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Docker for Mac is not usable today, because of high cpu due IO [1] [1] https://github.com/docker/for-mac/issues/1759 https://github.com/docker/for-mac/issues/1

Docker for Mac is not usable today, because of high cpu due IO [1] [1] https://github.com/docker/for-mac/issues/1759 https://github.com/docker/for-mac/issues/1759

dfee 9y ago
Oh man. Thanks for sharing this. I thought it was just my Mac.
- aeonflux 9y ago
  I have a Dropbox running inside a container on my Mac. Even though there is minimal activity on the account it drains the battery like crazy. Native Dropbox client isn’t great in that regard, but it feels like there is an order of magnitude difference.
paulsmal 9y ago
Docker for Mac is running in VM anyway, these kind of issues related to slow IO was around more than year. Main reason I run linux on my macbook
- ai_ja_nai 9y ago
  #metoo
  - zenlikethat 9y ago
    Not appropriate
watoc 9y ago
I've never noticed this issue with the stable version. However I'm experiencing high CPU usage whenever I start minikube on my Mac. I just installed Docker edge. We'll see how it goes in the long run but so far with k8s enabled hyperkit uses 25% of a virtual core.
- justincormack 9y ago
  This is a Kubernetes issue, the same issue on Minikube and Docker for Mac. The Kube API server uses a lot of CPU when idle. We are trying to diagnose what is happening.
  - dominotw 9y ago
    yea it cpu usage goes down if i disable kubernetes.
- silverwind 9y ago
  Also noticed this with the version of Kubernetes that comes with DfM. hyperkit consumes around 35% CPU while idle, which amounts to around double the idle battery drain on my MBP.
justincormack 9y ago
It is usable for the vast majority of users. If it is causing an issue please file a detailed bug report, with diagnostic ID, also try the Edge releases, and give some information about what you are actually running, for example how to replicate it. Most of the bug reports in that thread are totally unhelpful. Quite likely it is not even the same cause for different people, as some people said it was fixed on Edge while others did not. Even a single well thought out detailed bug report would make it much easier to investigate the issue.
- zygimantasdev 9y ago
  Are you sure it works for vast majority of users? At least in my developers circle who use macOS for web* development - all of them have issues with docker high cpu usage due IO. Some use docker-sync to go around the issue. As for bug reports - zero feedback from anyone on that thread from maintainers. If you are one of the maintainers - it might be good to write this comment on that thread instead of HN * - I understand that web developers might be a small percentage of users and my case doesn't represent everybody
  - justincormack 9y ago
    I am not a maintainer but do work on LinuxKit which is used. If docker-sync helps, then that suggests that you have an issue specifically related to file sharing. Please file a new issue, do not add to this one, which explains how to reproduce your development setup. Different setups work very differently (eg polling vs notifications), and people use things very differently, there is no one set of tooling and setup that is "web development", but it sounds like in your company you all use similar tools and setup, so it is not surprising you all have the same issue. We have a performance guide here https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-mac/osxfs/ https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-mac/osxfs/ that covers some use cases.
  - dominotw 9y ago
    My team of 10 use it extensively for local testing of our stack. None of us have seen the CPU issue.
- 9y ago
nikcub 9y ago
I run 10-15 containers on my Mac and don't notice it after fixing particular containers (I don't doubt there is a more general issue) Find out what is causing the CPU spikes with docker stats or screen into the Docker for Mac VM and diagnose with top etc. screen ~/Library/Containers/com.docker.docker/Data/com.docker.driver.amd64-linux/tty I found particular containers were causing the issues and fixed it with alternate builds, prior versions or resource limitations on containers Docker for Mac/Windows is a great product - it has allowed me to roll out Docker to developers who wouldn't otherwise deal with Vagrant or other solutions
hungerstrike 9y ago
I am using it to run Microsoft SQL Server for Linux and haven't had a problem with high CPU usage.
tedmiston 9y ago
Subscribed. Thanks for sharing this thread as Docker for Mac has always had performance issues for me too. Even when no containers are running I find it using significant resources all the time.
InTheArena 9y ago
I've not had any problem with it, and the high high productivity win of being able to tell people just to turn Kubernetes in Docker on is amazing so far. Right now, I am running 10 containers on my Mac, and my highest CPU in Intellej. Docker is running consistently with about 5-10% of the CPU.
lobster_johnson 9y ago
I haven't run into that issue, but another issue that will likely trip up a lot of devs is the extremely slow shared volume support. [1] Mounting a database directory from the host is pretty much a no-go. Mounting source trees (e.g. React app with hot code reloading) less so, but still much slower than native. Many devs have resorted to workarounds such as NFS or rsync. [1] https://github.com/docker/for-mac/issues/77 https://github.com/docker/for-mac/issues/77

