Containers vs. Virtual Machines Virtualization is where one host computer can be turned into one or more pseudo-computers, known as virtual machines (VMs). Inside VMs, you can install an operating system and multiple applications. A Docker container is similar to a virtual machine. It runs a pre-packaged application inside a container. Virtualization decouples the application from the underlying hardware. Containers, operating at a higher level, decoupling the application from the underlying operating system. Hardware Virtualization Virtualization abstracts hardware, allowing multiple workloads to share a common set of resources. Virtualization allows multiple workloads to co-locate on the virtualized hardware, while maintaining full isolation from each other. The hardware abstraction piece of virtualization is made possible by a portfolio of technologies such as Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) and AMD