Hey there! As a fellow tech enthusiast, I know you‘re looking to understand the key differences between Docker and virtual machines. Both great technologies for application isolation, but with some distinct tradeoffs.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll dig deep into the pros, cons, use cases and metrics to help you determine which approach is best for your needs. I‘ll be drawing on my own experience as an infrastructure architect as we go through this together.
Let‘s start with a quick refresher on what exactly these technologies are…
A Quick Refresher
A virtual machine (VM) emulates an entire computer system and allows you to run operating systems like Linux and Windows in isolated environments on a single physical server. The magic happens through the hypervisor software (like VMware ESXi) which allocates discrete physical resources like CPU, memory and disk to each VM.
Docker, on the other hand, uses operating system level virtualization to run isolated application containers on a shared host. Containers package up just the application code, runtimes, dependencies and configurations – not an entire OS. This makes them extremely lightweight and fast to startup.
Now that we‘re on the same page, let‘s explore some key metrics and considerations…
Operating System Support
One major difference is in operating system compatibility. Virtual machines allow you to run multiple and even heterogeneous operating systems easily. For example, you could have Windows 10, Ubuntu 18.04, and CentOS VMs all running side-by-side on the same physical host.
With Docker, you are much more limited. Containers share the host operating system kernel and therefore need to match the host architecture and OS. You can‘t just spin up a Windows Docker container on a Linux host.
My take: If you need to support multiple operating systems and don‘t require Linux-only apps, VMs provide far more flexibility. Though Linux-based containers do offer excellent portability across Linux distros.
Performance and Scalability
Due to their lightweight nature and app-centric design, Docker containers can start up almost instantly – often in under a second. Virtual machines, in contrast, need to boot up a full operating system which can take several minutes.
This also impacts how densely you can run applications on the same hardware. For example, you may be able to run 10-50 small Docker containers in the resource footprint of a single VM.
Some key metrics illustrate this well:
- VM disk size: Often 10GB+ with a full OS, apps, and dependencies.
- Container disk size: Typically a few 100MB to a couple GB with just the app and runtimes.
- VM startup time: Upwards of 30 seconds to a few minutes.
- Container start time: Under 1 second typically.
For situations where you need to autoscale applications rapidly, like handling sudden spikes in traffic, containers are hard to beat.
My advice: Containers shine for microservices, cloud-native apps, and situations where density and startup time are critical. VMs offer the flexibility to allocate more fixed resources to specific apps.
Security Considerations
Given the shared operating system, containers intrinsically provide weaker isolation between apps than virtual machines. With VMs, each app runs on its own isolated guest OS, separated all the way down at the hardware level by the hypervisor.
Processes on the same Docker host, however, are only separated at the process isolation level with some namespace mappings. So a single vulnerability could expose other containers and the host to exploitation.
However, there are steps you can take to harden containers, like:
- Leveraging security tools like SELinux and AppArmor
- Carefully restricting resource access between containers
- Running containers in VM-backed infrastructures (best of both worlds)
Security-wise my general advice would be:
- Use VMs for truly sensitive, business critical apps
- Ensure you apply security best practices with containers
- Utilize container scanning and runtime tools like Falco
But don‘t let overblown container security fears stop you from utilizing this powerful technology where appropriate!
Portability and Image Management
A key advantage of Docker is the ability to define immutable infrastructure through images. You can build an application image on your laptop, push it to a registry like Docker Hub, then pull and run it consistently on another Linux host anywhere in the world.
While VMs can be transported, it is a much more complex process requiring compatible hardware and vendor cooperation. Containers provide app portability through open standards out of the box.
Images also make versioning and management much easier compared to bulky VM templates. Overall, containers provide excellent portability and repeatability.
When To Use Each Approach
With the tradeoffs considered, let‘s talk about ideal use cases for each tech:
Virtual machines really shine when:
- You need totally separate operating systems
- Maximum application isolation is required
- Simulating complex infrastructures
- Supporting legacy apps and dependencies
Docker excels in situations like:
- Modern microservices architectures
- Speed and density are critical (container orchestration)
- CI/CD and testing automation (spinning up disposable environments)
- Cloud-native and serverless deployments
- Repeatable development environments
And many real-world situations warrant utilizing both technologies together!
The Best of Both Worlds
With their complementary strengths, containers and VMs can actually work together quite nicely:
- Use Docker to encapsulate and deploy app logic
- Leverage VMs to provide hardened infrastructure isolation
This gives you the portability and speed benefits of Docker along with the security of VM isolation.
For example, technologies like vSphere Integrated Containers allow you to run containerized apps securely inside virtual machine infrastructure. The best of both worlds!
Wrapping Up
Hopefully this gives you a comprehensive look at how containers and VMs compare across some key metrics like security, performance and support.
Both have their merits and use cases where they shine – there‘s no one "winner" that fits every situation. The ideal choice depends on your specific app needs and environment.
In many real-world scenarios, adopting Docker and VMs together can really maximize their complementary advantages. But now you have the insight to decide what fits your use case best! Let me know if you have any other questions.
