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A comment on How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine?. Parent comment

Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by FreeBSD-user on Friday September 13, 2013 @02:38AM (#6379014)
To be honest I've never worked out why Docker gets so much press. If you use the Ezjail utility to configure and manage FreeBSD jails you have been able to do most of the things Docker does for years (stacked fs using unionfs, templates/flavours, snapshots, export/import etc) and this seems like a much simpler and more stable solution. The networking stuff is also easy using pf.
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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by danieldk on Friday September 13, 2013 @04:03AM (#6379233)
There's also Solaris Containers, which leverages ZFS snapshots, etc.:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_Containers

Of course, Solaris is even more despised by some people since they changed hands.

I think Docker appeals more to people, because:

- It's on Linux, which is more popular than FreeBSD or Solaris.

- It's very easy to set up and configure.

- Integration with Puppet et al.

- The have great marketing :).

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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by dmpk2k on Friday September 13, 2013 @06:20AM (#6379518)
Just a small reminder that you don't need to touch Solaris specifically. There's a heavily-developed OSS fork named illumos out there too. Some of illumos' distros are nicer than Solaris ever was.
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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by kordless on Friday September 13, 2013 @01:16PM (#6381765)
All hail the whale.
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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by justincormack on Friday September 13, 2013 @03:12AM (#6379111)
Because almost no one around here uses FreeBSD it seems.
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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by jmspring on Friday September 13, 2013 @03:43AM (#6379184)
Some of us do, when appropriate.

Docker took a technology known to many that setup/admin/manage machines, added some fluff, made things simpler, and marketed the idea.

In a crowd that might spend more time thinking about nodejs and callbacks vs promises or how easily one can tip a rails app up on heroku, existing systems tools for things like jails/virtualization may either be over looked or not a concern.

For every docker, there are people (of which I may be one) that think , "big deal, it is just x". Meanwhile that thing is getting traction and popularity. It might not last, but it is around and making noise now.

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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by Swizec on Friday September 13, 2013 @05:04AM (#6379334)
"added some fluff, made things simpler, and marketed the idea"

Well what on earth do you need a pre-assembled computer for? You just take some circuit boards and a soldering iron, then assemble everything over the weekend and you have a perfectly good computer. I don't understand why this Apple I thing is so popular, it's nothing special.

Far as I can tell, every successful piece of tech out there can be reduced to "Added some fluff, simplicity, and marketing to an already existing technology"

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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by gurraman on Friday September 13, 2013 @07:54AM (#6379841)
They also created an operative system (sure, it builds on existing tech but they added a lot more than just fluff).
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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by mtkd on Friday September 13, 2013 @03:59AM (#6379222)
It is a simple abstraction of something that many people find very complicated - or choose to not spend time understanding / configuring.

(You could say same about Github, Travis etc.)

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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by lars512 on Friday September 13, 2013 @05:42AM (#6379428)
There's probably some fair value in making things simpler, not to mention value in marketing. If they can form a large community around it through their marketing, then the tooling will rapidly improve. So, the marketing can be a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.
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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by derefr on Friday September 13, 2013 @07:15AM (#6379721)
Honestly, I have no idea if the software I write runs on FreeBSD. I know it runs on Linux, and therefore I know I can package it with Docker.

And I think that's the crux of it--do you think anyone would use Heroku if its container environment were FreeBSD-based? I'm guessing not; nobody develops on FreeBSD, so they'd have to test on a separate FreeBSD VM before deploying.

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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by justincormack on Friday September 13, 2013 @11:25AM (#6381074)
Lots of people seem to develop on Macs, so Linux is a VM to them. And if it runs on a Mac it probably runs on FreeBSD. Joyent seems to be managing with non-Linux containers too.
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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by FreeBSD-user on Saturday September 14, 2013 @04:30AM (#6385052)
That's a shame, FreeBSD is actually a pretty impressive OS. You should give it a try, mono-cultures aren't a good thing.
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Re:How is Docker.io different from a normal virtual machine? by DH61AG on Friday September 13, 2013 @03:12AM (#6379113)
Because Docker is platform agnostic and easy to use. There has always been similar solutions but none of them with such simple interface and setup.
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