Docker vs Rancher

Overview

Docker

Stacks194.2K

Followers143.8K

Votes3.9K

Rancher

Stacks952

Followers1.5K

Votes644

Docker vs Rancher: What are the differences?

Docker and Rancher are used to manage container-based applications. While Docker is a containerization platform, Rancher is a container management platform that provides additional features and capabilities. Let's explore the key differences between the two:

Containerization Platform: Docker is primarily a containerization platform that allows users to create, deploy, and run containers. It enables developers to package applications and their dependencies into portable and lightweight containers, ensuring consistency across different environments. In contrast, Rancher is a container management platform that offers a higher level of abstraction by providing a user-friendly interface and additional management features on top of Docker.
Container Orchestration: Docker provides basic container orchestration capabilities through its Docker Swarm mode. Swarm enables users to create and manage a cluster of Docker nodes, allowing for container deployment, scaling, and load balancing. Rancher, on the other hand, integrates with Kubernetes and provides advanced container orchestration features, making it easier to manage and scale containerized applications in production environments.
User Interface and Management: Docker provides a command-line interface (CLI) for managing containers, images, and other Docker components. While the CLI is powerful, it requires users to have a good understanding of Docker commands. Rancher, on the other hand, offers a graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies container management tasks. The Rancher GUI provides a visual representation of clusters, nodes, and services, making it easier for users to monitor and manage their containerized applications. Rancher also offers additional management features like resource allocation, access control, and application catalog.
Multi-Cluster Management: Docker primarily focuses on managing containers within a single Docker Swarm cluster. Although it is possible to set up multiple Swarm clusters, managing and coordinating multiple clusters can be challenging. Rancher, on the other hand, specializes in multi-cluster management. It allows users to manage and deploy containers across multiple clusters, providing a unified view and control over the entire container infrastructure. This is particularly useful in scenarios where applications span across multiple environments or regions.
Extensibility and Integration: Docker has a vast ecosystem of tools, libraries, and third-party integrations that extend its capabilities. Users can leverage Docker Compose for defining multi-container applications, Docker Registry for managing container images, and Docker Hub for sharing and discovering container images. Rancher integrates with Docker and Kubernetes, enabling users to leverage the functionalities of these platforms. Rancher also provides a catalog of pre-configured application templates, making it easier to deploy popular applications with a few clicks.

In summary, Docker is a containerization platform that allows users to create and run containers, while Rancher is a container management platform that provides additional management features on top of Docker. Docker focuses on containerization and provides basic container orchestration, while Rancher offers advanced container orchestration capabilities through integration with Kubernetes. Rancher provides a user-friendly GUI, multi-cluster management, and additional management features, making it a suitable choice for complex containerized applications in production environments.

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Advice on Docker, Rancher

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	Rancher
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	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.
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	Manage Hosts, Deploy Containers, Monitor Resources;User Management & Collaboration;Native Docker APIs & Tools;Monitoring and Logging;Connect Containers, Manage Disks, Deploy Load Balancers;Docker App Catalog; Included Kubernetes Distribution;Included Docker Swarm Distribution; Included Mesos Distribution;Infrastructure Management
Statistics
Stacks 194.2K	Stacks 952
Followers 143.8K	Followers 1.5K
Votes 3.9K	Votes 644
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 103 Easy to use 79 Open source and totally free 63 Multi-host docker-compose support 58 Simple 58 Load balancing and health check included Cons 10 Hosting Rancher can be complicated
Integrations
Java Docker Compose VirtualBox Linux Amazon EC2 Container Service Docker Swarm boot2docker Kubernetes Docker Machine Vagrant	Jenkins Datadog Google Compute Engine Docker Compose Amazon EC2 DigitalOcean GitHub Kubernetes Drone.io Apache Mesos

What are some alternatives to Docker, Rancher?

Kubernetes

Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers. It handles scheduling onto nodes in a compute cluster and actively manages workloads to ensure that their state matches the users declared intentions.

Docker Compose

With Compose, you define a multi-container application in a single file, then spin your application up in a single command which does everything that needs to be done to get it running.

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.

Tutum

Tutum lets developers easily manage and run lightweight, portable, self-sufficient containers from any application. AWS-like control, Heroku-like ease. The same container that a developer builds and tests on a laptop can run at scale in Tutum.

Portainer

It is a universal container management tool. It works with Kubernetes, Docker, Docker Swarm and Azure ACI. It allows you to manage containers without needing to know platform-specific code.

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.

Codefresh

Automate and parallelize testing. Codefresh allows teams to spin up on-demand compositions to run unit and integration tests as part of the continuous integration process. Jenkins integration allows more complex pipelines.

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.

CAST.AI

It is an AI-driven cloud optimization platform for Kubernetes. Instantly cut your cloud bill, prevent downtime, and 10X the power of DevOps.

k3s

Certified Kubernetes distribution designed for production workloads in unattended, resource-constrained, remote locations or inside IoT appliances. Supports something as small as a Raspberry Pi or as large as an AWS a1.4xlarge 32GiB server.

Related Comparisons

Containerization Platform: Docker is primarily a containerization platform that allows users to create, deploy, and run containers. It enables developers to package applications and their dependencies into portable and lightweight containers, ensuring consistency across different environments. In contrast, Rancher is a container management platform that offers a higher level of abstraction by providing a user-friendly interface and additional management features on top of Docker.
Container Orchestration: Docker provides basic container orchestration capabilities through its Docker Swarm mode. Swarm enables users to create and manage a cluster of Docker nodes, allowing for container deployment, scaling, and load balancing. Rancher, on the other hand, integrates with Kubernetes and provides advanced container orchestration features, making it easier to manage and scale containerized applications in production environments.
User Interface and Management: Docker provides a command-line interface (CLI) for managing containers, images, and other Docker components. While the CLI is powerful, it requires users to have a good understanding of Docker commands. Rancher, on the other hand, offers a graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies container management tasks. The Rancher GUI provides a visual representation of clusters, nodes, and services, making it easier for users to monitor and manage their containerized applications. Rancher also offers additional management features like resource allocation, access control, and application catalog.
Multi-Cluster Management: Docker primarily focuses on managing containers within a single Docker Swarm cluster. Although it is possible to set up multiple Swarm clusters, managing and coordinating multiple clusters can be challenging. Rancher, on the other hand, specializes in multi-cluster management. It allows users to manage and deploy containers across multiple clusters, providing a unified view and control over the entire container infrastructure. This is particularly useful in scenarios where applications span across multiple environments or regions.
Extensibility and Integration: Docker has a vast ecosystem of tools, libraries, and third-party integrations that extend its capabilities. Users can leverage Docker Compose for defining multi-container applications, Docker Registry for managing container images, and Docker Hub for sharing and discovering container images. Rancher integrates with Docker and Kubernetes, enabling users to leverage the functionalities of these platforms. Rancher also provides a catalog of pre-configured application templates, making it easier to deploy popular applications with a few clicks.

Docker vs Rancher