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Azure Container Service vs Docker: What are the differences?
Developers describe Azure Container Service as "Deploy and manage containers using the tools you choose". Azure Container Service optimizes the configuration of popular open source tools and technologies specifically for Azure. You get an open solution that offers portability for both your containers and your application configuration. You select the size, the number of hosts, and choice of orchestrator tools, and Container Service handles everything else. On the other hand, Docker is detailed as "Enterprise Container Platform for High-Velocity Innovation". The Docker Platform is the industry-leading container platform for continuous, high-velocity innovation, enabling organizations to seamlessly build and share any application — from legacy to what comes next — and securely run them anywhere.
Azure Container Service belongs to "Containers as a Service" category of the tech stack, while Docker can be primarily classified under "Virtual Machine Platforms & Containers".
Some of the features offered by Azure Container Service are:
- Create a container hosting solution optimized for Azure
- Scale and orchestrate applications using Apache Mesos or Docker Swarm
- Use popular open source, client-side tooling
On the other hand, Docker provides the following key features:
- Integrated developer tools
- open, portable images
- shareable, reusable apps
"Easy to setup, very agnostic" is the top reason why over 3 developers like Azure Container Service, while over 816 developers mention "Rapid integration and build up" as the leading cause for choosing Docker.
Docker is an open source tool with 54K GitHub stars and 15.6K GitHub forks. Here's a link to Docker's open source repository on GitHub.
Spotify, Pinterest, and Twitter are some of the popular companies that use Docker, whereas Azure Container Service is used by QwikSense, Veris, and Sensewaves. Docker has a broader approval, being mentioned in 3527 company stacks & 3449 developers stacks; compared to Azure Container Service, which is listed in 8 company stacks and 7 developer stacks.
lxd/lxc and Docker aren't congruent so this comparison needs a more detailed look; but in short I can say: the lxd-integrated administration of storage including zfs with its snapshot capabilities as well as the system container (multi-process) approach of lxc vs. the limited single-process container approach of Docker is the main reason I chose lxd over Docker.
Pros of Azure Container Service
- Easy to setup, very agnostic6
- It supports Kubernetes, Mesos DC/OS and Docker Swarm3
- It has a nice command line interface (CLI) tool2
Pros of Docker
- Rapid integration and build up823
- Isolation692
- Open source521
- Testability and reproducibility505
- Lightweight460
- Standardization218
- Scalable185
- Upgrading / downgrading / application versions106
- Security88
- Private paas environments85
- Portability34
- Limit resource usage26
- Game changer17
- I love the way docker has changed virtualization16
- Fast14
- Concurrency12
- Docker's Compose tools8
- Easy setup6
- Fast and Portable6
- Because its fun5
- Makes shipping to production very simple4
- Highly useful3
- It's dope3
- Package the environment with the application2
- Super2
- Open source and highly configurable2
- Simplicity, isolation, resource effective2
- MacOS support FAKE2
- Its cool2
- Does a nice job hogging memory2
- Docker hub for the FTW2
- HIgh Throughput2
- Very easy to setup integrate and build2
- Asdfd0
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Cons of Azure Container Service
Cons of Docker
- New versions == broken features8
- Unreliable networking6
- Documentation not always in sync6
- Moves quickly4
- Not Secure3