Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Red Hat OpenShift VS Docker

Compare Red Hat OpenShift VS Docker and see what are their differences

Red Hat OpenShift logo Red Hat OpenShift

Application and Data, Application Hosting, and Platform as a Service

Docker logo Docker

Docker is an open platform that enables developers and system administrators to create distributed applications.
  • Red Hat OpenShift Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-01
  • Docker Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-25

Red Hat OpenShift features and specs

  • Integration with Red Hat Ecosystem
    OpenShift offers tight integration with Red Hat's extensive ecosystem, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Red Hat Ansible Automation, and Red Hat Middleware, providing a seamless experience for enterprises already using Red Hat products.
  • Comprehensive Security Features
    OpenShift provides robust security features including fine-grained access controls, built-in OAuth authentication, and automatic security updates, making it easier to maintain a secure containerized environment.
  • Enterprise Support
    Red Hat offers professional, enterprise-grade support for OpenShift, providing an added layer of reliability and assistance for resolving issues and ensuring smooth operations.
  • Consistent Hybrid Cloud Experience
    OpenShift provides a consistent platform across on-premises, public cloud, and hybrid cloud environments, enabling organizations to avoid vendor lock-in and deploy applications flexibly.
  • Developer-Friendly Tools
    Features like integrated CI/CD pipelines, automated build and deploy processes, and a rich set of developer tools make it easier for developers to create and deploy applications quickly.

Possible disadvantages of Red Hat OpenShift

  • Complexity
    OpenShift can be complex to set up and manage, especially for teams that are not already familiar with Kubernetes and container orchestration concepts.
  • Cost
    The enterprise version of OpenShift can be expensive, which might be a barrier for small businesses or startups.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a steep learning curve associated with OpenShift, requiring significant time and effort to master, particularly for organizations new to container management and orchestration.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running OpenShift can be resource-intensive, demanding substantial CPU, memory, and storage resources, which could be a challenge for smaller or resource-constrained environments.
  • Dependency on Red Hat Technologies
    While integration with Red Hat's ecosystem is a pro, it could also be a con for organizations that do not use Red Hat products or prefer to avoid dependency on a single vendor for their software stack.

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.

Red Hat OpenShift videos

Red Hat OpenShift overview

More videos:

  • Demo - Red Hat OpenShift 4.3 Demo with Shadow-Soft

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Red Hat OpenShift and Docker)
DevOps Tools
44 44%
56% 56
Developer Tools
6 6%
94% 94
Continuous Integration And Delivery
Containers As A Service
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Red Hat OpenShift and Docker. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

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

Red Hat OpenShift Reviews

We have no reviews of Red Hat OpenShift yet.
Be the first one to post

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

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Docker seems to be a lot more popular than Red Hat OpenShift. While we know about 73 links to Docker, we've tracked only 1 mention of Red Hat OpenShift. 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.

Red Hat OpenShift mentions (1)

  • The biggest threats to Red Hat’s Linux market share will come from the companies that make it easiest for developers to do their jobs.
    There is a free Openshift sandbox you can deploy here: https://developers.redhat.com/products/openshift/getting-started. Source: almost 2 years ago

Docker mentions (73)

View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Red Hat OpenShift and Docker, you can also consider the following products

Terraform - Tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure safely and efficiently.

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

Puppet Enterprise - Get started with Puppet Enterprise, or upgrade or expand.

Rancher - Open Source Platform for Running a Private Container Service

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

Packer - Packer is an open-source software for creating identical machine images from a single source configuration.