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CoreOS vs Docker: What are the differences?

Introduction

CoreOS and Docker are both popular containerization platforms used in the development and deployment of applications. While they share some similarities, there are distinct differences between the two.

  1. Containerization Approach: CoreOS and Docker differ in their approach to containerization. CoreOS utilizes the concept of containers as lightweight virtual machines, providing a minimalistic operating system. On the other hand, Docker focuses on creating containers that encapsulate specific application components, running on top of the host operating system.

  2. Operating System Integration: CoreOS is designed to be a standalone operating system, specifically optimized to run containers. It includes features like automatic updates, clustered management, and distributed key-value store. In contrast, Docker can be installed on various operating systems, integrating with the existing host OS to run containers.

  3. Orchestration and Clustering: Docker provides basic clustering and orchestration capabilities through Docker Swarm mode. It allows users to create a swarm of Docker hosts and manage containers across the cluster. CoreOS, on the other hand, comes with built-in orchestration using Kubernetes, which provides more advanced features like auto-scaling, service discovery, and load balancing.

  4. Security and Isolation: CoreOS places a strong emphasis on security and isolation, ensuring that containers are isolated from each other and from the host system. It achieves this through features like SELinux, AppArmor, and secure boot. While Docker also provides security features, it may require additional configurations to achieve the same level of isolation as CoreOS.

  5. Storage and Networking: CoreOS offers a distributed file system called etcd, which can be used for service discovery and configuration management. It also includes built-in support for overlay networks, allowing containers to communicate with each other across different hosts. In contrast, Docker relies on external solutions like Docker volumes and Docker networking plugins for storage and networking functionalities.

  6. Community and Ecosystem: Docker has a larger user community and ecosystem compared to CoreOS. It has a vast repository of pre-built Docker images and a wide range of third-party tools and integrations. This expansive ecosystem makes it easier for developers to find resources and solutions for their containerization needs.

In Summary, CoreOS and Docker differ in their containerization approach, operating system integration, orchestration capabilities, security and isolation, storage and networking solutions, and the size of their respective communities and ecosystems.

Decisions about CoreOS and Docker
Florian Sager
IT DevOp at Agitos GmbH · | 3 upvotes · 408.3K views
Chose
LXDLXD
over
DockerDocker

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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Pros of CoreOS
Pros of Docker
  • 20
    Container management
  • 15
    Lightweight
  • 9
    Systemd
  • 823
    Rapid integration and build up
  • 691
    Isolation
  • 521
    Open source
  • 505
    Testa­bil­i­ty and re­pro­ducibil­i­ty
  • 460
    Lightweight
  • 218
    Standardization
  • 185
    Scalable
  • 106
    Upgrading / down­grad­ing / ap­pli­ca­tion versions
  • 88
    Security
  • 85
    Private paas environments
  • 34
    Portability
  • 26
    Limit resource usage
  • 17
    Game changer
  • 16
    I love the way docker has changed virtualization
  • 14
    Fast
  • 12
    Concurrency
  • 8
    Docker's Compose tools
  • 6
    Easy setup
  • 6
    Fast and Portable
  • 5
    Because its fun
  • 4
    Makes shipping to production very simple
  • 3
    Highly useful
  • 3
    It's dope
  • 2
    Very easy to setup integrate and build
  • 2
    HIgh Throughput
  • 2
    Package the environment with the application
  • 2
    Does a nice job hogging memory
  • 2
    Open source and highly configurable
  • 2
    Simplicity, isolation, resource effective
  • 2
    MacOS support FAKE
  • 2
    Its cool
  • 2
    Docker hub for the FTW
  • 2
    Super
  • 0
    Asdfd

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Cons of CoreOS
Cons of Docker
  • 3
    End-of-lifed
  • 8
    New versions == broken features
  • 6
    Unreliable networking
  • 6
    Documentation not always in sync
  • 4
    Moves quickly
  • 3
    Not Secure

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What is CoreOS?

It is designed for security, consistency, and reliability. Instead of installing packages via yum or apt, it uses Linux containers to manage your services at a higher level of abstraction. A single service's code and all dependencies are packaged within a container that can be run on one or many machines.

What is Docker?

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

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What companies use CoreOS?
What companies use Docker?
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What tools integrate with CoreOS?
What tools integrate with Docker?

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What are some alternatives to CoreOS and Docker?
LinuxKit
LinuxKit, a toolkit for building custom minimal, immutable Linux distributions. Designed for building and running clustered applications, including but not limited to container orchestration such as Docker or Kubernetes.
Rancher
Rancher is an open source container management platform that includes full distributions of Kubernetes, Apache Mesos and Docker Swarm, and makes it simple to operate container clusters on any cloud or infrastructure platform.
Docker Swarm
Swarm serves the standard Docker API, so any tool which already communicates with a Docker daemon can use Swarm to transparently scale to multiple hosts: Dokku, Compose, Krane, Deis, DockerUI, Shipyard, Drone, Jenkins... and, of course, the Docker client itself.
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning ‘humanity to others’. It also means ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the world of computers.
Mesosphere
Mesosphere offers a layer of software that organizes your machines, VMs, and cloud instances and lets applications draw from a single pool of intelligently- and dynamically-allocated resources, increasing efficiency and reducing operational complexity.
See all alternatives