# Is Swarm at EOL?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/devops-and-docker-talk-cloud-native-interviews-and-tooling/is-swarm-at-eol
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/devops-and-docker-talk-cloud-native-interviews-and-tooling/is-swarm-at-eol.md
Podcast: [DevOps and Docker Talk: Cloud Native Interviews and Tooling](https://stenobird.com/podcast/devops-and-docker-talk-cloud-native-interviews-and-tooling)
Published: 2025-02-06T18:21:06+00:00
Episode link: https://podcast.bretfisher.com/episodes/is-swarm-at-eol
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/9aa67641/92eb9525.mp3
Processing state: processed
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/devops-and-docker-talk-cloud-native-interviews-and-tooling/episodes/is-swarm-at-eol
Duration seconds: 1121

## Resource

Recent signals from Mirantis suggest Docker Swarm may be entering a period of stagnation or eventual end-of-life. The discussion explores whether the ecosystem can survive without active feature development from major vendors.

## Highlights
- Main idea: Mirantis' focus on Kubernetes suggests Swarm is moving into a maintenance-only phase
- Failure mode: Relying on Swarm without an exit plan as third-party networking and runtime compatibility degrades
- Practical takeaway: Users should signal their support to Docker and Portainer to ensure continued ecosystem visibility
- Main idea: Docker Engine still provides security patches, but the lack of new features limits Swarm's competitive edge
- Practical takeaway: For large enterprises, paying for extended support may be more cost-effective than a full Kubernetes migration

## Topics

Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, Mirantis, Container Orchestration, Docker Engine, Portainer, Cloud Native, DevOps

## Chapters
- 1:00 — Mirantis' Role in Swarm's Future: An analysis of how Mirantis' revenue incentives shifted focus from Swarm feature development to Kubernetes support.
- 2:35 — The Hope of Swarm being shipped in Docker Engine: Discussing the distinction between active feature development and the essential maintenance provided by Docker.
- 4:00 — Portainer's Perspective on Swarm's Viability: Examining the implications of Portainer's recent blog post regarding the transition to a Kubernetes future.
- 5:20 — Swarm Community and Support: The importance of community-driven resources like 'Awesome Swarm' in maintaining the ecosystem.
- 6:40 — One Sentence Signals Change?: Analyzing specific language in Mirantis Kubernetes Engine documentation that hints at a shift in support.
- 9:10 — Swarm in Maintenance Mode: Evaluating the risks of security vulnerabilities and the loss of third-party plugin compatibility.
- 14:40 — The Docker-Swarm Stack: Looking at the stability of the stack through tools like Traefik and the potential for community-led development.

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## Transcript

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