What technique allows multiple systems to be managed as a single entity in a cloud environment?

Orchestration is the technique that enables multiple systems to be managed as a single entity within a cloud environment. It involves automating the coordination and management of complex tasks across multiple cloud resources, ensuring that services and resources are utilized efficiently. Orchestration simplifies the deployment, scaling, and management of applications by enabling the automation of workflows and processes.

In a cloud environment, orchestration tools allow you to define how different components of your cloud infrastructure should interact with one another, managing everything from provisioning virtual machines to configuring network settings and deploying applications. This capability is crucial for achieving higher efficiency, reducing manual errors, and improving the overall reliability of cloud services.

While virtualization allows multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical host, and containerization provides a lightweight way to run applications in isolated environments, it is orchestration that ties these components together, allowing for a unified management approach across the entire cloud landscape. Automation, on its own, can enhance efficiency but does not inherently provide the same level of comprehensive system interaction and management as orchestration.