Comparative Assessment of Containerisation and Virtualisation Tools for Thread to Enhance Open Source Contributions

[KadeMorton]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
We have had feedback that the work to get Thread running for a new user might hamper open source contributions. We want to make contributing as easy as possible.

Describe the solution you'd like
To address the need for a simplified and consistent development environment that facilitates easier contributions to the Thread project, this ticket proposes a comparative assessment of Docker and its alternatives, including Rancher, Vagrant, Kubernetes, LXC (Linux Containers), and Podman. The goal is to determine whether a change is needed in our current setup and, if so, to select the most suitable technology from these options based on their fit with our project requirements.

Describe alternatives you've considered
The choice is either we stay the same or we make a change. There is an assessment to pick the best solution if we decide to make a change.

Additional context

Acceptance Criteria

• Conduct an evaluation of each technology (Docker, Rancher, Vagrant, Kubernetes, LXC, Podman) focusing on:
  • Ease of setup for contributors.
  • Compatibility with existing Thread infrastructure.
  • Support for consistent development environments across various systems.
  • Scalability and resource management capabilities.
  • Community support and maintenance.
• Develop criteria for evaluating and comparing these technologies, considering the needs of the Thread project.
• If a change is deemed necessary, recommend the best technology based on the evaluation criteria.
• Outline a implementation plan for the selected technology, including steps for migration and integration with the existing Thread environment.
• Ensure the plan includes testing and documentation updates.

Milestones

1. Technology Evaluation Setup: Define the evaluation criteria and gathering resources.
2. Comparative Analysis: Conduct an analysis of each technology, assessing pros and cons in the context of Thread’s needs.
3. Decision Making: Finalise the technology choice based on the analysis.
4. Recommendation Report and Planning: Produce a report with the recommendation and, if a change is recommended, an implementation plan.
5. Implementation Phase (if proceeding): Implement the selected technology, including all necessary testing and documentation adjustments.