Difference Between Docker And VM
Docker |
Virtual Machine |
|
---|---|---|
Size |
Less: Containers share your OS kernel, eliminating the use of a separate OS instance for each container. This shared kernel reduces the container size. |
More: Each instance includes a full operating system, with its kernel. This duplication can result in larger VM sizes. |
Isolation |
Moderate: They have their own file system, but they share your OS kernel resulting in a moderate level of isolation. |
Full: It gives stronger isolation by running separate OS, which makes them suitable for a higher level of isolation. |
Security |
Less: They are suitable if light isolation is acceptable and rapid development is necessary. |
More: They are suitable if full isolation from the host is required and the application needs to be run on different operating systems. |
Performance |
High: Containers share the host OS kernel, giving faster startup times, usually measured in seconds. |
Low: VMs have a sepearte OS for every instance, giving slower startup times, usually measured in minutes. |
Replicability |
Easy: You can easily pull Docker images from Docker Hub as they are available publically. The size of images is significantly smaller compared to VMs, usually in MBs. |
Difficult: Difficult to replicate, especially with an increasing number of VM instances. Also, the size of VM images is generally larger compared to Docker, usually in GBs. |
Resource usage |
Less: Containers offer efficient hardware resources because of the small image size and shared host OS kernel. |
More: It requires more storage space, and more CPU power as it creates a fully isolated OS inside a Host OS using a hypervisor. |
Operating System |
Works best with Linux distributions. |
All operating systems. |
Portability |
High: As containers encapsulate dependencies and applications to form an image of smaller size compared to VM image. |
Low: It encapsulates the entire OS, offering portability, but the larger size and dependence on specific hypervisors decrease in portability. |
How Is Docker Different From A Virtual Machine?
In the growing world of technologies, Docker and Virtual Machines (VMs) have emerged as go-to solutions for application development and deployment in IT industries. Both VMs and docker containers help you to clone the development environment, which helps you to manage dependencies and configurations better over your primary Operating System. But there are some differences you should be aware of that will help you choose a VM or a Docker container depending on the application.
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