Having multiple containers share the same kernel allows the end user to bin-pack lots and lots of containers on the same machine with near-instant start time. For example, if you start a MongoDB container with Docker, then run ps -e | grep mongo in a regular shell on the host (not in Docker), the process will be visible.

As a result, processes running inside containers are visible from the host system (given enough privileges for listing all processes). With a container runtime like Docker, your application is sandboxed inside of the isolation features that a container provides, but still shares the same kernel as other containers on the same host. The chief difference is the level of isolation. And with solutions like Weave Ignite that combine the benefits of containers with the security of VMs, you may no longer have to make that choice.įirst, let’s define the similarities and differences between Docker and virtual machines.ĭocker containers and virtual machines are both ways of deploying applications inside environments that are isolated from the underlying hardware. VMs, with an emphasis on which types of use cases and strategies each technology is best suited to support. That’s why it’s worth having a discussion about how to know when to use docker containers vs. However, depending on what kind of workload you have, you might need to stick to using virtual machines (VMs) instead, or a combination of both containers and VMs. Docker, Kubernetes, and containers are indeed powerful technologies that can bring many benefits to a business.

Docker portable