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  • 1.  Running docker in Linux VM vs vSphere integrated Containers (VIC)

    Posted Feb 22, 2018 08:36 PM

    Hi,

    Why shouldn't you run Docker Containers in a Linux VM, but make use of vSphere integrated Containers.?

    I've read information regarding VIC on the website of VMware and watched a couple of youtube topics regarding VIC.

    What I'm searching for is real life experience with Dockers Containers on a Linux VM in vSphere vs vSphere Integrated Containers.

    Are there resource confilct if you don't use VIC?

    If you don't use VIC, can your performance on a ESXi drain down?

    All real life experience is welcome. If you've any reference url, I would be very happy.

    Many thanks in advance

    Regards,

    R



  • 2.  RE: Running docker in Linux VM vs vSphere integrated Containers (VIC)

    Posted Feb 23, 2018 02:57 AM

    There's no correct answer here as it depends on your use case. VIC is a platform that accepts Docker API commands and translates those into native vSphere concepts. VIC is used as a way to provide the same management tool set to run containers as VMs. Running Docker engine natively on Linux allows you to also run containers but in a more traditional fashion.



  • 3.  RE: Running docker in Linux VM vs vSphere integrated Containers (VIC)

    Posted Feb 26, 2018 05:52 PM

    Many thanks for your reply. Much appreciated.

    Running Docker engine natively on Linux within vSphere is that not recommended?

    Can it kill your ESXi if you burst to many containers?

    Running Docker engine natively on Linux within vSphere can the resource scheduler of vSphere conflict with the resource schedule of Dockers?

    I know it all depends on your design decision, but I really want to know why you shouldn't run Docker natively on Linux with VMware & make use of VIC.

    Thanks in advance.

    Regards,

    R



  • 4.  RE: Running docker in Linux VM vs vSphere integrated Containers (VIC)
    Best Answer

    Posted Feb 27, 2018 01:53 AM

    Running Docker engine natively on Linux within vSphere is that not recommended?

    No, it's certainly possible and carries many benefits. There's no place I've ever seen that shows it's not recommended. It all "depends" on your goals.

    Can it kill your ESXi if you burst to many containers?

    Well, again it depends. If you have one container host on your ESXi host and you allocate all its resources to it and you bring up enough containers to consume those resources, you could bring it to its knees.

    Running Docker engine natively on Linux within vSphere can the resource scheduler of vSphere conflict with the resource schedule of Dockers?

    The answer is "no" because they manage resources at different layers. Again, there's no problem with running Docker Engine natively on a VM in vSphere. This is very frequently done.

    I know it all depends on your design decision, but I really want to know why you shouldn't run Docker natively on Linux with VMware & make use of VIC.

    It's not a question of why you shouldn't but why you should run VIC. As I mentioned earlier, here are some reasons why you might like to run VIC:

    • Allows you to run containers alongside traditional VMs
    • Uses the same toolset as you already know (i.e., vSphere)
    • Provides multi-tenancy
    • Fully compatible with native Docker Engine API calls
    • Comes with your license (Enterprise Plus)