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Linux kernel VS containerd

Compare Linux kernel VS containerd and see what are their differences

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  2. » Videos
  3. » Reviews
  4. » Alternatives

Linux kernel logo Linux kernel

The Linux kernel is the operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating...

containerd logo containerd

An industry-standard container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability
  • Linux kernel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-24
  • containerd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-15

Linux kernel features and specs

  • Open Source
    The Linux kernel is released under the GNU General Public License, allowing users to view, modify, and distribute the source code freely. This promotes transparency, collaboration, and innovation within the community.
  • Customizability
    Due to its open-source nature and modular design, users can customize the Linux kernel to suit specific needs by enabling or disabling features, which is particularly beneficial for embedded systems or unique hardware environments.
  • Security
    The many contributors working on the Linux kernel can quickly identify and fix security vulnerabilities, and the kernel's design allows for implementation of strong security measures, making it a preferred choice for many security-conscious applications.
  • Stability and Reliability
    Linux is known for its stability and reliability, capable of running for years without crashing or needing a reboot, which is crucial for server environments and critical applications.
  • Hardware Support
    The Linux kernel supports a wide range of hardware architectures and devices due to the contributions of developers across the globe, which allows it to be used on everything from supercomputers to smartphones.

Possible disadvantages of Linux kernel

  • Complexity
    The Linux kernel's extensive feature set and flexibility can lead to complexity, making it difficult for beginners to understand and configure without a steep learning curve.
  • Limited Commercial Support
    Unlike some proprietary operating systems, Linux may have limited dedicated support options, which can be a challenge for companies that require guaranteed, on-demand technical support.
  • Software Compatibility
    Some commercial software applications and games are not natively supported on Linux, which can limit its usability for certain users unless they use compatibility layers like Wine or alternative software.
  • Device Driver Availability
    While the Linux kernel supports a variety of hardware, some cutting-edge or proprietary devices may lack official drivers, requiring users to rely on community-driven development or workarounds.
  • Fragmentation
    The flexibility of Linux allows for numerous variations (distributions), which can result in fragmentation. This diversity can confuse new users and complicate software compatibility across different systems.

containerd features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Containerd focuses on providing core container primitives, making it lightweight and efficient compared to more comprehensive container management platforms.
  • CNCF Graduated
    Being a CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation) graduated project means containerd has undergone rigorous scrutiny and is recognized as stable and secure.
  • Highly Modular
    Containerd provides a well-defined API with gRPC, making it highly modular and allowing for fine-grained control over container lifecycle management.
  • Kubernetes Integration
    Containerd acts as the default container runtime for Kubernetes via the CRI (Container Runtime Interface) plugin, ensuring excellent synergy with Kubernetes-managed environments.
  • Vendor-Neutral
    Containerd is an open-source project that is vendor-neutral, promoting community collaboration and reducing vendor lock-in.
  • Wide Industry Support
    Spearheaded initially by Docker, containerd has received wide support from tech giants like Google and Alibaba, ensuring a broad and robust adoption across the industry.

Possible disadvantages of containerd

  • Limited to Container Management
    Unlike platforms like Docker, containerd focuses solely on container lifecycle management and does not offer advanced networking, storage solutions, or orchestration engines.
  • Complex Integration
    While offering a high level of control, containerd’s modularity can translate into higher complexity when it comes to integrating it with other tools, such as monitoring and logging systems.
  • Fewer Features Out-of-the-Box
    Containerd provides fewer features out-of-the-box compared to more comprehensive container management systems, which may require additional components to achieve a similar feature set.
  • Steeper Learning Curve
    Due to its focus on being a low-level runtime, containerd can have a steeper learning curve for users not familiar with container runtime internals.

