In this digital world, businesses leverage web and Domain Hosting in Singapore services to enhance website performance and user experience. Among various hosting plans, Linux VPS in Singapore stands out for its virtual flexibility and easy adoption, enhancing operational efficiency.
However, understanding virtualisation and containerisation is crucial for optimising web hosting. Between virtualisation and containerisation, the central aspect of these technologies is to aid businesses in running different types of applications or dividing workloads in their distinctive way using a single physical server.
So, what exactly is the difference between? To know this, keep reading this article.
Virtualisation
Virtualisation is a technology that enables the operation of multiple virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical server. It creates a separate, isolated environment with individual operating systems and applications.
Benefits of Virtualisation
- Relies on hypervisors and complete OS instances.
- Ensures strong isolation and compatibility.
- Supports diverse operating systems.
Components of the Virtualisation
- Hypervisors
- Software or firmware components managing virtual machine creation and operation.
- Provide abstraction between VMs and underlying hardware.
- Enables simultaneous operation of multiple operating systems.
- Bare Metal Hypervisor
- Operates directly on hardware without requiring an underlying operating system.
- Offers better performance and resource utilisation compared to hosted hypervisors.
- Virtual Machines (VMs)
- Software emulations of computer systems running within another operating system.
- VMware is a company providing virtualisation software for VM creation and management.
Containerisation
It is a lightweight alternative to full-machine virtualisation that addresses VM drawbacks through consistency, isolation, and portability. In this, the applications are packed with dependencies and operate in separate environments called containers.
- Benefits of Containerisation
- Encapsulates applications and dependencies for isolated operation.
- Runs in the same system resources and OS as other containers.
- Solves problems associated with traditional virtualisation.
- Container Management
- Container engines efficiently manage large numbers of containers.
- Simplified maintenance with updates, patches, and bug fixes on one operating system.
- Efficient Deployment
- No wasted resources on separate OS tasks for quicker and more efficient application deployment.
- Container images are smaller in size, making them easier to share, migrate, and move.
Table: Difference Between Virtualisation And Containerisation
| Feature | Virtualisation | Containerisation |
| Isolation | Hypervisor provides strong isolation between VMs. | Containers share the host OS kernel, providing lightweight isolation. |
| Overhead | Typically has higher resource overhead due to running full OS instances. | Lower overhead as containers share the host OS kernel. |
| Performance | Slightly higher performance overhead compared to containers. | Generally better performance due to reduced overhead. |
| Deployment Speed | Slower deployment involves booting up full OS instances. | Faster deployment, as it doesn’t require booting a full OS. |
| Resource Utilisation | VMs may use more resources as they include an entire OS. | Efficient resource utilisation, as containers share the OS. |
| Portability | Less portable due to dependencies on specific OS and configurations. | Highly portable, as dependencies are bundled with the container. |
| Scaling | Slightly slower scaling due to the need to boot up full OS instances. | Faster scaling as containers can start quickly. |
| Use Cases | Suitable for running multiple OS instances on a single host. | Ideal for microservices architecture and lightweight applications. |
Conclusion – Virtualisation Vs Containerisation
Virtualisation and containerisation both offer isolated environments for applications. Both have their unique advantages and limitations. However, to choose between them, you compare the various factors like speed, resource utilisation, security and more.
Also, to select one among them, you can consider workload requirements and the desired balance between isolation, efficiency, and agility. You can also go with the hybrid approach.
