11.0.3 Cloud vs On-Premises
The Big Decision: Build or Rent?
Think about transportation:
On-Premises = Owning a Car
You buy it ($30,000+)
You maintain it (oil changes, repairs)
You insure it
It sits in your garage when not used
You control everything
When it breaks, you’re stuck!
Cloud = Using Uber/Taxi
Pay only when you need a ride
No maintenance worries
Always available
Different car for different needs
Don’t need parking
If one breaks, another comes!
Detailed Comparison
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ON-PREMISES vs CLOUD │
├────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ On-Premises (Your │ Cloud (Provider's Servers) │
│ Own Servers) │ │
└────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────┘
Cost Structure
On-Premises |
Cloud |
|---|---|
High upfront cost |
No upfront cost |
($50,000-$500,000 for servers) |
(Start for free!) |
Fixed monthly costs |
Variable monthly costs |
Pay whether you use it or not |
Pay only for what you use |
Example: Want to start a website?
On-Premises:
- Buy server: $5,000
- Networking: $2,000
- Setup: $3,000
- Power/Cooling: $200/month
- IT person: $8,000/month
────────────────────────
Total Year 1: $110,400
Cloud:
- Small server: $50/month
- Storage: $50/month
- Network: $10/month
- Maintenance: $0 (included!)
────────────────────────
Total Year 1: $1320
Time to Deploy
On-Premises |
Cloud |
|---|---|
Order servers: 2-4 weeks |
Click button: 30 seconds |
Delivery: 1-2 weeks |
Already available! |
Setup: 1-2 weeks |
Automatic |
Testing: 1 week |
Ready to use |
Total: 1-2 months |
Total: Less than 1 minute |
Container Deployment Comparison
On-Premises Container Setup:
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Week 1: Order hardware │
│ Week 2-3: Hardware delivery & setup │
│ Week 4: Install OS and Docker │
│ Week 5: Set up Kubernetes cluster │
│ Week 6: Configure networking │
│ Week 7: Set up monitoring │
│ Week 8: Security hardening │
│ Week 9: Finally deploy your app! │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
Cloud Container Setup:
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Minute 1: Create EKS/AKS/GKE cluster │
│ Minute 2: kubectl apply -f app.yaml │
│ Minute 3: Your app is running! │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
Maintenance & Updates
On-Premises |
Cloud |
|---|---|
You do everything |
Provider does infrastructure |
Hardware failures = Your problem |
Provider replaces hardware |
Security patches = Your job |
Automatic security updates |
Software updates = Your time |
Managed by provider |
Night/weekend emergencies = You! |
24/7 support team |
Geographic Reach
On-Premises |
Cloud |
|---|---|
One location (your office) |
Global locations available |
Want another city? Build new |
Want another city? Click button |
datacenter |
and select region |
Cost: $$$$$ |
Cost: Same price! |
Time: 6-12 months |
Time: Seconds |
Scalability
On-Premises |
Cloud |
|---|---|
Need more power? |
Need more power? |
→ Buy more servers |
→ Slide a scale up |
→ Wait for delivery |
→ Get it instantly |
→ Install and configure |
→ Automatic |
→ Weeks/months |
→ Seconds |
Real-World Story:
Gaming Company Example:
OLD WAY (On-Premises):
- New game launches
- Everyone wants to play!
- Servers crash
- Players angry
- Can't add servers fast enough
- Lost players = Lost money
NEW WAY (Cloud):
- New game launches
- Set auto-scaling: "Add servers when load > 80%"
- System automatically adds 50 more servers
- Everyone happy!
- Game finishes trending?
- Scales back down automatically
- Only paid for extra servers during peak!
Kubernetes-Specific Comparison
On-Premises Kubernetes:
# What YOU have to manage
cluster-setup:
master-nodes: "Install and configure"
worker-nodes: "Install and configure"
networking: "Set up CNI (Calico, Flannel)"
storage: "Configure persistent volumes"
load-balancer: "Install and configure (HAProxy, nginx)"
monitoring: "Set up Prometheus + Grafana"
logging: "Set up ELK stack"
backup: "Configure etcd backups"
updates: "Manually update Kubernetes"
security: "Configure RBAC, network policies"
Cloud Managed Kubernetes:
# What the CLOUD PROVIDER manages for you
cluster-setup:
master-nodes: "Fully managed by provider"
worker-nodes: "Auto-scaling node groups"
networking: "Pre-configured with cloud networking"
storage: "Integrated with cloud storage"
load-balancer: "Cloud load balancer integration"
monitoring: "Built-in cloud monitoring"
logging: "Integrated cloud logging"
backup: "Automatic backups"
updates: "Automatic Kubernetes updates"
security: "Cloud IAM integration"
Your GitHub Actions Pipeline Stays the Same!
