AWS ECS and ECS component equivalent to Kubernetes container with ServiceNow table reference

The detailed about AWS ECS and ECS component equivalent to Kubernetes container with ServiceNow table reference

Key Concepts in ECS

AWS ECS (Amazon Elastic Container Service) is a fully managed container orchestration service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS).It allows you to easily run, manage, and scale Docker containers on a cluster of Amazon EC2 instances or with AWS Fargate (serverless compute for containers).

Cluster
A logical grouping of resources (EC2 instances or Fargate tasks) on which your containers run.
Task Definition
A blueprint that describes:
- Which Docker image to use
- CPU and memory requirements
- Environment variables
- Networking information
- Number of containers per task
Task
A running instance of a task definition (similar to a “pod” in Kubernetes).
Service
Ensures that a specified number of tasks (containers) are always running and can load balance them using Elastic Load Balancer (ELB).
Container Agent
Runs on each EC2 instance in your cluster and communicates with ECS to manage containers.
Launch Types
- EC2 Launch Type: You manage the EC2 instances hosting the containers.
- Fargate Launch Type: AWS manages the underlying infrastructure — you only define and run containers (serverless model).

How ECS Works

You define a Task Definition (container specifications).
You create a Service that runs and maintains tasks.
ECS places the tasks on EC2 instances or Fargate.
ECS automatically manages:
- Container placement
- Health checks
- Scaling (auto-scaling with CloudWatch)
- Load balancing

ECS vs. Other Container Services

Feature	ECS	EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service)	Docker Swarm
Management	AWS managed	Kubernetes managed by AWS	Self-managed
Ease of use	Easier, AWS-native	Complex, more flexible	Simple
Integration	Deep with AWS	Good	Limited
Serverless option	Fargate	Fargate	No

AWS ECS vs Kubernetes vs ServiceNow CMDB Table Mapping

AWS ECS Component	Equivalent Kubernetes Component	ServiceNow CMDB Table (Class Name)	Description
ECS Cluster	Kubernetes Cluster	cmdb_ci_cloud_ecs_cluster	Represents an ECS cluster — a logical group of services and tasks.
ECS Service	Kubernetes Deployment / Service	cmdb_ci_cloud_ecs_service	Manages and maintains a desired number of running ECS tasks (similar to a Deployment).
ECS Task Definition	Kubernetes Pod Specification (YAML template)	cmdb_ci_cloud_ecs_task_definition	Defines container configurations (image, CPU, memory, ports, environment variables, etc.).
ECS Task	Kubernetes Pod	cmdb_ci_cloud_ecs_task	A running instance of a task definition — similar to a Pod running one or more containers.
ECS Container	Kubernetes Container	cmdb_ci_docker_container	The actual Docker container process running inside a task/pod.
ECS Container Instance (EC2)	Kubernetes Node	cmdb_ci_ec2_instance	The EC2 instance hosting ECS tasks/containers (for EC2 launch type).
Docker Image	Kubernetes Container Image	cmdb_ci_docker_image	Represents the Docker image used to create containers — includes image name, tag, repository, and version.

AWS ECS Discovery Data Model Overview

ECS Component	CMDB CI Class	Description	Relationship
ECS Cluster	cmdb_ci_cloud_ecs_cluster	Represents an ECS cluster that groups services and tasks.	- Contains → ECS Services - Contains → ECS Tasks
ECS Service	cmdb_ci_cloud_ecs_service	Represents a service that manages long-running tasks in an ECS cluster.	- Runs on → ECS Cluster - Contains → ECS Tasks
ECS Task Definition	cmdb_ci_cloud_ecs_task_definition	Blueprint (template) for running containers (defines image, CPU/memory, etc.).	- Used by → ECS Task - Defines → Containers
ECS Task	cmdb_ci_cloud_ecs_task	A running instance of a task definition (equivalent to a Pod in Kubernetes).	- Runs on → ECS Service or Cluster - Contains → Containers
ECS Container	cmdb_ci_docker_container	A running Docker container within an ECS task.	- Part of → ECS Task
ECS Container Instance (EC2)	cmdb_ci_ec2_instance	The EC2 instance hosting ECS containers (only for EC2 launch type).	- Hosts → ECS Tasks/Containers
Docker Image	cmdb_ci_docker_image	Represents the source image used to build and run ECS containers.	Used by → ECS Container