Docker vs VirtualBox: What are the differences?

Introduction

In the world of virtualization, Docker and VirtualBox are commonly used tools. While they serve similar purposes, there are key differences between the two that set them apart.

1. Resource Overhead: Docker uses the host system's kernel and shares the resources of the operating system, resulting in lower overhead compared to VirtualBox, which requires a full virtualized operating system for each instance.

2. Isolation Level: Docker containers provide lightweight isolation through namespaces and cgroups, making them faster and more efficient than VirtualBox VMs, which require complete separation of resources.

3. Portability: Docker containers are highly portable as they can run on any system with Docker installed, whereas VirtualBox VMs are more restricted in terms of portability due to the necessary virtual machine setup.

4. Startup Time: Docker containers have significantly faster startup times compared to VirtualBox VMs since they do not need to boot an entire operating system.

5. Image Size: Docker images are usually smaller in size compared to VirtualBox VM images because they only contain the necessary components and dependencies for the application to run.

6. Use Case: Docker is typically used for microservices architecture and application containerization, while VirtualBox is more suitable for running multiple operating systems concurrently for purposes like testing or development.

In Summary, Docker and VirtualBox have distinct differences in terms of resource overhead, isolation level, portability, startup time, image size, and use case.