Virtualization Assignment
Comparison Between Docker Containers and Traditional Virtual Machines (VMs)
Feature Docker Containers Virtual Machines
Architecture Share the host OS kernel Run full guest OS on a hypervisor
Performance Lightweight and fast startup Heavier, slower to boot
Resource Usage Use less CPU and RAM Require more resources
Isolation Process-level isolation Full OS-level isolation
Portability Easily portable across environments Less portable
Boot Time Seconds Minutes
Docker containers are more lightweight, faster, and portable compared to VMs. However, VMs
provide stronger isolation due to full OS virtualization, which can be advantageous for certain
security-critical applications.
The two Security Concerns with Docker Containers
1. Weaker Isolation
Containers share the host OS kernel, which increases the risk that a compromised container
could affect the host or other containers. This is weaker than the isolation VMs provide with
separate OS environments.
2. Untrusted Images
Using images from unverified sources can introduce malware or misconfigured services.
Docker Hub and other repositories may contain images that haven’t been adequately
scanned or reviewed.
Conclusion
In Comparison to traditional virtual machines, containers are more resource-efficient and faster
but introduce specific security challenges such as weaker isolation and reliance on third-party
images. Running a simple Nginx server in a container shows how easy and quick it is to deploy
web services using Docker.
