Efficient hardware resource consumption

Whether you run containers natively on a bare-metal server or use virtualization techniques, using containers allows you to utilize resources (CPU, memory, and storage) in a better and much more efficient manner. In the case of a bare-metal server, containers allow you to run tens or even hundreds of the same or different containers, providing better resource utilization in comparison to usually one application running on a dedicated server. We have seen in the past that some server utilization at peak times is only 3%, which is a waste of resources. And if you are going to run several of the same or different applications on the same servers, they are going to conflict with each other. Even if they work, you are going to face a lot of problems during day-to-day operation and troubleshooting.

If you are going to isolate these applications by introducing popular virtualization techniques such as KVM, VMware, XEN, or Hyper-V, you will run into a different issue. There is going to be a lot of overhead because, in order to virtualize your app using any hypervisor, you will need to install an operating system on top of your hypervisor OS. This operating system needs CPU and memory to function. For example, each VM has its own kernel and kernel space associated with it. A perfectly tuned container platform can give you up to four times more containers in comparison to standard VMs. It may be insignificant when you have five or ten VMs, but when we talk hundreds or thousands, it makes a huge difference.