# This workflow works with both on-premises and cloud Kubernetes
name: Deploy to Kubernetes
jobs:
deploy:
steps:
- name: Build Docker image
run: docker build -t myapp:${{ github.sha }} .
- name: Push to registry
run: |
# On-premises: docker push private-registry.company.com/myapp:${{ github.sha }}
# Cloud: docker push gcr.io/project/myapp:${{ github.sha }}
- name: Deploy to Kubernetes
run: |
kubectl set image deployment/myapp myapp=myapp:${{ github.sha }}
kubectl rollout status deployment/myapp
Responsibility Model
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY LEVELS:
On-Premises (You manage everything):
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ Your Application │ ← You
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Runtime & Framework │ ← You
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Operating System │ ← You
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Virtual Machine │ ← You
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Physical Servers │ ← You
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Networking │ ← You
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Storage │ ← You
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Data Center Building │ ← You
└─────────────────────────┘
Cloud (Shared responsibility):
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ Your Application │ ← You
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Runtime & Framework │ ← You
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Operating System │ ← Provider
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Virtual Machine │ ← Provider
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Physical Servers │ ← Provider
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Networking │ ← Provider
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Storage │ ← Provider
├─────────────────────────┤
│ Data Center Building │ ← Provider
└─────────────────────────┘
You focus on your app!
Provider handles infrastructure!
When to Use Each?
Use On-Premises when:
VERY strict data regulations (some government/financial)
Already invested millions in infrastructure
Unique hardware requirements (specialized chips)
Existing staff and expertise
Internet connectivity is unreliable
Predictable, steady workloads
Complete control required
Use Cloud when:
Starting something new (startup, new project)
Want to launch quickly
Usage varies (peaks and valleys)
Want global reach
Don't want to manage infrastructure
Want to try new technologies easily
Focus on application development
Need automatic scaling
Migration Strategy: The Smart Way
Don’t Move Everything at Once!
Phase 1: Start Small (Lift and Shift)
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Move: Development/Test environments│
│ Keep: Production on-premises │
│ Learn: Cloud basics safely │
│ Risk: Low │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
Phase 2: Cloud-Native (Re-platform)
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Move: New applications to cloud │
│ Use: Managed databases, Kubernetes │
│ Keep: Critical legacy systems │
│ Risk: Medium │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
Phase 3: Full Cloud (Modernize)
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Move: All suitable workloads │
│ Use: Serverless, AI/ML services │
│ Keep: Only compliance-required │
│ Risk: Managed │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
Container-First Migration Strategy:
Step 1: Containerize Applications Locally
- Package apps in Docker containers
- Test with docker-compose
- Validate functionality
Step 2: Deploy to Local Kubernetes
- Use minikube or k3s
- Learn Kubernetes basics
- Create deployment manifests
Step 3: Move to Cloud Kubernetes
- Same YAML manifests work!
- Just change image registry
- Configure cloud-specific features
Cost Optimization Strategies
Smart Cloud Cost Management:
Development Environment:
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Auto-shutdown at night │
│ Weekend shutdown │
│ Use spot/preemptible instances │
│ Monitor and set budget alerts │
└─────────────────────────────────┘
Production Environment:
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Auto-scaling based on metrics │
│ Use appropriate storage tiers │
│ Choose optimal regions │
│ Right-size your containers │
└─────────────────────────────────┘
GitHub Actions Cost Optimization:
# Optimize CI/CD costs
name: Cost-Efficient Pipeline
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest # Free for public repos
if: github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
steps:
- name: Build only on main branch
run: docker build -t myapp .
- name: Deploy only during business hours
if: |
github.event_name == 'push' &&
contains(fromJSON('["main", "production"]'), github.ref_name) &&
contains(fromJSON('[1,2,3,4,5]'), fromJSON(format('{0}', github.event.head_commit.timestamp)))
run: kubectl apply -f k8s/
Note
Most modern companies use cloud! Even if they have some on-premises infrastructure, they’re moving to cloud for new projects.
The trend is clear: Cloud is the future!
Your containerization skills make you cloud-ready!
Warning
Important: Moving to cloud doesn’t automatically save money!
Monitor your spending actively
Use cost management tools
Set up budget alerts
Regularly review and optimize
Turn off unused resources
Think of it like leaving lights on: - Leave resources on 24/7 = High cloud bill - Turn off when not needed = Low cloud bill
Same principle applies!