This post was originally published on Pure Storage
Virtualization technologies such as containers and virtual machines (VMs) have revolutionized the IT industry, offering businesses improved flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. However, choosing the right tool for the job can be challenging. In this article, we’ll compare containers vs. VMs, discussing their benefits, drawbacks, and use cases so that you can make informed decisions about which technology to use.
What Is a Container?
A container is a lightweight, standalone executable package that contains everything an application needs to run, including code, libraries, and dependencies. Unlike VMs, which virtualize the entire hardware stack, containers virtualize the operating system (OS) and share the underlying system kernel.
Containers Explained
Containers provide a consistent runtime environment that can be deployed across different platforms, from on-premises servers to the cloud. They’re isolated from the host OS and other containers, ensuring that applications run consistently regardless of their deployment environment.
Benefits of Containers
Containers offer several benefits to businesses, including:
Improved portability: Containers can be deployed across different platforms, from development to production, without changing the underlying code. Increased flexibility: Containers are lightweight and can spin up or down, making it easy to scale applications as demand fluctuates. Faster deployment times: Containers can be quickly
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