Containers: A containers is an isolated environments for running an application. A Docker container image is a lightweight, standalone, executable package of software that includes everything needed to run an application: code, runtime, system tools, system libraries and settings.
Pros of Containers:
- Lightweight: Containers share the host OS, making them much lighter and faster to start than VMs.
- Efficiency: They use fewer resources, allowing more containers to run on the same hardware compared to VMs.
- Scalability: Ideal for microservices and scaling applications quickly.
Cons of Containers:
- Shared Kernel: Since containers share the host OS kernel, they offer less isolation than VMs.
- Compatibility: Containers are limited to the OS of the host system.
Virtual Machine(VM): VM is a abstraction of machines (physical hardware). A virtual machine is a digital copy of a physical machine. You can have multiple virtual machines with their own individual operating systems running on the same host operating system.
Pros of Virtual Machines:
- Isolation: VMs offer strong isolation, as each VM runs its own OS.
- Versatility: They can run different OSes on the same physical hardware.
- Security: Enhanced security due to complete OS separation.
Cons of Virtual Machines:
- Resource Intensive: VMs are heavy, consuming significant CPU, memory, and storage resources.
- Slower Startup: VMs take longer to boot up due to their complete OS stack.
When to Use What?
- Use VMs if: You need strong isolation for security purposes, need to run multiple different OSes, or are dealing with legacy applications that require a full OS environment.
- Use Containers if: You’re developing microservices, need rapid scaling, or want to maximize resource efficiency.
Different between Containers and Virtual Machines
Containers
- A containers is an isolated environments for running an application.
- Allow running multiple apps in isolation.
- More lightweight.
- Use "OS" of the host.
- Need less hardware resources.
- containers does not container full-blown operating system.
Virtual Machines(VM)
- VM is a abstraction of machines (physical hardware).
- on same physical machine we can have two different machine, where each running completely different application and each application has exact dependencies.
- More heavyweight
- Slow to start (Entire apps needs to be loaded).
- Resource intensive (Each machine takes actual hardware. resources).
- Each VM needs a full-blown OS.
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