Introduction: Docker puts an application and its libraries in one image. That image runs on a laptop and on a server without a “missing plugin” surprise. Kubernetes schedules many copies of images across machines. Most first products need Docker. They do not yet need Kubernetes.
1. Use Docker when the setup is the problem
If a new developer spends a day installing the stack, an image removes that day. The same image is what the pipeline deploys to staging.
2. Add Kubernetes when one server is no longer the plan
- You run several services that must restart without a person logging in.
- Traffic spikes, and you need more than one copy of the same app.
- The team already has someone who can read a cluster when it is unhealthy.
3. Skip the cluster as a badge
A single web app on one well-backed server, or a managed container service, is a complete setup. A cluster you cannot debug at night is a new outage, not a milestone.
Docker answers “it runs the same everywhere.” Kubernetes answers “we run many copies.” Most teams need the first answer first.
4. Conclusion
EliteSigma containerizes the app when that removes setup pain, and adds orchestration when the traffic and the team are ready.
See our DevOps / Clouds service.
