How to start cloud native application development

translator | Lu Xinwang

Reviser | Sun Shujuan 、 Liang CE

1200 Billion dollars .

according to Forrester A report of , This is the size of the global cloud computing market .

Driven by new technology , Software , Data storage and infrastructure are moving significantly towards the cloud , Make workloads easy to develop and execute in the cloud .

According to the cloud native Computing Foundation (CNCF) That's what I'm saying ：

“ Cloud native technology enables enterprises to operate in the public cloud 、 Build and run scalable applications in a modern dynamic environment of private and hybrid clouds . Containers , Service Grid , Microservices , Immutable infrastructure and declarative API Are the application models in this field .

If these are a little strange to you , Don't worry about , We will talk about it in the next section .

Cloud computing in all its forms is the new face of business technology , Now it is a mature function of the enterprise . so to speak , Many large companies rely on the cloud they run to do business . This includes more than Uber and DoorDash etc. “ Start-up company ”, It also includes financial companies that offer stock trading applications to brokers .

come from CNCF Data show that , There are currently more than 600 More than ten million developers are building cloud native applications for various business functions . These applications are based on DevOps Wait for best practices , Therefore, it can be expanded to the limit of the underlying infrastructure .

Let's explore what cloud native application development is , And how it can bring more value to your business .

What is cloud native application development ?

Cloud native application development is in the cloud , And the process of developing applications for the cloud .

Does it sound too simple ?

The actual process may seem complicated , But its core idea is not difficult to understand . Further decompose this process , A cloud native application is a collection of containerized microservices , They are managed through an adaptive infrastructure that can be delivered continuously .

In some traditional projects , The infrastructure distribution system administrator is responsible for managing . However, in the development life cycle of cloud native applications , The orchestration engine controls this process . It means , Developers or managers no longer have to spend time dealing with resource allocation . contrary , Each resource allocation decision is based on pre configured rules in the system .

The development environment or technical facilities that the application depends on , For developers it is “ In the abstract ” Or invisible . They can use the technology of their choice to develop microservices , Enhance application portability , And allow for quick code changes . This is one of the core principles of agile development , Rapid development 、 Fast release , And meet the real-time needs of business users .

From a process perspective , Here is how to develop cloud native applications ：

1. Will develop 、IT Manage and lead the team DevOps Practice internalization .
2. Select as Kubernetes Such a container management platform , It forms the basis for running and developing microservices .
3. Ensure that developers are familiar with using containerization techniques , And ensure that resource allocation is managed through the orchestration engine .DevOps The team can monitor the project through its life cycle .
4. Project delivery must be automatic 、 Sustainable , With sandbox and built-in observability .

The business value of cloud native applications

Cloud native applications provide several types of high efficiency for your business , A model of good performance , Here are some obvious benefits ：

1. The project life cycle is more cost-effective

For application development projects , Resource management is one of the most important challenges . Experienced teams tend to over allocate resources for safety . Although this ensures the smooth progress of the project life cycle , But in the end, it increases the cost of application development , And reduce the possible return of the project .

An important aspect of cloud primordial is , It does not require load balancing 、 To configure , You don't even need to assign it manually . Cloud resources are self managed , Allow them to expand and contract as needed for testing and deployment . The cost savings will continue to accumulate throughout the project life cycle , Make the cloud native application development process more cost-effective .

2. Flexible architecture

Because the uptime is different from that in the data center or in the public or private cloud VDI Virtual machines in the environment (VM) Is directly related to the uptime of , Some developers find using cloud deployment challenging . Cloud native applications are portable , And run independently of the virtual machine . let me put it another way , Unless a particular microservice requires a dedicated GPU, Otherwise the architecture can run seamlessly , Almost no dependencies are required .

The less dependent , The more flexible the workload is , Troubleshooting is also easier and faster . Because cloud infrastructure dependencies are no longer an issue , Project managers can focus their efforts on isolating other potential threats .

3. Products are brought to market faster

Continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) Is the key to the success of cloud native application development . up to now , The software delivery process is subject to various stages —— In the release alpha、beta And production versions need to be fully tested .

