Container Services

Containers and virtual machines (VMs) are both essential technologies for creating isolated environments to run applications, but they differ fundamentally in their architecture and resource utilization.

• Containers are lightweight units that package an application and its dependencies, sharing the host operating system's kernel, which makes them highly efficient and quick to start. This architecture allows containers to be portable and consistent across various environments, ideal for microservices and DevOps practices.

• In contrast, VMs run on a hypervisor and include a complete guest operating system along with the application, providing stronger isolation at the cost of increased resource consumption and slower startup times. VMs are suited for scenarios requiring robust isolation and the ability to run different operating systems on the same hardware. These differences make containers a preferred choice for modern, agile development practices, while VMs remain valuable for applications needing more stringent isolation and OS-level control.