Orchestration is a technology for automatically managing interconnected processes, services, and resources in an IT environment. Its purpose is to ensure that systems do not simply perform individual operations, but function as a unified whole — sequentially, coherently, and predictably. Orchestration is responsible for the order of actions, task distribution, event handling, and maintaining stable operation even in complex, multi-component infrastructures.
It is used in DevOps processes, containerization, cloud infrastructures, CI/CD, and in managing distributed applications. If automation answers the question “how to execute a task,” orchestration answers “when and in what order to execute all related tasks.”
How orchestration works
An orchestration system analyzes the infrastructure, identifies dependencies between components, manages their state, and ensures that operations are executed according to rules.
In a typical configuration, an orchestrator:
- monitors the state of services and containers;
- distributes load across nodes;
- starts, restarts, and scales components;
- responds to failures;
- ensures the required sequence of operations;
- manages configurations and versions.
The orchestrator operates according to predefined declarative rules. An administrator describes the final desired state of the system, and the tool determines how to achieve it. This makes processes flexible and less dependent on human intervention.
Where orchestration is used
Orchestration is applied in all areas where infrastructure or applications consist of many interconnected elements.
- In containerized environments, orchestrators manage the lifecycle of containers. For example, Kubernetes maintains cluster state, monitors service availability, and scales resources.
- In CI/CD, orchestration forms the build and deployment pipeline, linking testing, quality checks, and release publishing.
- In the cloud, orchestrators manage resources — from launching virtual machines to balancing traffic across zones.
- In corporate services, orchestration helps synchronize task queues, backups, data migrations, integration with external systems, and operational processes.
Organizations use it as a foundation that ensures resilience and repeatability of operations.
Benefits of orchestration
Orchestration reduces operational costs and increases stability. Process repeatability improves reliability: if part of the system fails, the orchestrator automatically restores functionality. Scalability becomes easier, as the system distributes load and adds resources on its own. Manageability becomes more predictable because the infrastructure operates according to defined rules rather than a set of manual actions.
Automation at the orchestration level accelerates release cycles and improves development flexibility. DevOps teams gain the ability to focus on architectural improvements instead of routine operations.
Examples
In real projects, orchestration can be seen in how Kubernetes automatically restores a Pod if it crashes or distributes load across nodes to prevent overload. In CI/CD, the orchestrator defines the sequence: build, test execution, security checks, artifact preparation, and deployment to environments. In a cloud environment, orchestration defines rules for creating virtual machines, configuring their network parameters, attaching disks, and responding to increasing load.