Now , The process can be fully automated , Conduct on-demand intelligent testing and continuous deployment in the cloud environment . And DevOps Synchronous use , It allows the project team to collaborate on a larger scale , Reduce the risk of product launch , Greatly shorten the time from development to the release of the first version .

4. Do not rely on suppliers

Vendor locking is a major problem for almost all applications , Including those deployed in major cloud providers ( Such as Google 、 Amazon or Microsoft ) On the application . Unless you are also a technology giant , Otherwise, the smooth operation of the workload depends on the availability and efficiency of the cloud storage provider .

Because cloud native applications are portable , They eliminate dependency on a single platform or cloud infrastructure . Regardless of the underlying architecture , Developers can continue to update and upgrade applications , And make full use of the new PaaS and IaaS service .

Key features of cloud native applications

Cloud native applications are defined as follows ：

• Container based infrastructure
• The architecture of microservices
• Use continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD)
• DevOps agile development

All in all , These can be translated into many benefits of the application development process ：

1. Modular management

One of the biggest challenges for monolithic applications is scalability . At the beginning , It will expand proportionally with the size and expertise of the development team . However , As each function and feature increases , Monomer architecture becomes more complex .

such , This happens in the product life cycle ： The product owner cannot understand the entire application , Development teams don't know how their modules integrate with other modules ,QA The team cannot test the impact of modifying a feature on the entire application .

Lack of visibility in the application can cause more problems , Because developers can't handle additional functionality . The architecture of the application becomes chaotic , A small change can lead to a major failure .

These structural problems can be solved by using microservices , Microservices are separately built modules , Each module is responsible for only one specific feature . therefore , You can test and update parts of the application , You don't need to change the code or run of the entire application .

2. Autonomous resource allocation

Use cloud native applications , Developers do not need to interface directly with the cloud infrastructure provider's application programming (API) Interaction . contrary ,DevOps The team can ( Developing applications in it ) Allocation calculation 、 Set a centralized policy for memory and storage resources .

Automatic resource allocation directly affects the return on investment of the project (ROI). therefore , One more or one less decimal point of the allocated funds will change the possibility of successful application . By accurately matching the requirements of the application to the available resources , Autonomous resource allocation can reduce these risks .

3. Asynchronous development

Cloud native applications are essentially aggregated and containerized microservices . For users , This means that when a microservice fails , It will not affect the performance of other microservices . Every microservice is encapsulated , And have their own dependence , So a microservice will not threaten the entire application .

The same logic applies to the development process . Unless containerized microservices have common dependencies ( under these circumstances , These dependencies can be replicated or detached ), Otherwise they can be developed asynchronously 、 Test and add to production applications . therefore , You can develop multiple features or application modules in parallel , Don't worry about integration .

4. Expand quickly

Although both cloud services and micro services are paving the way for the future , However, enterprises still have left infrastructure investment that has not been fully utilized . Because cloud native applications are a collection of autonomous services packaged as containers , They can dynamically expand outward and inward ( Use computing or storage resources more or less ), This is different from virtual machines in traditional infrastructure .

Cloud native applications allow for API Integration with legacy systems and data . This enables even small businesses to accelerate the digital transformation process in the transition from traditional infrastructure to Cloud Computing .

5. Comprehensive application functions

Microservices are well suited for independent censorship 、 Analyze and evaluate . therefore , Developers can evaluate the performance of each microservice on an independent basis and in the context of the entire project . Due to the modular and elastic Architecture , Full stack observability and specific monitoring mechanisms make it easier to tune applications .

Conclusion

Cloud native applications are designed for the next era of software development and cloud technology . With its versatility and agility , Cloud native technology allows enterprises to match their technology investment with their business objectives . Whether you are a small or medium-sized enterprise or a large enterprise , Now you can use cloud primitives intelligently to help solve business problems and improve operational efficiency .

Translator introduction

Lu Xinwang ,51CTO Community editor , A programmer who is half a monk . Done front-end pages , I have written about business interface , I've done reptiles , Studied JS, Have the privilege of contacting Golang, Participate in the transformation of micro service architecture . Current main write Java, Responsible for the design and development of the data engine layer of the company's customizable low code platform .

Original title ：How To Get Started With Cloud Native Application Development, author ：Dipti Parmar