Containers vs. Virtual Machines – Our Breakdown

Containers have become a popular way to run applications on Linux systems, and are growing in popularity among the Windows community as well. In short, containers are isolated slices of an operating system that are fully self-contained. This enables one to deploy an application without having to worry about the OS, having to worry about the underlying architecture, or even having to worry about the OS itself.

Containers and virtual machines are two of the most popular container technologies, but the differences between the two may surprise you. The rest of this blog post will discuss the differences between containers and virtual machines, and how you can ensure you choose the right technology for your environment.

Containers are a popular way to deploy applications in production environments. Containers offer a lot of benefits. They can be easy to setup, like an Apache web server. They are lightweight and fast, like a python program. Benefits that often get downplayed are the security and stability that come with containers. Although containers isolate and sandbox your app, they do not completely eliminate the risk of an app crashing and an unexpected restart.

Developers today are challenged to create high-quality software at an even faster pace, making DevOps an absolutely essential part of any organization’s application lifecycle. Time is running out and releasing poorly tested software can cause developers a lot of headaches later. Using a virtual machine or creating a container to support the DevOps process has become a popular practice in recent years.

Containerization and virtual machines are both batch solutions designed to simplify software testing. When people hear the term container, they probably immediately think of Docker and the Docker registry, even though container technology has been around for much longer. Also keep in mind that there are many different providers in both areas, so you won’t run out of providers when making your choice.

Containers perform what is known as operating system-level virtualization because it is done at the operating system level, while virtual machines operate at the hardware level.  Think of containerization as using programs within a sandbox, configured with the current operating system – with control over restrictions on what tools are deployed and activated.

Instead of relying on a hypervisor, containerization uses a container engine that accesses the host operating system in each partition. Partitions run the libraries and binaries – needed to run programs – and do not contain the operating system itself. Shared resources can greatly improve efficiency, making them very powerful.

VMs provide full system virtualization with machine isolation, as a server can run any environment. The hypervisor is responsible for allowing multiple operating systems to share resources by working side by side. The virtual machines created emulate real physical computers with different operating systems, but with one server computer.

Moreover, the special operating system and kernel create separate virtual instances that look like different machines – and they can run independently, with VM users unaware of the existence of other servers.

Containers, however, use process isolation with different instances running in the same environment, and they can run and communicate with each other simultaneously. This allows you to run dozens of containers in a single instance of the operating system. Additionally, there are many pre-built Docker containers out of the box, and subsequent configuration is relatively simple, as opposed to the complexity of trying to do the same in virtual machines.

More duplicate data is created to support each VM, consuming more storage, while containers consume much less.

Virtualization works as follows

Take a physical machine, including CPU, RAM, storage, etc., and create a virtual machine that uses both the host operating system and the guest operating system. As you add binaries and libraries to create a Linux virtual machine, these additional resources accumulate.

Containers start with a manifest description (foundry), an image creation (e.g. a Docker image) – and the actual container in which the application runs. Shared resources are light and can be moved quickly and easily.

Assessing the complexity of the application lifecycle in the DevOps process is critical to deciding whether to choose containerization or virtual machines. It’s much faster and easier to set up containers, making them the ideal choice for testing software with a short lifespan. It is also a better choice if your operating system requirements are not very high. In this case, running a virtual machine is probably the best option.

In terms of portability, virtual machines can be transferred from one hardware to another as long as the same hypervisor is used. Most container images are Docker compatible, which allows for greater flexibility in using containers: Using a Docker container is known for the fact that you can use it with Amazon Web Services, a laptop or on a physical server – which is difficult with virtual machines.

Deploying large enterprise applications can be difficult when using containerization, as a large number of containers may be required. As the number of containers increases, so do the difficulties and challenges of managing all those extra containers. As the number of users increases, compliance, security, and logistics suddenly become cluttered, which is not the case with small business applications.

Final considerations

Trying to successfully define – and then deploy – containers or virtual machines can be a real challenge. Each type of virtualization has its advantages and disadvantages, and it is up to decision makers and IT professionals to determine what they want in their environment and then perform a cost analysis before making the final decision. Note that some organizations prefer to use both virtual machines and containers, depending on their current needs.Containers vs. Virtual Machines: The containers/virtual machines debate has raged for the past several years. Traditionally, advocates of containers/virtual machines have been accused of favoring lightweight, single purpose infrastructure. But it’s time to acknowledge the benefits of containers/virtual machines for managing and scaling these services, and to stop fighting for what’s not needed, and instead focus on what is.. Read more about advantages of docker over vm and let us know what you think.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better VM or container?

Virtual machines and containers open up a whole new set of possibilities for IT operations. They let you quickly deploy an operating system or application without having to install software on every single server in your environment. They’re also easy to manage because they’re isolated from each other. Containers vs. VMs: It’s a question that matters greatly to a lot of developers, especially those who are running production workloads. At one point, containers vs. VMs were inextricably linked—“you can’t have one without the other”—but that has changed. Now, you’re much more likely to run both containers and VMs. There are plenty of reasons why you might want to do this, especially in production. But, containers vs. VMs is a question that matters. Which one do you choose?

What is difference between VM and container?

Virtualization is the act of creating a software environment in which you can independently run multiple operating systems and applications simultaneously. This can be done by creating a virtual machine (VM) in which the operating system and application are installed on the same computer, or by creating a container in which the application runs inside a virtual machine. In this post, we will discuss the difference between VM and container and see how they are similar and different. Containers vs VMs; what’s the difference? Let’s start with the most basic definition, containers are isolated, and VMs are shared. Containers are more secure than VMs because they use the host OS as their only interface, and usually have limited access to the OS. They can be run more efficiently as well, because they can be mapped to specific hardware, unlike VMs which run on the host OS and share resources. VMs, on the other hand, can have a wider range of access to the host OS and are more flexible when it comes to the amount of resources they take up.

What are advantages of containers versus virtual machines?

Containers are an ideal way for developers to test and deploy their applications. In a nutshell, a container is a virtual environment that runs on top of a host operating system. A container essentially acts as a sandbox for your application, isolating it from any interference with the host OS. But what are the advantages of containers? DBAs and techies love virtual machines (VMs) and containers. But are they just “black magic” or can they give you a competitive edge?