Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Docker VS Hyper-V

Compare Docker VS Hyper-V and see what are their differences

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Docker logo Docker

Docker is an open platform that enables developers and system administrators to create distributed applications.

Hyper-V logo Hyper-V

Install Hyper-V on Windows 10
  • Docker Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-25
  • Hyper-V Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-25

Docker

Website
docker.com
$ Details
Release Date
2013 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
Solomon Hykes
Employees
50 - 99

Docker features and specs

  • Portability
    Docker containers are designed to run consistently across different environments such as development, testing, and production, ensuring that software behaves the same regardless of where it's deployed.
  • Efficiency
    Docker containers share the host OS kernel and use fewer resources compared to traditional virtual machines, which allows for faster startups and reduced overhead.
  • Isolation
    Containers encapsulate the application and its dependencies in a separate environment, which minimizes conflicts between different applications' dependencies.
  • Scalability
    Docker makes it easier to scale applications quickly and manage resource allocation dynamically, which is particularly useful for microservices architectures.
  • Continuous Integration and Deployment
    Docker facilitates CI/CD processes by making it easier to automate the deployment pipeline, resulting in faster code releases and more frequent updates.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    A vast community and a rich ecosystem of tools and pre-built images in Docker Hub, enabling you to quickly find and reuse code and solutions.

Possible disadvantages of Docker

  • Complexity
    While Docker can simplify certain aspects of deployment, it adds a layer of complexity to the infrastructure that might require specialized knowledge and training.
  • Security
    Containers share the host OS kernel, which can pose security risks if an attacker gains access to the kernel. Proper isolation and security measures must be implemented.
  • Persistent Data
    Managing persistent data in Docker can be challenging, as containers are ephemeral and the default storage solutions are not always suitable for all applications.
  • Monitoring and Debugging
    Traditional monitoring and debugging tools might not work well with containerized applications, requiring specialized tools and approaches which can complicate troubleshooting.
  • Performance Overhead
    Although lighter than virtual machines, Docker containers can still introduce performance overheads, especially when multiple containers are running simultaneously.
  • Compatibility
    Not all software and systems are fully compatible with Docker, which can limit its use in certain legacy applications and complex environments.

Hyper-V features and specs

  • Integration with Windows
    Hyper-V is deeply integrated into the Windows OS, providing a seamless and consistent user experience, as well as better performance and easy management through familiar Windows tools.
  • Cost
    Hyper-V is included with Windows Server and certain editions of Windows 10 and 11 at no additional cost, making it a cost-effective virtualization solution for businesses already using these Microsoft products.
  • Live Migration
    Hyper-V supports live migration, allowing virtual machines to be moved between hosts without downtime, which is essential for load balancing, maintenance, and failover scenarios.
  • Scalability
    Hyper-V supports large-scale virtualization environments and can handle large numbers of virtual machines, making it suitable for enterprise environments.
  • Security Features
    Hyper-V includes robust security features like Secure Boot, Shielded VMs, and integration with Windows Defender, providing enhanced protection for virtualized workloads.

Possible disadvantages of Hyper-V

  • Limited Cross-platform Support
    Hyper-V primarily supports Windows environments, which may limit its effectiveness and integration in heterogeneous or non-Windows-centric environments.
  • Hardware Requirements
    Running Hyper-V requires a 64-bit processor with Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), which may not be available on older or less powerful hardware.
  • Complex Initial Setup
    Setting up Hyper-V can be complex and may require a steep learning curve for administrators unfamiliar with virtualization concepts or Windows Server management.
  • Resource Overhead
    While lightweight, running Hyper-V introduces some resource overhead, which could impact the performance of both the host and guest operating systems, especially on less powerful hardware.
  • Less Feature-Rich Compared to Competitors
    Some Hyper-V competitors like VMware vSphere and ESXi offer more advanced features, broader OS support, and better performance tuning options, which may be critical for certain enterprise applications.

