whatis container
Container
Also known as: Linux container, OCI container
An isolated process (or group) that shares the host kernel but has its own filesystem, network, and process view, built on namespaces and cgroups.
What Is a Container in Linux?
A container is not a virtual machine. There is no guest kernel; the host kernel uses namespaces to give the process its own view of the system and cgroups to limit its resources. That makes containers start in milliseconds and use little overhead.
Application containers (Docker, Podman) package one service and its dependencies. System containers (LXC, Incus) run a full distro userland more like a lightweight VM.
Example
podman run --rm -it alpine shLearn more about Container
- Docker and Podman: Container Basics on Linux An introduction to running containers on Linux with Docker and Podman: images, containers, the core commands you need day to day, and how the two tools differ.
- LXC and Incus: System Containers That Behave Like Lightweight VMs Application containers run one process. System containers run a whole userspace with its own init, users, and services, starting in under a second and using a fraction of a VM's memory.
- Container Security Hardening: What the Defaults Leave Open Why a default docker run is more privileged than you think, what capabilities each container keeps, and the flags that turn a container into an actual boundary.
Related tools
- docker run Builder Build docker run commands with ports, volumes, env vars, and restart policies. Podman-compatible.