https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2023 Call for Speakers
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2023 Call for Speakers
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Open Source


When Not to Use Docker: Understanding the Limitations of Containers

  • Written by Christopher Tozzi
  • September 25, 2017
Docker's disadvantages and limitations include lack of cross-platform support, performance overhead and poor support for graphical interfaces.

Docker is a great tool. But Docker containers are not a cure-all. If you really want to understand how Docker is impacting the channel, you have to understand its limitations.

Docker containers have become massively popular over the past several years because they start faster, scale more easily and consume fewer resources than virtual machines.

Things Docker Can’t Do Well

But that doesn’t mean that Docker containers are the perfect solution for every type of workload. Here are examples of things Docker can’t do or can’t do well:

  • Run applications as fast as a bare-metal server. Docker containers have less overhead than virtual machines. But Docker does not have zero overhead. The only way to get true bare-metal speed from an application is to run it directly on a bare-metal server, without using containers or virtual machines.
  • Provide cross-platform compatibility. An application designed to run in a Docker container on Windows can’t run on Linux, and vice versa. Virtual machines are not subject to this limitation. In highly heterogeneous environments composed of both both Windows and Linux servers, this makes Docker less attractive.
  • Run applications with graphical interfaces. Docker was designed as a solution for hosting applications that run on the command line. There are some tricks you can use (such as X11 forwarding) to make it possible to run a a graphical interface inside a Docker container, but this is clunky. (You could also run a Web interface, which is easier to do, but then you have to run a Web server and your interface options will still be limited.) Practically speaking, Docker is not a good solution for applications that require rich interfaces.
  • Solve all your security problems. Docker can improve security in some ways by isolating applications from the host system and from each other. Containers also make it easy to break your application into small parts, so that if one part is compromised, the rest is not necessarily affected. Yet Docker also creates new security challenges — such as the difficulty of monitoring so many moving pieces within a dynamic, large-scale Docker environment. Before moving workloads to Docker, you need to evaluate the Docker-specific security risks and make sure you can handle them.

Like cloud computing before it, Docker is a game-changer, for good reason. In many situations, containers offer enormous advantages over older forms of application deployment technology.

But just as the cloud is not the right fit for every type of situation, Docker can’t handle all of your needs.

Tags: Agents Cloud Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Open Source Technologies

Most Recent


  • New direction
    Deal to Buy Unify from Atos Seals New Direction for Mitel, CEO Explains
    The deal also includes a role for RingCentral.
  • Momentum
    Microsoft Security Now $20 Billion Business with 'Tremendous Momentum'
    One analyst says there's few legitimate obstacles in its path for further growth.
  • Intelisys Pre-AMP'd Marketing Forum
    Intelisys, Suppliers, Agents Take Aim at the Partner Marketing Gap
    Marketing is historically a second thought for the sales-focused world of technology advisors.
  • ChatGPT
    Ivanti: Everyone Should be Concerned About ChatGPT and Cybersecurity
    ChatGPT can make it easier to become a cybercriminal.

One comment

  1. Avatar .721 May 8, 2019 @ 11:56 am
    Reply

    I see the mistake of people thinking docker helps with portability often. Docker comes about leveraging specific Linux features. Features that even if they existed on other systems are difficult to port as they live close to the metal.

    Put simply, docker does not run on other operating systems. The ecosystem one the other attempt is littered with attempts to make it work on Windows and MAC. All these do is wrap Docker in a VM running Linux. That means that Docker does not run on other systems or solve the portability problem. This is the same mistake as thinking the pot (docker) creates the heat rather than the oven (virtualization).

    There are already many virtualisation options available to solve this problem. Docker isn’t one of them. I do however hear over and over again across multiple companies the suggestion of using Docker so that people can use Windows or more commonly Mac which is particularly fashionable right now though not always suited to development (including Linux development as at the end of the day it’s not Linux).

    POSIX containers can make better use of a single virtualized instance and docker is one way that can be exploited though realistically few people really have the need for more than one system image in a single instance. Things should not be made more complex until they need to be more complex.

    There’s something else docker doesn’t do so well which is assembling and managing images. You’ll find for non-trivial cases very quickly that to simply keep DRY you’ll end up having to assemble your image build instructions and container layouts with scripts. You’ll probably find yourself resorting to using the same kind of tools you might use to manage bare metal servers or virtualized instances. This is again an area where docker gives an impression of being manageable but you’ll quickly bump into the limitations of Dockerfiles, docker-compose, etc.

