Containers vs VMs

This cluster centers on debates comparing virtual machines (VMs) and containers (like Docker), focusing on their differences in performance, isolation, efficiency, kernel sharing, security, and use cases such as sandboxing and deployment.

➡️ Stable 0.6x DevOps & Infrastructure
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#4495
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Keywords

RAM CPU WHP OH UNIX NAT HN FWIW VM HVF containers vms vm docker kernel container bare metal running docker containers bare

Sample Comments

dorfsmay • Apr 21, 2015 • View on HN

That's what VMs are for, not containers.

u801e • Dec 27, 2020 • View on HN

What problem does Docker solve that using a VM cannot solve?

naasking • Oct 23, 2018 • View on HN

My VM is lighter and safer than your container:https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15610155

nsky-world • Mar 25, 2020 • View on HN

What's the practical point of running containers on VM?

spacecadet404 • Dec 30, 2025 • View on HN

What's the use case for this rather than containers? Separation from the hypervisor kernel?

aurailious • May 8, 2018 • View on HN

Technically it's a container not a VM. So using this is about sandboxing it from the OS.

maccam94 • Jun 5, 2020 • View on HN

Running multiple containers is faster and more efficient than multiple VMs. Running a container on the same kernel as the host is faster and more efficient than a VM. If you're trying to run an app across different OS kernels, you still have to use a VM unless you can compile your app on that kernel natively. This project really doesn't do much beyond what a VM gets you, and you still have to configure the host outside the container to enable virtualization.

Thaxll • Sep 8, 2025 • View on HN

The vast majority of containers run on VM not baremetal.

m0zg • Mar 27, 2019 • View on HN

Containers are just namespaces for things within the Linux kernel. Unlike with VMs, you're not running separate instances of the OS, it's all run by just one kernel instance, and that kernel usually runs directly on the hardware, that is, on "bare metal". That "ubuntu" base image you can spin up does not actually run the Ubuntu kernel. As a result, bare metal containers incur none of the "virtualization penalty" that VMs do.Cloud is, in fact, abnormal i

neom • Sep 10, 2016 • View on HN

You're still talking about VMs?! :) containers are stop gap, VM is old school, different things.