Comment on What is Docker?

• EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  If it were actual VMs, it would be a huge waste of resources. That’s really the purpose of containers. It’s functionally similar to running a separate VM specific to every application, except you’re not actually virtualizing an entire system like you are with a VM. Containers are actually very lightweight. So much so, that if you have 10 apps that all right database back ends, it’s common practice to just run 10 separate database containers.

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• dustyData@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  On the contrary. It relies on the premise of segregating binaries, config and data. But since it is only running one app, then it is a bare minimum version of it. Most containers systems include elements that also deduplicate common required binaries. So, the containers are usually very small and efficient. While a traditional system’s libraries could balloon to dozens of gigabytes, pieces of which are only used at a time by different software. Containers can be made headless and barebones very easily. Cutting the fat, and leaving only the most essential libraries. Fitting in very tiny and underpowered hardware applications without losing functionality or performance.

  Don’t be afraid of it, it’s like Lego but for software.

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• possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Docker has very little overhead

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• sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  The main “wasted” resources here is storage space and maybe a bit of RAM, actual runtime overhead is very limited. It turns out, storage and RAM are some of the cheapest resources on a machine, and you probably won’t notice the extra storage or RAM usage.

  VMs are heavy, Docker containers are very light. You get most of the benefits of a VM with containers, without paying as high of a resource cost.

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• couch1potato@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I’ve had immich running in a VM as a snap distribution for almost a year now and the experience has been leaps and bounds easier than maintaining my own immich docker container. There have been so many breaking changes over the few years I’ve used it that it was just a headache. This snap version has been 100% hands off “it just works”.

  snapcraft.io/immich-distribution

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  • AtariDump@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Interesting idea (snap over docker).

    I wonder, does using snap still give you the benefit of not having to maintain specific versions of 3rd party software?

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    • couch1potato@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I don’t know too much about snap (I literally haven’t had to touch my immich setup) but as far as I remember when I set it up that was snap’s whole thing - it maintains and updates itself with minimal administrative oversight.

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    • Colloidal@programming.dev ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Snap is like Flatpak. So it will store and maintain as many versions of dependencies as your applications need. So it gives you that benefit by automating the work for you. The multiple versions still exist if your apps depend in different versions.

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      • AtariDump@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Thanks.

        Now to see if there’s a flatpack because fuck snap.

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• anachrohack@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  No because docker is not actually a VM

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• PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  It can be, yes. One of the largest complaints with Docker is that you often end up running the same dependencies a dozen times, because each of your dozen containers uses them. But the trade-off is that you can run a dozen different versions of those dependencies, because each image shipped with the specific version they needed.

  Of course, the big issue with running a dozen different versions of dependencies is that it makes security a nightmare. You’re not just tracking exploits for the most recent version of what you have installed. Many images end up shipping with out-of-date dependencies, which can absolutely be a security risk under certain circumstances. In most cases the risk is mitigated by the fact that the services are isolated and don’t really interact with the rest of the computer. But it’s at least something to keep in mind.

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• Nibodhika@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  It’s not. Imagine Immich required library X to be at Y version, but another service on the server requires it to be at Z version. That will be a PitA to maintain, not to mention that getting a service to run at all can be difficult due to a multitude of reasons in which your system is different from the one where it was developed so it might just not work because it makes certain assumptions about where certain stuff will be or what APIs are available.

  Docker eliminates all of those issues because it’s a reproducible environment, so if it runs on one system it runs on another. There’s a lot of value in that, and I’m not sure which resource you think is being wasted, but docker is almost seamless without not much overhead, where you won’t feel it even on a raspberry pi zero.

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