    Docker is also not necessarily a great packaging system either. You can make something that will run on many Linux distributions but it wont be fast, efficient nor guaranteed to be entirely compatible. Traditionally in this situation where it’s a must, chroot would be used which tends to be simpler and more efficient. None of this will solve the architecture problem, mandating many builds or virtualization for optimal results.

    Otherwise you can end up shipping something that as an RPM would be 10KB, becomes 100MB using docker.

    This is an interesting point as when I was first introduced to docker at a demonstration during a meetup, it was advertized as having solved or rather minimising this problem. In reality, there’s no free lunch.

    Another missing limitation is maturity. It lacks stability and a complete feature set. That includes the ability to fully containerize applications. In certain cases you’ll find yourself having to add firewall rules and other settings to truly containerize an application. These are less security issues in the sense of being unavoidable and more a case of they simply haven’t implemented that part yet. You’ll find panels to your container are absent.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • modern applications
    Making Modern Applications More Secure
  • Virtual data center
    3 Disruptive Networking Technologies Coming to Your Data Center
  • Risk level
    Cloud Security Provider Says Policy Gap Puts AWS Security at Risk
  • HPE Ezmeral
    HPE Ezmeral Updates Drive ‘Data-Driven Digital Transformation’

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

May 1, 2023 - May 4, 2023

Channel Partners Europe

June 13, 2023 - June 14, 2023

Channel Futures Leadership Summit

October 30, 2023 - November 2, 2023

Galleries

View all

Deal to Buy Unify from Atos Seals New Direction for Mitel, CEO Explains

January 26, 2023

Intelisys, Suppliers, Agents Take Aim at the Partner Marketing Gap

January 26, 2023

Ivanti: Everyone Should be Concerned About ChatGPT and Cybersecurity

January 25, 2023

Industry Perspectives

View all

Make the Most of the Gift of Time in 2023

January 25, 2023

Strong Partnerships Ease Challenging UPS Upgrade

January 24, 2023

The Advantages of Managed Networking and Security During Economic Uncertainty

January 5, 2023

Webinars

View all

Next-Generation MSP Platform: The Building Blocks for Your Business

February 15, 2023

Security Secrets of the MSP 501: How to Be a Cyber Leader in 2023

December 15, 2022
  • 1

Cybersecurity Certifications: Their Evolving Role in the Fight Against Increasing Attacks

December 13, 2022

White Papers

View all

Overcoming Your Endpoint Security Limitations with a Skeleton Crew

October 25, 2022

Embracing the Zero Trust Mindset For Endpoints

October 24, 2022

Endpoints are the Destination

October 24, 2022

Channel Futures TV

View all

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 117: Cato Networks, Video Killed the Podcast Stars

Retired Astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly Previews His CP Expo Keynote

December 21, 2022

Fusion Connect Eyes Future with Intrado UC, Managed Network Customers

September 23, 2022

RingCentral Focused on Hybrid Work, Microsoft Teams, Other Integrations

September 23, 2022

Twitter

ChannelFutures

The CEO of @Mitel discusses the likely outcomes of buying @Atos Unify. Note: @RingCentral will play a role post acq… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@msftsecurity surpasses $20 billion in annual revenue, analysts say it's a formidable #cybersecurity market conten… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

The adoption of cloud-based services ☁️ has spiked in the last few years and is among the top growth segments. See… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

[email protected], @NICECXone, @lumencpp, @CiscoPartners joined @IntelisysCorp and partners for a day of marketing worksho… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@IBM and @SAP announce #layoffs of thousands of employees dlvr.it/ShV2VY https://t.co/7QK1YqVpwa

January 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

#MSPs can boost #Channel business if they personalize the #DigitalExperience for partners, says @AvePoint.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

Consider mental health in the context of DE&I. Create safe spaces where employees can feel comfortable being who th… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 26, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@GoIvanti's CSO says #ChatGPT poses numerous cybersecurity concerns. dlvr.it/ShRmdt https://t.co/n22RZ4PZaO

January 25, 2023

MSP 501

The industry's largest and most comprehensive partner awards program.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X