Summary: CoreOS, a new enterprise Linux company and a Docker partner, is now proposing its own alternative to Docker's container technology.By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols for Linux and Open Source | December 2, 2014 -- 21:52 GMT
Docker exploded out of nowhere in 2014 to make container technology white hot in cloud and datacenter technical circles. Even Microsoft joined its open-source virtualization revolution. Now, however, early Docker supporter CoreOS, a new large-scale Linux distributor vendor, is turning its back on it and developing its own container technology: Rocket.
While CoreOS is relatively unknown outside of Linux circles and Silicon Valley, it's seen by those in the know as an up and coming Linux distribution for datacenters and clouds. It's not an insignificant company crying foul, because Docker's take on virtualization has proven to be so popular. Indeed, CoreOS currently requires Docker to work well, and Brandon Philips, CoreOS' co-founder and CTO, has been a top Docker contributor and was serving on the Docker governance board.
So, why is CoreOS breaking with Docker? First, because "We believe strongly in the Unix philosophy: Tools should be independently useful, but have clean integration points." However, it also said that "Docker now is building tools for launching cloud servers, systems for clustering, and a wide range of functions: Building images, running images, uploading, downloading, and eventually even overlay networking, all compiled into one monolithic binary running primarily as root on your server."
In short, instead of Docker being a Unix-style, simple reusable component, CoreOS sees Docker becoming a platform. And CoreOS has no interest in that.
Instead, with Rocket, they propose going back to the original Docker proposal for what a container should be.
CoreOS spells out that Rocket will be:
Composable: All tools for downloading, installing, and running containers should be well integrated, but independent and composable.Secure: Isolation should be pluggable, and the crypto primitives for strong trust, image auditing, and application identity should exist from day one.Image distribution: Discovery of container images should be simple and facilitate a federated namespace and distributed retrieval. This opens the possibility of alternative protocols, such as BitTorrent, and deployments to private environments without the requirement of a registry.Open: The format and runtime should be well specified and developed by a community. We want independent implementations of tools to be able to run the same container consistently.
To do this, CoreOS is not
forking Docker. Alex Polvi, CoreOS' CEO, wrote, "From a security and composability perspective, the Docker process model — where everything runs through a central daemon — is fundamentally flawed. To 'fix' Docker would essentially mean a rewrite of the project, while inheriting all the baggage of the existing implementation."
CoreOS already has an alpha version of Rocket on GitHub, but it's still open to other ideas on how to build a Docker alternative. At the same time, however, CoreOS states that it won't be leaving Docker behind. "We will continue to make sure CoreOS is the best place to run Docker ... [and] expect Docker to continue to be fully integrated with CoreOS as it is today."
While I can understand CoreOS' concerns, I find it hard to imagine that its attempt to come up with a successful alternative to Docker will come to anything. Docker certainly isn't perfect, but in a matter of mere months, it gathered support from almost everyone in the enterprise operating system business. The only way I can see CoreOS' Rocket launching successfully will be if Docker falls flat on its face, and I just don't see that happening.
Related stories:
Topics: Virtualization, Cloud, Data Centers, Linux, Open Source![Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols]()
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, aka sjvn, has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was the cutting edge PC operating system. SJVN covers networking, Linux, open source, and operating systems.
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Docker exploded out of nowhere in 2014 to make container technology white hot in cloud and datacenter technical circles. Even Microsoft joined its open-source virtualization revolution. Now, however, early Docker supporter CoreOS, a new large-scale Linux distributor vendor, is turning its back on it and developing its own container technology: Rocket.
While CoreOS is relatively unknown outside of Linux circles and Silicon Valley, it's seen by those in the know as an up and coming Linux distribution for datacenters and clouds. It's not an insignificant company crying foul, because Docker's take on virtualization has proven to be so popular. Indeed, CoreOS currently requires Docker to work well, and Brandon Philips, CoreOS' co-founder and CTO, has been a top Docker contributor and was serving on the Docker governance board.
So, why is CoreOS breaking with Docker? First, because "We believe strongly in the Unix philosophy: Tools should be independently useful, but have clean integration points." However, it also said that "Docker now is building tools for launching cloud servers, systems for clustering, and a wide range of functions: Building images, running images, uploading, downloading, and eventually even overlay networking, all compiled into one monolithic binary running primarily as root on your server."
In short, instead of Docker being a Unix-style, simple reusable component, CoreOS sees Docker becoming a platform. And CoreOS has no interest in that.
Instead, with Rocket, they propose going back to the original Docker proposal for what a container should be.
CoreOS spells out that Rocket will be:
Composable: All tools for downloading, installing, and running containers should be well integrated, but independent and composable.Secure: Isolation should be pluggable, and the crypto primitives for strong trust, image auditing, and application identity should exist from day one.Image distribution: Discovery of container images should be simple and facilitate a federated namespace and distributed retrieval. This opens the possibility of alternative protocols, such as BitTorrent, and deployments to private environments without the requirement of a registry.Open: The format and runtime should be well specified and developed by a community. We want independent implementations of tools to be able to run the same container consistently.
To do this, CoreOS is not
forking Docker. Alex Polvi, CoreOS' CEO, wrote, "From a security and composability perspective, the Docker process model — where everything runs through a central daemon — is fundamentally flawed. To 'fix' Docker would essentially mean a rewrite of the project, while inheriting all the baggage of the existing implementation."
CoreOS already has an alpha version of Rocket on GitHub, but it's still open to other ideas on how to build a Docker alternative. At the same time, however, CoreOS states that it won't be leaving Docker behind. "We will continue to make sure CoreOS is the best place to run Docker ... [and] expect Docker to continue to be fully integrated with CoreOS as it is today."
While I can understand CoreOS' concerns, I find it hard to imagine that its attempt to come up with a successful alternative to Docker will come to anything. Docker certainly isn't perfect, but in a matter of mere months, it gathered support from almost everyone in the enterprise operating system business. The only way I can see CoreOS' Rocket launching successfully will be if Docker falls flat on its face, and I just don't see that happening.
Related stories:
Topics: Virtualization, Cloud, Data Centers, Linux, Open Source
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, aka sjvn, has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was the cutting edge PC operating system. SJVN covers networking, Linux, open source, and operating systems.
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it. (function(a,b,c,d,e,f){a[d]||(a[d]= function(){(a[d].q=a[d].q||[]).push([arguments,+new Date])}); e=b.createElement(c);f=b.getElementsByTagName(c)[0]; e.src='https://s.yimg.com/uq/syndication/yad.js';e.async=true; f.parentNode.insertBefore(e,f)}(window,document,'script','yad')); yad('06189959-3cf4-3976-8002-367a1439f9f9');
When cyber attackers find their way inside an organisation’s systems, a swift, well-prepared response can quickly minimise damage and restore systems before significant harm can be caused. Read more...
Customers are ubiquitously connected via their mobile devices, plugged into their social network and doing their own research to solve problems. In a world where buying decisions are made before you can even engage, salespeople must adapt. Read more...
No longer just for early adopters and innovators, desktop virtualization has become a mainstream IT strategy for companies of all sizes. This white paper is about the value of desktop virtualization for users, businesses and IT.
When cyber attackers find their way inside an organisation’s systems, a swift, well-prepared response can quickly minimise damage and restore systems before significant harm can be caused. Read more...
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View the original article here
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