Docker for Mac is not usable today, because of high cpu due IO [1] [1] https://github.com/docker/for-mac/issues/1759 https://github.com/docker/for-mac/issues/1759

dfee 9y ago

Oh man. Thanks for sharing this. I thought it was just my Mac.

aeonflux 9y ago
I have a Dropbox running inside a container on my Mac. Even though there is minimal activity on the account it drains the battery like crazy. Native Dropbox client isn’t great in that regard, but it feels like there is an order of magnitude difference.

paulsmal 9y ago

Docker for Mac is running in VM anyway, these kind of issues related to slow IO was around more than year. Main reason I run linux on my macbook

ai_ja_nai 9y ago
#metoo
- zenlikethat 9y ago
  Not appropriate

watoc 9y ago

I've never noticed this issue with the stable version. However I'm experiencing high CPU usage whenever I start minikube on my Mac. I just installed Docker edge. We'll see how it goes in the long run but so far with k8s enabled hyperkit uses 25% of a virtual core.

justincormack 9y ago
This is a Kubernetes issue, the same issue on Minikube and Docker for Mac. The Kube API server uses a lot of CPU when idle. We are trying to diagnose what is happening.
- dominotw 9y ago
  yea it cpu usage goes down if i disable kubernetes.
silverwind 9y ago
Also noticed this with the version of Kubernetes that comes with DfM. hyperkit consumes around 35% CPU while idle, which amounts to around double the idle battery drain on my MBP.

justincormack 9y ago

It is usable for the vast majority of users. If it is causing an issue please file a detailed bug report, with diagnostic ID, also try the Edge releases, and give some information about what you are actually running, for example how to replicate it. Most of the bug reports in that thread are totally unhelpful. Quite likely it is not even the same cause for different people, as some people said it was fixed on Edge while others did not. Even a single well thought out detailed bug report would make it much easier to investigate the issue.

zygimantasdev 9y ago
Are you sure it works for vast majority of users? At least in my developers circle who use macOS for web* development - all of them have issues with docker high cpu usage due IO. Some use docker-sync to go around the issue. As for bug reports - zero feedback from anyone on that thread from maintainers. If you are one of the maintainers - it might be good to write this comment on that thread instead of HN * - I understand that web developers might be a small percentage of users and my case doesn't represent everybody
- justincormack 9y ago
  I am not a maintainer but do work on LinuxKit which is used. If docker-sync helps, then that suggests that you have an issue specifically related to file sharing. Please file a new issue, do not add to this one, which explains how to reproduce your development setup. Different setups work very differently (eg polling vs notifications), and people use things very differently, there is no one set of tooling and setup that is "web development", but it sounds like in your company you all use similar tools and setup, so it is not surprising you all have the same issue. We have a performance guide here https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-mac/osxfs/ https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-mac/osxfs/ that covers some use cases.
- dominotw 9y ago
  My team of 10 use it extensively for local testing of our stack. None of us have seen the CPU issue.
9y ago

nikcub 9y ago

I run 10-15 containers on my Mac and don't notice it after fixing particular containers (I don't doubt there is a more general issue) Find out what is causing the CPU spikes with docker stats or screen into the Docker for Mac VM and diagnose with top etc. screen ~/Library/Containers/com.docker.docker/Data/com.docker.driver.amd64-linux/tty I found particular containers were causing the issues and fixed it with alternate builds, prior versions or resource limitations on containers Docker for Mac/Windows is a great product - it has allowed me to roll out Docker to developers who wouldn't otherwise deal with Vagrant or other solutions

hungerstrike 9y ago

I am using it to run Microsoft SQL Server for Linux and haven't had a problem with high CPU usage.

tedmiston 9y ago

Subscribed. Thanks for sharing this thread as Docker for Mac has always had performance issues for me too. Even when no containers are running I find it using significant resources all the time.

InTheArena 9y ago

I've not had any problem with it, and the high high productivity win of being able to tell people just to turn Kubernetes in Docker on is amazing so far. Right now, I am running 10 containers on my Mac, and my highest CPU in Intellej. Docker is running consistently with about 5-10% of the CPU.

lobster_johnson 9y ago

I haven't run into that issue, but another issue that will likely trip up a lot of devs is the extremely slow shared volume support. [1] Mounting a database directory from the host is pretty much a no-go. Mounting source trees (e.g. React app with hot code reloading) less so, but still much slower than native. Many devs have resorted to workarounds such as NFS or rsync. [1] https://github.com/docker/for-mac/issues/77 https://github.com/docker/for-mac/issues/77