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Containers vs VMs — what runs on the host?
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Containers vs VMs
For Containers vs VMs — what runs on the host, interviewers listen for a crisp definition, how the pieces interact in a real system, and one trade-off or failure mode you have seen or would guard against.
| Container | VM | |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation | Shared kernel, namespaces | Full guest OS |
| Startup | Seconds | Minutes |
| Density | Higher per host | Lower |
VMs for strong isolation multi-tenant; containers for app packaging.