Difference between OpenStack and OpenShift

OpenStack and OpenShift are a type of cloud operating systems. In a single customer application workflow, these platforms can be used simultaneously. Both platforms are used in hybrid cloud environments to build scalable systems. Both platforms are extremely powerful tools used by many large organizations but focus on different aspects. OpenStack has been around longer than OpenShift. Let’s take a look at the comparison of these two tools, OpenStack and OpenShift.

What is OpenStack?

OpenStack is an open-source platform deployed as infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) in both public and private clouds where virtual servers and other resources are made available to the user. It was developed by Rackspace Technology in 2010 with the motive to enable companies to quickly and efficiently add servers, storage, and networking components to their cloud. It is written in Python Programming Language.

Features of OpenStack

1. It has unlimited storage and Multi-dimensional scalability.
2. There is no central database and RAID is not required.
3. It supports S3 API and restricts containers per account which further limit access to control usage by user.

Benefits of OpenStack

1. It is faster and has more efficient access to IT resources.
2. There is high availability of user accounts, containers, and object copies.
3. It can scale both vertically and horizontally.

Drawbacks of OpenStack

1. It does not offer a free trial.
2. It does not offer any sort of organized support.
3. It has no dedicated customer support.

What is OpenShift?

OpenShift is a cloud development Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) developed by open-source provider Red Hat in 2011. The main concept used behind OpenShift is Virtualization. It is written in Go, Ruby, and Angular JS and has support for Node.js, Python, Ruby, Perl, Go, and Java-based applications. Basically, it helps the user to develop, deploy, and manage container-based applications.

Features of OpenShift

1. It provides quite a flexibility in managing the services running on-premises or with any cloud provider.
2. It has automatic installation and upgrade features.
3. It provides the environment of Multicluster management.

Benefits of OpenShift

1. It deals with tracking dependencies.
2. It accelerates the development of an application.
3. It provides a friendly user interface that helps the user to build, deploy, scale, monitor and implement the task, both as an administrator and developer.

Drawbacks of OpenShift

1. Monitoring the network traffic across the components is difficult.
2. OpenShift is not compatible with AUFS.
3. It is relatively hard-to-understand logs and is not quite flexible in its nature.

Difference between OpenStack and OpenShift

	OpenStack	OpenShift
Cloud Service Model	It is deployed as an IAAS (infrastructure as a service) which is why it is an infrastructure-based model.	It is deployed as a PAAS (Platform as a Service). So, it provides you with a working platform.
Containers	In this, the use of containers is optional. Though OpenStack supports containers but is not used frequently.	In this, the use of containers is compulsory as OpenShift is a container-centric model.
Focuses more on	It focuses more on VMWare, Xen, and KVM.	It focuses on Docker and Kubernetes as it is a container-centric model.
Environment	It is used as a single cluster platform as it is incapable of managing the data centers in a global cluster.	It is used as a distributed cluster platform.
Services	OpenStack provides services like Glusterfs and Ceph.	It provides services on the concept of master-slave controller technology.
Pricing	It has two pricing options: Private Cloud Build for $75000 Private Cloud Build Plus for $150000	It includes a free trial for 60 days and after that $0.201 are charged.

Conclusion

Both the technologies, OpenShift and OpenStack are based on the Linux platform. They are very popular and are being used by end customers worldwide. Both are open-source and tough competition to cloud-based platforms like Google, Amazon, etc. The primary distinction between OpenStack and OpenShift is their cloud service model, where the former uses IAAS, and the latter uses PAAS. It depends on the user’s choice of which platform to choose according to their requirement.