Docker vs Qemu

Overview

Docker

Stacks194.2K

Followers143.8K

Votes3.9K

Qemu

Stacks105

Followers131

Votes3

Docker vs Qemu: What are the differences?

Docker is a platform for developing, shipping, and running applications in containers, providing lightweight and portable environments, while Qemu is an open-source emulator that allows users to run operating systems and virtual machines on various host platforms. Let's explore the key differences between them.

Architecture: Docker uses a containerization approach, where multiple containers can run on a single host operating system. Qemu, on the other hand, is a full-system emulator that provides hardware virtualization, allowing different operating systems to run simultaneously.
Performance: Docker containers are lightweight and share the host OS kernel, resulting in faster startup times and lower resource usage compared to Qemu virtual machines, which require full OS emulation.
Isolation: Docker provides process-level isolation, meaning that containers share resources but are isolated at the process level. Qemu, on the other hand, provides full isolation between virtual machines, allowing each VM to have its own resources and kernel.
Compatibility: Docker relies on the host OS kernel, making it more compatible with a wider range of operating systems and applications. Qemu, on the other hand, can emulate different hardware architectures, making it more suitable for running operating systems that are not supported natively on the host system.
Deployment: Docker containers are highly portable and can be easily deployed across different environments, whether it's on-premises or in the cloud. Qemu virtual machines are more suitable for running guest operating systems on a specific host, making them less portable.
Resource Usage: Docker containers share the host's operating system and resources, resulting in more efficient resource utilization compared to Qemu virtual machines, which require dedicated resources for each VM.

In summary, Docker simplifies the process of containerization, enabling developers to package applications and their dependencies into isolated environments for deployment across different systems with ease. On the other hand, Qemu offers a versatile emulation solution for running virtual machines, providing flexibility for testing and development purposes across a range of hardware architectures and operating systems.

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Advice on Docker, Qemu

Florian

IT DevOp at Agitos GmbH

Oct 22, 2019

Decided

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.

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Detailed Comparison

Docker	Qemu
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	When used as a machine emulator, it can run OSes and programs made for one machine (e.g. an ARM board) on a different machine (e.g. your own PC). By using dynamic translation, it achieves very good performance. When used as a virtualizer, it achieves near native performance by executing the guest code directly on the host CPU. it supports virtualization when executing under the Xen hypervisor or using the KVM kernel module in Linux. When using KVM, it can virtualize x86, server and embedded PowerPC, 64-bit POWER, S390, 32-bit and 64-bit ARM, and MIPS guests.
Integrated developer tools; open, portable images; shareable, reusable apps; framework-aware builds; standardized templates; multi-environment support; remote registry management; simple setup for Docker and Kubernetes; certified Kubernetes; application templates; enterprise controls; secure software supply chain; industry-leading container runtime; image scanning; access controls; image signing; caching and mirroring; image lifecycle; policy-based image promotion	machine emulator and virtualizer; dynamic translation;
Statistics
Stacks 194.2K	Stacks 105
Followers 143.8K	Followers 131
Votes 3.9K	Votes 3
Pros & Cons
Pros 823 Rapid integration and build up 692 Isolation 521 Open source 505 Testability and reproducibility 460 Lightweight Cons 8 New versions == broken features 6 Unreliable networking 6 Documentation not always in sync 4 Moves quickly 3 Not Secure	Pros 1 Free 1 Easy to use 1 Performance
Integrations
Java Docker Compose VirtualBox Linux Amazon EC2 Container Service Docker Swarm boot2docker Kubernetes Docker Machine Vagrant	Linux KVM

What are some alternatives to Docker, Qemu?

VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2.

LXD

LXD isn't a rewrite of LXC, in fact it's building on top of LXC to provide a new, better user experience. Under the hood, LXD uses LXC through liblxc and its Go binding to create and manage the containers. It's basically an alternative to LXC's tools and distribution template system with the added features that come from being controllable over the network.

Proxmox VE

It is a complete open-source platform for all-inclusive enterprise virtualization that tightly integrates KVM hypervisor and LXC containers, software-defined storage and networking functionality on a single platform, and easily manages high availability clusters and disaster recovery tools with the built-in web management interface.

VMware vSphere

vSphere is the world’s leading server virtualization platform. Run fewer servers and reduce capital and operating costs using VMware vSphere to build a cloud computing infrastructure.

LXC

LXC is a userspace interface for the Linux kernel containment features. Through a powerful API and simple tools, it lets Linux users easily create and manage system or application containers.

rkt

Rocket is a cli for running App Containers. The goal of rocket is to be composable, secure, and fast.

KVM

KVM (for Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a full virtualization solution for Linux on x86 hardware containing virtualization extensions (Intel VT or AMD-V).

Parallels Desktop

Parallels Desktop for Mac allows you to seamlessly run both Windows and MacOS applications side-by-side with speed, control and confidence.

Vagrant Cloud

Vagrant Cloud pairs with Vagrant to enable access, insight and collaboration across teams, as well as to bring exposure to community contributions and development environments.

Parallels

It is an application and desktop virtualization software vendor that offers management and delivery platforms for Apple macOS and Microsoft Windows desktop deployments.

Related Comparisons

Docker vs Qemu: What are the differences?

Architecture: Docker uses a containerization approach, where multiple containers can run on a single host operating system. Qemu, on the other hand, is a full-system emulator that provides hardware virtualization, allowing different operating systems to run simultaneously.
Performance: Docker containers are lightweight and share the host OS kernel, resulting in faster startup times and lower resource usage compared to Qemu virtual machines, which require full OS emulation.
Isolation: Docker provides process-level isolation, meaning that containers share resources but are isolated at the process level. Qemu, on the other hand, provides full isolation between virtual machines, allowing each VM to have its own resources and kernel.
Compatibility: Docker relies on the host OS kernel, making it more compatible with a wider range of operating systems and applications. Qemu, on the other hand, can emulate different hardware architectures, making it more suitable for running operating systems that are not supported natively on the host system.
Deployment: Docker containers are highly portable and can be easily deployed across different environments, whether it's on-premises or in the cloud. Qemu virtual machines are more suitable for running guest operating systems on a specific host, making them less portable.
Resource Usage: Docker containers share the host's operating system and resources, resulting in more efficient resource utilization compared to Qemu virtual machines, which require dedicated resources for each VM.

Docker vs Qemu

Overview