Advantages of Using Docker Containers

InstallAnywhere 2021

Docker containers offer various advantages over traditional installers:

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Using Docker containers enables you to deploy ready-to-run, portable software. Containerized applications are not installed; they simply run within their containers

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Using Docker containers eliminates problems such as software conflicts, driver compatibility issues, and library conflicts. The architecture of Docker containers enables you to isolate resources.

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Docker containers empower microservice architectures, in which monolithic applications are decoupled into minimalist, specialized containers.

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Docker containers simplify DevOps. Developers can work inside the containers, and operations engineers can work in parallel outside the containers.

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The use of Docker containers speeds up continuous integration. Traditional installer development teams struggle with rapid build-test-deploy cycles. Docker containers ensure that applications run identically in development, test, and production environments.

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Docker containers can be run from anywhere: computers, local servers, and private and public clouds.

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Deploying your products as Docker containers helps you reach new customer segments.

In addition, Docker containers offer various advantages over virtual machines:

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A hypervisor is required to host and maintain virtual machines; a system administrator needs to maintain the hypervisor itself. However, the Docker engine is a lightweight container virtualization technology that runs on the host operating system, and Docker containers can be started very quickly. Thus, the Docker technology alleviates the efforts of system administrators.

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Although virtual machines and Docker containers both offer resource isolation, Docker containers share the operating system’s kernel and appropriate bins or libraries with other Docker containers. The result is faster deployment, less overhead, easier migration, and faster restarts.

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Docker containers are imported into the Docker engine as simple .tar files, enabling Docker containers to spin up and down very quickly. The Docker engine handles virtualization parameters such as allocation of the file system when the application is launched. To successfully run an application on a virtual machine, the hypervisor needs to first import the virtual machine and then power it up; this takes time.