Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GlusterFS VS Podman

Compare GlusterFS VS Podman and see what are their differences

GlusterFS logo GlusterFS

GlusterFS is a scale-out network-attached storage file system.

Podman logo Podman

Simple debugging tool for pods and images
  • GlusterFS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-03-10
  • Podman Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-30

GlusterFS features and specs

  • Scalability
    GlusterFS can easily scale out by adding more servers to the cluster, allowing it to handle increasing amounts of data and traffic.
  • Distributed File System
    It provides a distributed file system, enabling data replication and distribution across multiple nodes, which enhances data availability and reliability.
  • Open Source
    Being open source, GlusterFS provides flexibility and freedom for customization to fit specific needs without the cost associated with proprietary solutions.
  • POSIX Compliance
    GlusterFS is POSIX-compliant, meaning it supports standard file system operations, which makes it easier to integrate with existing applications and systems.
  • High Availability
    With built-in features like self-healing and replication, GlusterFS ensures that data remains available and consistent even in the event of hardware failures.
  • Geographical Distribution
    It supports geographical distribution of data, which is beneficial for disaster recovery and accessing data from multiple locations.

Possible disadvantages of GlusterFS

  • Performance Overhead
    Due to its distributed nature, GlusterFS might introduce performance overhead, particularly for workloads requiring low-latency or high-throughput.
  • Complexity in Management
    Managing a GlusterFS cluster can be complex, requiring in-depth knowledge of the system to properly configure and troubleshoot issues.
  • Latency Issues
    Latency can become a significant issue, especially in write-heavy applications or when nodes are geographically distant.
  • Resource Intensive
    GlusterFS can be resource-intensive, requiring significant CPU and memory resources to manage its distributed architecture and ensure data consistency.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    Compared to other distributed file systems, GlusterFS may lack some advanced features like native support for certain storage protocols or comprehensive storage tiering.
  • Community Support
    While there is a community around GlusterFS, the level and speed of community support may not match that of commercially-backed solutions.

Podman features and specs

  • Daemonless Architecture
    Podman does not require a daemon to run containers, which simplifies its architecture and minimizes the potential attack surface.
  • Rootless Containers
    Podman allows running containers as a non-root user, enhancing security by reducing the risk associated with running processes as the root user.
  • Kubernetes Support
    Podman has built-in support for Kubernetes, enabling easier transition and orchestration of containers at scale.
  • Compatibility with Docker CLI
    Podman provides a Docker-compatible command line interface, making it easy for users to migrate from Docker with minimal changes to their workflows.
  • Enhanced Security
    With features like user namespaces and no central daemon, Podman offers improved security compared to traditional container runtimes.
  • Open Source
    Podman is an open-source project, which provides transparency and community-driven development.

Possible disadvantages of Podman

  • Limited Ecosystem
    The ecosystem around Podman is not as extensive as that of Docker, potentially limiting the availability of third-party tools and integrations.
  • Learning Curve
    Users familiar with Docker may face a learning curve when adapting to some of Podman’s unique features and CLI differences.
  • Performance Overhead
    Running rootless containers can introduce some performance overhead due to the additional layers of user namespace translation.
  • Less Mature
    Podman is relatively newer compared to Docker, which means it might not be as battle-tested in enterprise environments.
  • Inconsistent Behavior
    Certain Podman features may behave differently than Docker, which might lead to unexpected issues during container management and automation.

Analysis of Podman

Overall verdict

  • Podman is a solid option for users seeking a secure, flexible, and rootless alternative to Docker. It performs efficiently and provides strong compatibility with existing container management workflows.

Why this product is good

  • Podman is considered a good tool due to its daemonless architecture, which enhances security and provides more flexibility in container management. Unlike Docker, Podman can run containers under rootless mode, allowing non-root users to manage containers and reducing the attack surface. Podman's compatibility with Docker command-line interface (CLI) and its ability to run in a Kubernetes-like environment using pods make it versatile for diverse container management tasks.

Recommended for

  • Developers and system administrators who require a rootless container management solution.
  • Teams focused on security and minimal permissions for container management.
  • Organizations looking to integrate container management closely with Kubernetes without relying on Docker.
  • Users who are comfortable with command-line interface tools and container technologies.

GlusterFS videos

An Overview of GlusterFS Architecture Part 2 - Non-replicated Cluster

Podman videos

PODMAN vs DOCKER - should you switch now?

More videos:

  • Review - Actually, podman Might Be Better Than docker
  • Review - Container (Podman) Review - Kominfo PROA Training Lab 2

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GlusterFS and Podman)
Cloud Storage
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud Computing
36 36%
64% 64
Storage
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GlusterFS and Podman

GlusterFS Reviews

We have no reviews of GlusterFS yet.
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Podman Reviews

Podman vs Docker: Comparing the Two Containerization Tools
Rootless processes. Because of its daemonless architecture, Podman can perform truly rootless operations. Users do not have to be granted root privileges to run Podman commands, and Podman does not have to rely on a root-privileged process.
Source: www.linode.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Podman seems to be a lot more popular than GlusterFS. While we know about 123 links to Podman, we've tracked only 2 mentions of GlusterFS. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GlusterFS mentions (2)

  • [D] What are the compute options you've considered for your projects?
    I am a fan of Gearman to schedule and dispatch distributed jobs, Redis as a collaborative blackboard, and GlusterFS to share models across multiple systems and make bulk data available across the entire system (usually referenced in the blackboard as a pathname). Source: about 2 years ago
  • Gluster vs Oracle Gluster
    If you're not relying on support, then I would probably standardize on the latest packages available from gluster.org. Source: almost 4 years ago

Podman mentions (123)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing GlusterFS and Podman, you can also consider the following products

Ceph - Ceph is a distributed object store and file system designed to provide excellent performance...

containerd - An industry-standard container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability

rkt - App Container runtime

Flox - Manage and share development environments with all the frameworks and libraries you need, then publish artifacts anywhere. Harness the power of Nix.

Apache Karaf - Apache Karaf is a lightweight, modern and polymorphic container powered by OSGi.

Buildah - Buildah is a web-based OCI container tool that allows you to manage the wide range of images in your OCI container and helps you to build the image container from the scratch.