An announcement coming today from networking vendor Weaveworks is interesting in and of itself, but even more so when seen in the broader context.

Weaveworks is the vendor behind Weave, a networking and monitoring tool for the Docker containerization platform. The company is today announcing the availability of a plug-in for the Kubernetes cloud-native operating system. Weave Net 1.5 works with the Kubernetes Container Networking Interface and allows multicast networking integrated with Kubernetes-based applications.

Weaveworks is talking up the applicability of this offering to specific verticals, in particular, the financial services industry:

“Multicast networking is a critical capability for solutions that manage microservices,” said Mathew Lodge, COO of Weaveworks. “Weaveworks has been at the forefront of container networking, developing technology that makes Docker container networking simple and easy to deploy. With this latest release, we’re now providing Kubernetes users in industries that make use of multicast networking the option for containerized applications.”

Weave Net implements a “micro SDN,” providing containerized applications a simple network with full-service discovery, requiring zero configuration or coding and with no external dependencies. Weave decentralizes the network, thereby avoiding any dependencies that might come and haunt users over time.

Docker Being Overshadowed?

While Weaveworks' announcement is interesting, the broader question is whether the company's move towards a Kuberentes integration is an indication that Docker is being somewhat overshadowed by newer cloud-native initiatives. There does seem to be an incredible amount of positioning within the broader container orchestration vendors with everyone trying their hardest to justify why they have validity and importance within the stack. In a recent post detailing the absurdity that exists in the space, Massimo Re Ferre' noted just how complex this positioning exercise has become:

"Now you may think that the problem we are facing is the proliferation of container management solutions to pick from? You wish it was that easy. It’s way worse than what you think: it’s getting 'incestuous.' Container management vendors [or projects] are taking an interesting path these days. Instead of trying to position themselves as the best and most viable containers orchestration solution, they are starting to position themselves as the foundational orchestration solution on top of which other container management solutions could run. Yes, you read it right. The containers management industry complexity just got squared! Instead of having to pick among 25 different alternatives, you now have a choice of (25 x 24 =) 600 permutations to choose from! How fun?!"

While Re Ferre's post was a little tongue in cheek, there is more than an ounce of truth in what he said. Of course, none of this changes the utility that Weave is delivering to organizations using Kubernetes, but one wonders, beyond the utility, how much posturing is going on here.