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I think the OP is probably referring to the fact that running Docker on Windows and macOS is accomplished by running a Linux VM which the Docker containers run

I think the OP is probably referring to the fact that running Docker on Windows and macOS is accomplished by running a Linux VM which the Docker containers run in. Not that Docker containers are VMs.

fortran77 7y ago
I didn't know that macOS users don't run Docker natively! On Windows, it's native: https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/ https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/
- mtzet 7y ago
  Docker desktop runs a Hyper-V VM. Prior to that, Docker used a Virtualbox VM on Windows. The current plan seems to be to integrate with WSL2 once that ships [1]. [1] https://engineering.docker.com/2019/06/docker-hearts-wsl-2/ https://engineering.docker.com/2019/06/docker-hearts-wsl-2/
- tsimionescu 7y ago
  In practice, the vast majority of docker containers are Linux containers, so most uses of docker for windows need a Linux kernel to do anything useful. As such, the 'native' docker for windows you linked is actually managing a Linux VM (HyperV or VBox) fot you; the docker server runs on that VM, and the native docker windows binary simply connects to that server. They also do a lot of tricks to connect networking and file shares with that VM. The file shares part is almost completely non-working in my experience, with scary comments in the bugs like 'doesn't work if your windows password contains certain characters' (it sets up CIFS shares between the Linux VM and some parts of your Windows file system). So, not sure what docker for Mac looks like, but Docker For Windows is only 'native' in a very hand-wavy sort of way, unless (maybe) if you're running Windows docker containers.
  - merb 7y ago
    docker for mac uses xhyve/hyperkit and has a really really slow i/o.
- pritambaral 7y ago
  That cannot run Linux containers, only Windows containers, no?
  - rleigh 7y ago
    You can switch between one or the other. Oddly, it can't run both at the same time.
  - fortran77 7y ago
    Yes. If you're running Windows containers you can be "native" docker. However, we use VMs managed with Salt for our Centos VMs. I never saw the need for Docker. Maybe if I did "web" stuff.
giancarlostoro 7y ago
This is what I meant by this. Most people I know using Docker are not on Linux but on Mac and Windows.

I think the OP is probably referring to the fact that running Docker on Windows and macOS is accomplished by running a Linux VM which the Docker containers run in. Not that Docker containers are VMs.

fortran77 7y ago

I didn't know that macOS users don't run Docker natively! On Windows, it's native: https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/ https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/

mtzet 7y ago
Docker desktop runs a Hyper-V VM. Prior to that, Docker used a Virtualbox VM on Windows. The current plan seems to be to integrate with WSL2 once that ships [1]. [1] https://engineering.docker.com/2019/06/docker-hearts-wsl-2/ https://engineering.docker.com/2019/06/docker-hearts-wsl-2/
tsimionescu 7y ago
In practice, the vast majority of docker containers are Linux containers, so most uses of docker for windows need a Linux kernel to do anything useful. As such, the 'native' docker for windows you linked is actually managing a Linux VM (HyperV or VBox) fot you; the docker server runs on that VM, and the native docker windows binary simply connects to that server. They also do a lot of tricks to connect networking and file shares with that VM. The file shares part is almost completely non-working in my experience, with scary comments in the bugs like 'doesn't work if your windows password contains certain characters' (it sets up CIFS shares between the Linux VM and some parts of your Windows file system). So, not sure what docker for Mac looks like, but Docker For Windows is only 'native' in a very hand-wavy sort of way, unless (maybe) if you're running Windows docker containers.
- merb 7y ago
  docker for mac uses xhyve/hyperkit and has a really really slow i/o.
pritambaral 7y ago
That cannot run Linux containers, only Windows containers, no?
- rleigh 7y ago
  You can switch between one or the other. Oddly, it can't run both at the same time.
- fortran77 7y ago
  Yes. If you're running Windows containers you can be "native" docker. However, we use VMs managed with Salt for our Centos VMs. I never saw the need for Docker. Maybe if I did "web" stuff.

giancarlostoro 7y ago

This is what I meant by this. Most people I know using Docker are not on Linux but on Mac and Windows.