Structured feature comparison between container orchestration frameworks

Container orchestration frameworks provide support for management of complex distributed applications. Different frameworks have emerged only recently, and they are in constant evolution as new features are being introduced.

This reality makes it difficult for practitioners and researchers to maintain a clear view on the technology space, and hinders selecting the most appropriate framework, assessing the maturity and the lock-in risks for each framework.

We present an descriptive feature comparison study of the five most prominent orchestration solutions: Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, and Mesos, combined with Marathon or Aurora, and DC/OS. This study aims at (i) identifying the common and unique features of all frameworks, (ii) comparing these frameworks qualitatively ánd quantitatively with respect to: (ii.a) genericity in terms of supported features and (ii.b) vendor lock-in, (iii) investigating the maturity and stability of the frameworks as well as the pioneering nature of each framework by studying the historical evolution of the frameworks on GitHub

The study methodology involves feature variability and commonality analysis, mapping features to common use cases and development history on GitHub, and card sorting for defining a taxonomy of features which is divided into 9 functional aspects and 27 sub-aspects.

The result is a comprehensive feature-based overview of the current state of container orchestration frameworks. The published data set contains the data used for answering all research questions (i), (ii) and (iii). This data has been processed both qualitatively as quantitatively. The scientific approach and reproducible methodology allows for continued assessment of container orchestration frameworks.

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