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This does not make sense. There’s no such thing as a system containter. You can absolutely leverage lxc instead of docker if you want to. The major difference

This does not make sense. There’s no such thing as a system containter. You can absolutely leverage lxc instead of docker if you want to. The major difference is that docker gives you 1 process by container and has 1) nailed down a container definition fornat 2) the registry for images. So Docker makes the whole container thing more accesible, but in the end both rely on the same kernel features + overlay filesystems.

stephenr 8y ago
A “system” container here means a container running an init so it can be multi process and operate like a lightweight vm.
- mirceal 8y ago
  if you’re looking at the kernel features used (namespaces, cgroups, etc) containers are multiprocess (even with docker you can go attach into the container and look at things). This may be semantics, but the first process in the container is an “init” regardless if it’s a proper init or just a process. As far as light-weight VMs: containers are supposed to be lightweight VMs (But defining lightweight can be challenging)
  - stephenr 8y ago
    Docker is designed to be a 'application' container - 1 process per container. LXC is designed to be a 'system' container - an entire OS except the Kernel per container. People mis-use tools all the time - that doesn't change their original design or intended use.
    - mirceal 8y ago
      let's agree to disagree on this one. I am not sure that system and application container are or should be different, but it's okay if we have a different opinion.
      - root_axis 8y ago
        https://linuxcontainers.org https://linuxcontainers.org You might disagree, but the distinction is meaningful within the community.
- ofrzeta 8y ago
  The fact that there are so many base images including an init system and even Docker now includes a small init that you can activate with a command line switch might give an indication that many people are using Docker for "system containers".
deleted 8y ago
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stephenr 8y ago

A “system” container here means a container running an init so it can be multi process and operate like a lightweight vm.

mirceal 8y ago
if you’re looking at the kernel features used (namespaces, cgroups, etc) containers are multiprocess (even with docker you can go attach into the container and look at things). This may be semantics, but the first process in the container is an “init” regardless if it’s a proper init or just a process. As far as light-weight VMs: containers are supposed to be lightweight VMs (But defining lightweight can be challenging)
- stephenr 8y ago
  Docker is designed to be a 'application' container - 1 process per container. LXC is designed to be a 'system' container - an entire OS except the Kernel per container. People mis-use tools all the time - that doesn't change their original design or intended use.
  - mirceal 8y ago
    let's agree to disagree on this one. I am not sure that system and application container are or should be different, but it's okay if we have a different opinion.
    - root_axis 8y ago
      https://linuxcontainers.org https://linuxcontainers.org You might disagree, but the distinction is meaningful within the community.
ofrzeta 8y ago
The fact that there are so many base images including an init system and even Docker now includes a small init that you can activate with a command line switch might give an indication that many people are using Docker for "system containers".

deleted 8y ago

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