Kaptain: the Number Crunching container solution
KAPTAIN is configured to offer containers GPU computing and high-performance networks. The solution integrates a block storage service for container data persistence.
Engineered, not assembled
KAPTAIN includes a modern Web UI for both the administrator and the end user, from which an extensive catalog of ready-to-use open-source applications can also be accessed. In addition, it can be configured to provide high reliability (HA) for Kubernetes core services.
KAPTAIN approach
KAPTAIN integrates only high-end worker nodes and natively supports GPUs and high-performance networks. These features make it the ideal infrastructure to host the typical workloads of a microservices architecture for intensive computation.
The result is a “ready-to-use” solution in terms of computing, storage and networking components, easily accessible through a powerful Web interface by both administrator and end user.
In addition, KAPTAIN’s software components are regularly updated and enriched with the most innovative solutions developed by the communities in the Cloud Native Technologies area.
POWERFUL
KAPTAIN only integrates high-end worker nodes and supports native high performance GPUs and networks.
CONTAINERISED
KAPTAIN is the ideal infrastructure for housing workloads with a scalable microservices architecture.
READY-TO-USE
KAPTAIN is a “ready-to-use” solution in terms of computing components, storage and networking, which integrates a powerful web based UI for both the administrator and final user.
FUTURE-PROOF
The software components that implement KAPTAIN are periodically updated and enriched with the most innovative OpenSource offerings.
Designed to be the best: always
Next-generation applications are designed as micro-service architectures and often deployed through a set of containers, each serving a specific function. The Kubernetes cluster is now the standard infrastructure for hosting multi-container applications, because it ensures reliable and efficient multi-server deployment of different containers and offers capabilities to easily manage deployment, scheduling and load balancing operations, even in the most complex application scenarios.
Discover the advantages
Solution layout
At the core of the architecture is its ControlPlane:
- orchestratates and manages containers
- provides the external interface (API)
The standard Kubernetes configuration includes:
- a Master Node, containing the ControlPlane
- a set of Worker Nodes, for the execution of containerised user workloads
The infrastructure’s servers are interconnected by:
- an internal network, which communicates between the ControlPlane and the Worker Nodes
- an external network, which accesses the services and applications being executed by the Worker Nodes
HA KAPTAIN’S CONFIGURATIONS
HYPER CONVERGED
The Hyperconverged configuration has a total of 3 servers, each one acting as both Master and Worker Node within a cluster. The 3 servers additionally offer distributed block storage services, thus also acting as Storage Nodes. This configuration provides the minimum services necessary to guarantee that a Kubernetes cluster remains reliable.
CONVERGED
The Converged Configuration has between 3 to 5 servers which act solely as Master Nodes, whilst the rest act simultaneously as Worker and Storage Nodes. This is the ideal configuration for those planning on the long-term growth and modernisation of their computing capacity and storage availability.
DISTRIBUTED
The Distributed Configuration has 3 to 5 servers functioning as dedicated Worker Nodes whilst the rest act as either Worker or Storage Nodes. This is the highest performance configuration we offer, since on top of providing dedicated servers for the ControlPlane, it enables the user to incorporate distributed cloud native block storage into the Storage Nodes, optimising net disk space. This is necessary for selecting the right number of Worker Nodes for the user’s workload requirements and their capacity for horizontal scaling.
Technical features
MAIN COMPONENTS OF KAPTAIN 2.0
Kaptain is a “ready-to-use” Kubernetes cluster designed for ease of use and high performance: its standard configuration integrates GPU and RDMA network support, block storage services for container data persistence, and a modern Web interface for creating, managing, and monitoring the different types of workloads a Kubernetes cluster can host. Kaptain is the ideal infrastructure for using DevOps methodologies.
Kaptain’s main components are:
- Container-based second-generation Kubernetes distribution, certified by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), configured to use bare-metal nodes
- NVIDIA’s Kubernetes operators ensure that containers hosted on the infrastructure can both directly access the GPUs on the Worker Nodes and use the capabilities of the RDMA Network
- Cloud Native (distributed) Block Storage, implements the services needed to provide data persistence to containers instantiated on the infrastructure
- Rancher Manager Web UI allows the administrator to manage and monitor the system and user activities, and for users to deploy and monitor the execution of their containerized workloads
THE POSSIBLE CONFIGURATIONS OF THE STORAGE SUBSYSTEM:
Centralized storage configuration
The Master Node hosts the Kubernetes Control-plane and a NFS RDMA Server, configured as the back-end storage for the Kubernetes default Storage Class.
Distributed storage configuration
Worker Nodes are also configured as Storage Nodes: their secondary disks are aggregated into a cluster-level distributed block storage resource, used to guarantee highly available data persistence to the containers
Architectural advantages
READY-TO-GO HIGH PERFORMANCE KUBERNETES
KAPTAIN is a ready-to-go high performance solution, designed for the development, testing and deployment of scalable Data Analytics, Machine Learning and Deep Learning applications.
FLEXIBLE
KAPTAIN gives you web-access to various systems for distributed data processing and enables the end-user to create interactive and personalised workspaces according to their needs.
OPEN SOURCE
KAPTAIN exclusively integrates open source technology developed within the most relevant communities active in the Data Science field.
SCALABLE
Kaptain’s architecture ensures an infrastructure is scalable and responsive to changes in client requirements over time.
Why choose this E4 solution?
READY-TO-USE
KAPTAIN is a ready-to-use Kubernetes cluster equipped with a Web-based user interface for both administrator and end user.
VALIDATED
The actual performance of each subsystem is checked at each level.
TESTED
Every single component is tested to reduce early failure rates and DoA (Dead on Arrival).
SERVICED
Our support is provided by experienced personnel who work with complex infrastructures both in Italy and Europe, alonside with a team of highly qualified data scientists.
System support and solution customization
• per day
• in packages of “x” days on a pay-as-you-go basis
• per project
*minimum billable 1/2 day
Cloud-native technologies consulting
• per day
• in packages of “x” days on a pay-as-you-go basis
• per project
*minimum billable 1/2 day
Functional training on the Kaptain environment
Extra | New functionalities coming soon
- Keycloak-based identity and access management; provides authentication (2FA compatible), authorization, and user management
- Cloud Native Batch Scheduler for running high-performance workloads on Kubernetes with domain frameworks such as TensorFlow, Spark, PyTorch and MPI
- MINIO: A high-performance, distributed, resilient Object Storage service that provides a multi-tenant storage resource accessible with the S3 protocol
- Converged storage to ensure highly available data persistence for containers running in the infrastructure
- High available Kubernetes Control-Plane is a cluster configuration with 3/5 master nodes. An NFS-based StorageClass needs to use only one external server
E4 CONTAINER PLATFORM
