Nutanix Expanded Kubernetes Ecosystem and Developer-Ready Infrastructure Services

Nutanix, Inc. announced new features in its Cloud Platform to accelerate the adoption of Kubernetes running both at scale and cost-effectively.

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It announced broad support for Kubernetes container platforms, built-in infrastructure as code capabilities, and enhanced data services for modern applications. These features allow DevOps teams to accelerate application delivery with the performance, governance, and flexibility of the firm’s Cloud Platform while allowing customers to maintain control of their IT operating costs.

“Kubernetes deployments are inherently dynamic and challenging to manage at scale,” said Thomas Cornely, SVP, product management. “Running Kubernetes container platforms cost-effectively at large scale requires developer-ready infrastructure that seamlessly adapts to changing requirements. Our expertise in simplifying infrastructure management while optimizing resources – both on-premises and in the public cloud – is now being applied to help enterprises adopt Kubernetes more quickly. The Cloud Platform now supports a broad choice of Kubernetes container platforms, provides integrated data services for modern applications, and enables developers to provision Infrastructure as Code.”

According to Gartner, by 2027, 25% of all enterprise applications will run in containers, an increase from fewer than 10% in 2021 ⁽¹⁾. This is a challenge for many given most Kubernetes solutions are not meant to support enterprise scale, even less can do so in a manner that is cost effective. The company’s Cloud Platform enables enterprises to run Kubernetes in a software-defined infrastructure environment that can linearly scale. Additionally, whether running Kubernetes on-premises or in the public cloud, the firm delivers a solution that can help lower TCO by up to 53% when compared to other native cloud deployment solutions.

New capabilities, including broad support for Kubernetes container platforms, built-in infrastructure as code capabilities, and enhanced data services, make the company an stronger proposition for enterprises looking to deploy Kubernetes at scale.

Specifically, enhancements include:

• Broad Kubernetes ecosystem: The firm’s Cloud Platform, with the built-in AHV hypervisor, supports most leading Kubernetes container platforms with the addition of Amazon EKS-A. This builds on a large ecosystem including Red Hat OpenShift, SUSE Rancher, as well as Google Anthos, and Microsoft Azure Arc for edge deployments, along with the native Nutanix Kubernetes, Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (NKE). 
• Built-in infrastructure as code operating model: The company also announced an updated API family along with its SDKs in Java, JS, Go and Python, currently under development. This will enable automation at scale and consistent operations regardless of location – in the datacenter, on the public cloud, or at edge – both of key importance to enterprises. Additionally, when combined with Red Hat Ansible Certified Content or the Nutanix Terraform provider, a DevOps methodology can be brought to infrastructure through automation leveraging Infrastructure as Code.
• Strengthened data services for modern applications: The firm’s Cloud Platform’s web-scale architecture enables customers to start small and scale to multi-petabyte sized deployments as application needs grow. It is a platform to unify delivery of integrated data services with file, object, and now adding database services on the same platform for Kubernetes-based applications. The company also launched Database Service Operator for Kubernetes, which enables developers to provision and attach databases to their application stacks directly from development environments. The open source operator is available via artifacthub.io as well as by direct download at GitHub. Additionally, Nutanix Objects supports a reference implementation of Container Object Storage Interface (COSI) for ease of orchestration and self-service provisioning. It also adds support for observability using Prometheus. Lastly, Objects is now validated with analytics applications including Presto, Dremio, and Vertica, along with Confluent Kafka to enable large-scale data pipelines often used in real-time streaming applications.

These features build on the Cloud Platform’s ability to handle the dynamic demands of Kubernetes applications at scale. With the firm’s HCI, performance and capacity scale linearly, resilience is delivered with self-healing nodes, and persistent storage is natively integrated. Additionally, the Cloud Platform can help deliver cost efficiencies by eliminating unused compute and storage resources. For customers looking at cloud integrations, the same company’s value is delivered across hybrid multicloud endpoints with full license portability across edge, datacenter, service provider, and hyperscaler points of presence.

“When we decided to bring the core platform for our solutions in-house, we decided to take a modular containerized approach to give us the desired flexibility and simplify management by maintaining customization as configurations,” said Larry McClanahan, CPO, Nymbus. “Our partnership with Red Hat and Nutanix gives us the flexibility to innovate, the speed to get to market fast, and the tremendous scalability to support ongoing growth. We’re thrilled that we can better help our customers succeed in the digital banking market with unique solutions.”

“Container development platforms promise faster application development speed, but will only be deployed by organizations who can maintain compliance, day 2 operations, and cost management control at scale,” said Paul Nashawaty, senior analyst, ESG. “Nutanix offers a compelling path to speed the deployment of modern applications at scale and in a cost-effective manner, with full choice of Kubernetes container development environments and cloud endpoints.” 

⁽¹⁾ Gartner, Inc, CTOs’ Guide to Containers and Kubernetes — Answering the Top 10 FAQs, May 31, 2022, Arun Chandrasekaran, Wataru Katsurashimi

Resources:
Nutanix solutions   
Blog: Nutanix Extends Support for Enterprise On-Premises Kubernetes with Amazon EKS-A    
Nutanix v4 API Introduction    
Exploring the High-Performance Capabilities of Nutanix Objects   
Red Hat Strategic Alliance