Docker vs PM2

Overview

Docker

Stacks194.2K

Followers143.8K

Votes3.9K

PM2

Stacks569

Followers378

Votes24

GitHub Stars42.7K

Forks2.7K

Docker vs PM2: What are the differences?

Docker is a containerization platform, while PM2 is a process manager for Node.js applications. Let's explore the key differences between them.

Containerization vs Process Management: Docker is primarily a containerization tool, which means it packages an application and its dependencies into a standardized unit called a container. This allows for easy portability and scalability across different environments. On the other hand, PM2 is a process manager, specifically designed for Node.js applications. It helps manage the execution and monitoring of multiple processes on a single machine.
Isolation Level: Docker provides a higher level of isolation compared to PM2. Docker containers are completely isolated from each other, which means they have separate file systems, network interfaces, and process trees. This makes Docker a suitable choice for running applications with different dependencies or versions. PM2, on the other hand, runs processes within the same environment and does not provide the same level of isolation.
Resource Utilization: Docker allows for efficient utilization of system resources by sharing the host's kernel with containers. This means that multiple containers can run on the same machine without duplicating the underlying operating system. PM2, on the other hand, runs processes within a single Node.js instance, which may result in a higher resource utilization when compared to Docker.
Deployment Flexibility: Docker provides a high level of deployment flexibility, allowing applications to be deployed on any infrastructure that supports Docker. This includes cloud platforms, virtual machines, or bare-metal servers. PM2, on the other hand, is primarily designed for local or single-server deployments and may not offer the same level of flexibility when it comes to deploying on different platforms.
Orchestration and Scaling: Docker provides built-in orchestration and scaling capabilities through its orchestration tool Docker Swarm and container orchestration platform Kubernetes. These tools allow for easy management of multi-container deployments and scaling up or down based on demand. PM2, on the other hand, does not offer built-in orchestration features and may require additional tools or configurations for managing large-scale deployments.
Development Workflow: Docker provides a more consistent and reproducible development workflow by encapsulating an application and its dependencies into containers. This allows developers to spin up the entire development environment with a single command, making it easier to collaborate and ensure consistency across different development environments. PM2, on the other hand, focuses more on process management during development and may not provide the same level of encapsulation and standardization as Docker.

In summary, Docker is a containerization tool that provides high-level isolation, deployment flexibility, and scalability, making it suitable for running applications in varying environments. PM2, on the other hand, is a process manager specifically designed for Node.js applications, offering process management and monitoring capabilities within a single server environment.

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Advice on Docker, PM2

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	PM2
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	Production process manager for Node.js apps with a built-in load balancer
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	-
Statistics
GitHub Stars -	GitHub Stars 42.7K
GitHub Forks -	GitHub Forks 2.7K
Stacks 194.2K	Stacks 569
Followers 143.8K	Followers 378
Votes 3.9K	Votes 24
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 Documentation not always in sync 6 Unreliable networking 4 Moves quickly 3 Not Secure	Pros 12 Reliable 9 Easy to manage 3 Easy to use Cons 7 Memory leak
Integrations
Java Docker Compose VirtualBox Linux Amazon EC2 Container Service Docker Swarm boot2docker Kubernetes Docker Machine Vagrant	No integrations available

What are some alternatives to Docker, PM2?

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.

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.

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.

forever

It is a simple CLI tool for ensuring that a given script runs continuously. It is used to keep the server alive even when the server crash/stops. When the server is stopped because of some error, exception, etc.it automatically restarts it.

Supervisord

It allows its users to monitor and control a number of processes on UNIX-like operating systems. It shares some of the same goals of programs like launchd, daemontools, and runit. it is meant to be used to control processes related to a project or a customer, and is meant to start like any other program at boot time.

Studio 3T

It's the only MongoDB tool that provides three ways to explore data alongside powerful features like query autocompletion, polyglot code generation, a stage-by-stage aggregation query builder, import and export, SQL query support and more.

OpenVZ

Virtuozzo leverages OpenVZ as its core of a virtualization solution offered by Virtuozzo company. Virtuozzo is optimized for hosters and offers hypervisor (VMs in addition to containers), distributed cloud storage, dedicated support, management tools, and easy installation.

SmartOS

It combines the capabilities you get from a lightweight container OS, optimized to deliver containers, with the robust security, networking and storage capabilities you’ve come to expect and depend on from a hardware hypervisor.

Clear Containers

We set out to build Clear Containers by leveraging the isolation of virtual-machine technology along with the deployment benefits of containers. As part of this, we let go of the "generic PC hardware" notion traditionally associated with virtual machines; we're not going to pretend to be a standard PC that is compatible with just about any OS on the planet.

Related Comparisons

Docker vs PM2: What are the differences?

Docker is a containerization platform, while PM2 is a process manager for Node.js applications. Let's explore the key differences between them.

Containerization vs Process Management: Docker is primarily a containerization tool, which means it packages an application and its dependencies into a standardized unit called a container. This allows for easy portability and scalability across different environments. On the other hand, PM2 is a process manager, specifically designed for Node.js applications. It helps manage the execution and monitoring of multiple processes on a single machine.
Isolation Level: Docker provides a higher level of isolation compared to PM2. Docker containers are completely isolated from each other, which means they have separate file systems, network interfaces, and process trees. This makes Docker a suitable choice for running applications with different dependencies or versions. PM2, on the other hand, runs processes within the same environment and does not provide the same level of isolation.
Resource Utilization: Docker allows for efficient utilization of system resources by sharing the host's kernel with containers. This means that multiple containers can run on the same machine without duplicating the underlying operating system. PM2, on the other hand, runs processes within a single Node.js instance, which may result in a higher resource utilization when compared to Docker.
Deployment Flexibility: Docker provides a high level of deployment flexibility, allowing applications to be deployed on any infrastructure that supports Docker. This includes cloud platforms, virtual machines, or bare-metal servers. PM2, on the other hand, is primarily designed for local or single-server deployments and may not offer the same level of flexibility when it comes to deploying on different platforms.
Orchestration and Scaling: Docker provides built-in orchestration and scaling capabilities through its orchestration tool Docker Swarm and container orchestration platform Kubernetes. These tools allow for easy management of multi-container deployments and scaling up or down based on demand. PM2, on the other hand, does not offer built-in orchestration features and may require additional tools or configurations for managing large-scale deployments.
Development Workflow: Docker provides a more consistent and reproducible development workflow by encapsulating an application and its dependencies into containers. This allows developers to spin up the entire development environment with a single command, making it easier to collaborate and ensure consistency across different development environments. PM2, on the other hand, focuses more on process management during development and may not provide the same level of encapsulation and standardization as Docker.

Docker vs PM2

Overview