Instanz
What is an instance in IT?
Instances play a central role in a company's IT infrastructure. They form the basis for applications and services that are critical for the operation and scaling of business processes. An instance in IT can be understood as an execution unit, be it a server, a database or a software application running on a physical or virtual machine. They enable the isolation of processes, increased efficiency through resource sharing and flexibility in adapting to changing business requirements. The correct configuration and management of instances is crucial to ensure a robust, secure and highly available IT infrastructure, which is essential for success in the digital economy.
Furthermore, in object-oriented programming (OOP) there is also the term instance, or instantiation, for the creation of an object from a class. This meaning is not considered here.
Virtualization of instances
Originally, an instance in IT was a fully functional part of the operating system of a mainframe computer in a data center. Thanks to modern server virtualization, logic and physical resources can now be separated from each other, so that a large number of different instances can be operated in parallel on one host. Each instance can have individually allocated processors, its own disk space and RAM (main memory). Their provisioning, management and scaling is therefore very flexible.
Instances can be created from anything that is concrete and self-contained. This can range from a complete server, to applications, to individual files.
Instances for Tenants
Instances play a central role in the efficiency and flexibility of the IT infrastructure. They make it possible to create dedicated resources for specific requirements and respond to the particular needs of each group of users, also known as tenants. By providing customized tools and services, instances can increase productivity while ensuring infrastructure independence. In operation, this leads to an optimized use of IT resources, as each instance offers exactly the functions that are required for the respective area of application. The fact that instances can operate in isolation from each other also improves security within the entire infrastructure.
Infrastructure independency of instances
Instances enable companies to quickly adapt their systems to changing requirements. The ability to clone or move instances significantly increases the agility of IT. The infrastructure independence of these instances means that they can function across different environments without being tied to specific hardware or platforms. This promotes more efficient use of resources and facilitates operations, as maintenance and updates can be managed centrally. In short, instances are the backbone of a dynamic and robust IT infrastructure that supports modern business processes.
The principle of the instance explained using the example of the Cloudogu EcoSystem
The Cloudogu EcoSystem is a virtual machine in which applications are operated in containers, so-called Dogus. It is a concrete and self-contained software of which any number of instances can be created.
Each instance of the Cloudogu EcoSystem is thus its own platform that can include an individual set of applications. The available tools include applications from all areas of the Software Development Lifecycle and are interconnected. They thus map the typical process of software development with corresponding tools.
It is possible that individual instances can provide different sets of tools according to the individual needs of a client.
Since each instance of the Cloudogu EcoSystem is a virtual machine, it is very easy to copy, migrate, backup, duplicate or scale. Depending on your own requirements, it may make sense to run all projects in one Cloudogu EcoSystem instance or to run multiple instances in parallel. We have given suggestions on how to operate multiple instances in this blog post.
