has gone beyond working on software development based on commonly available physical software stored in computers or servers. The way cloud computing has changed business applications has made things way easier for enterprises. Cloud computing has a lot to offer in the world of software development. But to get the full advantage of cloud computing, it is essential that your infrastructure is ready and optimized to hold the architecture to be built upon it.
A Native Cloud Application (NCA) is a program that is coded and designed specifically to function in a cloud computing framework or architecture. This application utilizes the most out of a cloud computing platform and is built to run applications on the environment where most of the functions are managed by the cloud infrastructure provider. One of the key features of a native cloud application is that infrastructure and configuration of the environment are done through declarative interfaces and APIs that emphasis remarkably on automation and agility.
The Infrastructure Matters
Most experts believe that it is quite difficult to run a cloud-native application on a non-cloud native infrastructure which eventually makes it much more difficult for the developer to design an application and make any modifications. The entire application becomes imperative when used to run on different infrastructure that does not really co-relate with cloud computing. A cloud-native infrastructure holds into the specific protocols that are necessary to handle and hold or host application.
Cloud native application is a high-level application that deals with the drawbacks or potholes which are concluded as the limitations of traditional applications. They run directly on Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or remain tightly coupled with the operating system of the server. Cloud native infrastructure thus create a platform on top of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) that leverages the owner of the application with autonomous management. The platform is built on top of IaaS, a dynamically created infrastructure so as to provide scheduling of dynamic resource allocation.
Thus applications which are inculcated with such facilities require such a platform for pragmatic monitoring, gathering metrics and react immediately to any kind of failures. Bundled in software containers, cloud-native applications carries and distributes micro-services stored on these containers. One of the best example being the Kubnernetes that contains Linx operations and duly eliminates major manual operation that is often used to deploy and scale containerized applications. The best part about containers is that they enable micro-services where apps are managed through distinct services. This has remote implications on the infrastructure. Each service needs their own separate allotment of container space where they are allocated resources for networking, memorizing and computing.
The Best Ways Of Implementing Cloud-Native Infrastructure
Native cloud applications are built over a platform, specifically designed to handle the features of the applications in order to gain resiliency, agility, operability, and observability. The common ways to implement cloud-native applications and get the best out of cloud infrastructure are as follows,
- Micro-services: Usually when applications are developed based on monoliths or deployed as single entities, they often seem to fall apart once the complexity of the application starts growing. The best answer to address the situation is by segregating the common functionalities into smaller services that would address each of the specific aspects of the application separately. This increases the agility of the application. Breaking the entire length of the functions into smaller sections allows different teams to handle each of the features in the application separately.
- Health reporting: It is important to have a health check of the cloud-native application ensure that the applications are running in the best possible condition. This can only be possible by the developer by implementing a command to perform self-check for the application.
- Telemetry data: A telemetry data refers to the necessary data that is required for us to know about the major objectives of the business, while health reporting informs us about the state of the application lifecycle telemetry data service-level indicators (SLIs) or key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Resiliency: It is important for your cloud-native infrastructure to be resilient to failures. The infrastructure is designed to avoid failures but it is the responsibility of the application to embrace the failure instead of avoiding it.
- Declarative, not reactive: In a native cloud application the communication is done via restful HTTP calls but it also has the options of implementing communication via remote procedure calls (RPC). Resiliency built in a traditional application using reactive communication method, however, does not guarantee you with the deliverance of the message. Declarative communication ensures that the message will be delivered or it will return with feedback of success or error.
Why The Infrastructure Is So Important?
The infrastructure required for cloud-native application is totally different from that of a traditional application. The cloud-native applications are designed to address smaller specific services thereby breaking down the complexity of coding in the application. The infrastructure that is going to host the native cloud applications is now responsible for dynamic orchestration, holistic resource management, service discovery and much more.
It is always recommended when first plugging into the cloud-native application to have automation, containerization, and capabilities to learn. It is important to make sure that every part of the infrastructure is enabled with specific API and is automated in all going lifecycle of the infrastructure.
Conclusion
It seems like when a company is looking for speed, agility and resilience all at the same time from an application it must opt for cloud-native applications. But never forget the importance of creating a platform which will properly support the applications. Cloud-native today is nothing less than a superpower that empowers leaders, managers, employees, and customers. So, make sure your infrastructure is ready for it. Is your infrastructure ready for cloud-native applications? Contact us, we'll help you assess.
