Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!
boot2docker vs libvirt: What are the differences?
Developers describe boot2docker as "Lightweight Linux for Docker". boot2docker is a lightweight Linux distribution based on Tiny Core Linux made specifically to run Docker containers. It runs completely from RAM, weighs ~27MB and boots in ~5s (YMMV). On the other hand, libvirt is detailed as "An open-source virtualization API". It is an open-source API, daemon and management tool for managing platform virtualization. It can be used to manage KVM, Xen, VMware ESXi, QEMU and other virtualization technologies.
boot2docker and libvirt can be categorized as "Virtual Machine Management" tools.
Some of the features offered by boot2docker are:
- Kernel 3.14.1 with AUFS, Docker 0.10.1, LXC 0.8.0
- Container persistence via disk automount on /var/lib/docker
- SSH keys persistence via disk automount
On the other hand, libvirt provides the following key features:
- manage virtualization platforms
- accessible from C, Python, Perl, Java and more
- supports KVM, QEMU, Xen, Virtuozzo, VMWare ESX, LXC, BHyve and more
boot2docker is an open source tool with 8.02K GitHub stars and 1.15K GitHub forks. Here's a link to boot2docker's open source repository on GitHub.
Pros of boot2docker
- Lightweight43
- Use docker when it's not natively possible35
- Use it for fast demo without big image11
- Easy to use3
- Containers3
Pros of libvirt
- Low overhead2
- Free2
- Built into most Linux distros2
- Fast2
- Native KVM and QEMU2
- Native hypervisor2
- Can fully manage via CLI or VirtManager2
- VirtIO direct hardware access2
- VirtIO direct hardware support1
Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions
What is boot2docker?
What is libvirt?
Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!
What companies use libvirt?
Sign up to get full access to all the companiesMake informed product decisions
What tools integrate with boot2docker?
Sign up to get full access to all the tool integrationsMake informed product decisions
Blog Posts
+24