Docker videos

What is Docker in 5 minutes

More videos:

  • Tutorial - What is Docker? Why it's popular and how to use it to save money (tutorial)
  • Review - Real World PHP Dockerfile Review, from a #Docker Captain

Hyper-V videos

What Exactly is Hyper-V?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Docker and Hyper-V)
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Cloud Computing
52 52%
48% 48
Containers As A Service
100 100%
0% 0
Virtualization
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Docker and Hyper-V

Docker Reviews

Exploring 7 Efficient Alternatives to MAMP for Local Development Environments
Though not specifically designed for PHP development, Docker offers a containerized approach to create, deploy, and run applications. It enables easy installation of PHP, web servers, and databases within containers, facilitating quick and consistent development environment setups.
Source: medium.com
Top 6 Alternatives to XAMPP for Local Development Environments
Docker - A containerization platform that allows developers to package applications and their dependencies into containers. Docker Compose can be used to define multi-container application stacks, including web servers, databases, and other services. Features powerful portability and consistency, supports rapid building, sharing, and container management, suitable for...
Source: dev.to
The Top 7 Kubernetes Alternatives for Container Orchestration
Docker uses images as templates to create new containers using Docker engine commands such as Build -t or run -d.
Kubernetes Alternatives 2023: Top 8 Container Orchestration Tools
Docker is an open-source platform for building, managing, deploying containerized applications. Swarm is a native feature in Docker with a group of virtual or physical machines that lets you schedule, cluster, and run Docker applications. It is a Docker alternative for Kubernetes that provides high portability, agility, and high availability.
Top 12 Kubernetes Alternatives to Choose From in 2023
Docker Swarm is a native clustering and orchestration solution provided by Docker, the leading containerization platform.
Source: humalect.com

Hyper-V Reviews

10 Best VMware Alternatives and Similar Software
Each virtual machine in Hyper-V is operated in its own isolated environment, allowing you to run several virtual machines on the same hardware. You could do this to prevent issues like a crash that affects other tasks, or to grant access to various systems to different users.
Best Free Virtual Machine Software in 2022 – Start Your New Career
The virtual PC for Windows is another freeware program for virtualization by Microsoft. The program doesn’t work for the versions of the Operating Systems earlier than Windows 7. Also, you do not need this on the latest Windows Operating Systems since you can install free Hyper-V. Also, the Virtual PC doesn’t support MS-DOS either. Therefore, it is a program that runs at the...
Best Server Virtualization Software for 2021
Hyper-V scores only a little behind VMware on user ratings, but is less expensive and more tightly integrated to the entire Microsoft ecosystem. But VMware may be a better option for more environments. However, check compatibility carefully as Hyper-V has a wider range of supported hardware, and offers certain advanced features without requiring additional license fees.
12 Best FREE Virtual Machine (VM) Software in 2020
Hyper-V, earlier known as Windows Server Virtualization. It is a hypervisor designed to create virtual machines on x86-64 systems. A server computer that runs on Hyper-V can be configured to expose individual virtual machines to one or more networks.
Source: www.guru99.com
Best Server Virtualization Software
The server virtualization software capabilities Microsoft Hyper-V delivers are tightly integrated with the wider Windows suite of products. This tool gets high marks from most users and provides plenty of critical virtualization tools at a lower cost than VMware vSphere. Users can also take advantage of its Linux support, although Hyper-V is more popular with IT...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Docker should be more popular than Hyper-V. It has been mentiond 73 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Docker mentions (73)

View more

Hyper-V mentions (21)

  • My PC blue-screens after enabling Hyper-v: system_thread_exception_not_handled
    I ran the following command based on this guide: Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Questions about kvm performance
    Also, you can enable Hyper-V on windows under KVM then all but the most paranoid games (e.g. Valorant) will run. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Today I switched my Insteon Hub 2245-222 to work with Home Assistant & Home Assistant Cloud
    Hyper-V needs to be enabled - link Note, Hyper-V is not available on Home Edition. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Can I move easily between image backups?
    VMware Workstation Player is a good free option, there's also Hyper-V which is built into Windows. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Disable Hyper-V on Z690M AORUS ELITE AX DDR4 (rev. 1.x)
    Hyper-V is more a Windows feature https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyper-v-on-windows/quick-start/enable-hyper-v and can be uninstalled from optional features. Source: about 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Docker and Hyper-V, you can also consider the following products

Kubernetes - Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers

Proxmox VE - Proxmox is an open-source server virtualization management solution that offers the ability to manage virtual server technology with the Linux OpenVZ and KVM technology.

Rancher - Open Source Platform for Running a Private Container Service

VirtualBox - VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as...

Apache Karaf - Apache Karaf is a lightweight, modern and polymorphic container powered by OSGi.

vSphere - Get started with VMware vSphere editions, the world’s leading server virtualization platform and the best foundation for your apps, your cloud, and your business.