Microsoft Draft Helps Developers Adopt Kubernetes

Microsoft’s Deis has released Draft to makes it easy for developers to build applications that run on Kubernetes. Draft does this by providing tools and simplifying steps required to build for Kubernetes. If your enterprise has looked at containerization, Docker or Kubernetes before, this latest tool might very well nudge you to take the dive!

Step 1 of 7

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Which of the following best describes how you currently monitor and manage systems across your hybrid cloud environment?(Required)

Multiple separate tools for different environments

Multiple separate tools for different monitoring and management functions

Single consolidated dashboard

Custom built monitoring and management solution

No full monitoring and management solution

Don’t know

How valuable would it be for your monitoring and management solution to incorporate predictive analytics to help you identify and address system issues that are critical and not waste time or effort working through all the data and “noise” that is not critical?(Required)

Extremely valuable

Moderately valuable

Somewhat valuable

Slightly valuable

Not valuable

How do you most typically address potential system issues BEFORE they impact your operations?(Required)

Automated workflows and playbooks to remediate potential issues as soon as they are detected

An orchestrated response process that leverages automation, AI, and human expertise to rapidly respond to potential issues

Advanced monitoring tools such as predictive analytics and anomaly detection to proactively identify and address potential issues

Respond to issues as they arise, using manual processes and troubleshooting techniques

A combination of automated remediation, orchestrated response, and/or proactive monitoring to address potential system issues

Don’t know

Other

What methods does your organization use to control and monitor cloud/IT spending?(Required)

Centralized procurement processes

Pre-approved budget thresholds

Automated cost monitoring tools

Department-level spending controls

Regular cost audits and reviews

Cloud cost optimization platform

Approval workflows for resource provisioning

Native financial operations tools provided by the cloud provider

No formal controls in place

Don’t know

Other

Please specify:

Which methods do you rely on most to detect security vulnerabilities in your systems?(Required)

Automated scanning tools

Manual assessments

Vendor notifications

Threat modeling (for early detection)

None of these

Don’t know

Other

Please specify:

What are the TWO most common ways you prioritize vulnerabilities to address within your environment?(Required)

Based on potential impact

Based on exploitability

Regulatory compliance requirements

Based on CVSS scores

Risk-based analysis of multiple factors

First-in-first-out approach

No formal prioritization process

Don’t know

How do you typically handle system updates and security patches?(Required)

Automated updates and patches

Manually review and apply updates and patches on a regular schedule

A combination of automation and manual review

Apply updates and patches on an as-needed basis.

Outsourced update and patch management

No defined process

Don’t know

Other

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What is Draft? How Does It Fit into Kubernetes?

As its github account indicates, Draft targets the “inner loop” of a typical developer workflow: during the app-building and code-hacking, but before code is committed to a version control repository. At this time, applications written in six languages—Python (Newstar’s favorite language), Java, Go, Node.js, Ruby, PHP—are supported.

Using Draft

Using Draft is a simple three-step process fitting right into that developer “inner loop” we spoke before:

1. draft create to containerize your application based on Draft packs
2. draft up to deploy your application to a Kubernetes dev sandbox, accessible via a public URL
3. Use a local editor to modify the application, with changes deployed to Kubernetes in seconds

Running the draft create command will result in Draft creating a dockerfile and and Kubernetes Helm chart for that app.

Here is how it would look for an example Python app which uses Flask for an “Hello World” server:


$ draft create
--> Python app detected
--> Ready to sail
$ ls
Dockerfile app.py chart/ draft.toml requirements.txt


The draft.toml file contains basic configuration information about the application. See the Draft User Guide for further information and available configuration options on draft.toml.

Next would be invoking draft up to deploy the app to a Kubernetes cluster.


$ draft up
--> Building Dockerfile
Step 1 : FROM python:onbuild
onbuild: Pulling from library/python
...
Successfully built 38f35b50162c
--> Pushing docker.io/microsoft/tufted-lamb:5a3c633ae76c9bdb81b55f5d4a783398bf00658e
The push refers to a repository [docker.io/microsoft/tufted-lamb] ...
5a3c633ae76c9bdb81b55f5d4a783398bf00658e: digest: sha256:9d9e9fdb8ee3139dd77a110fa2d2b87573c3ff5ec9c045db6009009d1c9ebf5b size: 16384
--> Deploying to Kubernetes
Release "tufted-lamb" does not exist. Installing it now.
--> Status: DEPLOYED
--> Notes:

http://tufted-lamb.example.com to access your application

Watch local files for changes …

Once it has successfully deployed, interact with your app to make sure everything works correctly.

Keep in mind that Draft is experimental at this time but is shaping up to be a useful tool for those who want to dive into the world of containers but did not know how.