Linux kernel videos

+ Add

Linux Kernel 5.0 Initial Review

More videos:

  • Review - Let's Talk To Linux Kernel Developer Greg Kroah-Hartman | Open Source Summit, 2019
  • Review - Linux Kernel 4.19 Overview

containerd videos

+ Add

Deep Dive: containerd - Derek McGowan, Docker & Phil Estes, IBM Cloud

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Linux kernel and containerd)

Linux kernel

containerd

Linux
100 100%
Linux
0% 0
Cloud Computing
0 0%
Cloud Computing
100% 100
Linux Distribution
100 100%
Linux Distribution
0% 0
Developer Tools
18 18%
Developer Tools
82% 82

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Linux kernel and containerd

Linux kernel Reviews

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containerd Reviews

5 Container Alternatives to Docker
containerd is described as “an industry-standard container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability.” An incubating project of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, containerd is available as a daemon for Linux or Windows.
Source: containerjournal.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Linux kernel should be more popular than containerd. It has been mentiond 228 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.

Linux kernel mentions (228)

  • If Linux is so great why isn't everyone using it?
    Linux is a family of free and open source operating systems based on the Linux kernel. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • I Solve Problems (talk at EuroBSDCon 2024)
    You mean apart from 6.6 being the current latest longterm kernel? https://kernel.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • What Is PID 0?
    I don't like that, it's not good practice. One should give links to original sources, i.e. https://kernel.org as far as Linux is concerned. Even if git guarantees that the content is the same (if someone bothers to verify that the SHA-1 is the same and we exclude the possibility of a SHA-1 collision in git, which is yet to be demonstrated). kernel.org existed before github. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Thinking about building a operating system
    - Modern Operating Systems, 5th Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum (of MINIX fame) and Herbert Bos (https://www.pearson.com/en-us/subject-catalog/p/modern-operating-systems/P200000003295/9780137618880) is the latest edition of a solid graduate-level textbook on operating system concepts. It may also be beneficial studying the source code of existing operating systems. I recommend starting with smaller, simpler... - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • problem with connman
    Those other flashy distros like mint and ubuntus are designed with rich people with very fresh machines in mind, they don't care if you have an AMDx4 or core2duo or even 32bit older machine. Even Mint and ubuntu people will tell you, if you have an old machine with little ram, use antiX. It still works very well with machines not even released yet, buy one in May 2024 and I "guaranty you" antiX will run fine. ... Source: over 1 year ago
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containerd mentions (55)

  • Kubernetes Without Docker: Why Container Runtimes Are Changing the Game in 2025
    Containerd Official Site The runtime powering most cloud K8s clusters and your future mental breakdowns. - Source: dev.to / 13 days ago
  • Creating containers with containerd on ARM
    Also, Containers are the tool when you want to speed your process of updating your software and get modularity and portability when deploying your solutions. In this post you will learn how containerd together with nerdctl can help you with this use case scenario. Check their official websites for more info https://containerd.io and https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Beyond Docker - A DevOps Engineer's Guide to Container Alternatives
    Having operated large Kubernetes clusters, one learns to love the focused approach of containerd. A light-weight, high-performance container runtime, it powers a lot of container platforms, including indirectly, Kubernetes. From my experience, containerd really does one thing and does it well: it runs containers efficiently. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Top 8 Docker Alternatives to Consider in 2025
    Containerd operates as a fundamental container runtime that manages the complete container lifecycle, functioning at a lower level than Docker while providing core container operations. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • You run containers, not dockers - Discussing Docker variants, components and versioning
    So once we had a single binary, then "Docker, Inc" started separating the functionalities into multiple binaries on Linux. That was the beginning the of dependencies and components we have today, except that these dependencies are now not limited to Docker. Containerd can also be the container runtime of Kubernetes. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Linux kernel and containerd, you can also consider the following products

Ubuntu - Ubuntu is a Debian Linux-based open source operating system for desktop computers.

CRI-O - Lightweight Container Runtime for Kubernetes

Arch Linux - You've reached the website for Arch Linux, a lightweight and flexible Linux® distribution that tries to Keep It Simple. Currently we have official packages optimized for the x86-64 architecture.

Podman - Simple debugging tool for pods and images

FreeBSD - FreeBSD is an advanced operating system for x86 compatible (including Pentium® and Athlon™)...

rkt - App Container runtime

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