All visualizationsSystem Design · 22 of 34
Docker vs Virtual Machines — who shares the kernel?
Two towers on one machine: every VM drags a full guest OS; every container packs only its libraries. Watch both get built.
💡
THE BIG IDEA
One machine, many apps, and one question that decides everything: does each app bring its own operating system, or do they share the host’s kernel? The VM tower answers "bring your own" — gigabytes and minutes, but hardware-grade walls. The container tower answers "share it" — megabytes and seconds, but thinner walls. Watch both towers rise, then see the twist: real clouds stack one inside the other.
Press ▶ Play to watch it run step by step, or use the arrow buttons to go at your own pace.
1
One physical machine, several apps that must not interfere with each other. Two schools of thought answer this — and the difference between them is one question: who shares the KERNEL?
Interviewers phrase it as "Docker vs VM". The real content is isolation vs efficiency, and where each draws the line.
🔩One physical machine
🐧Host OS (kernel)
handling requestjust addedunder load
1/10
UP NEXT IN SYSTEM DESIGN
Instagram’s feed — the list that is built before you ask for it
Watch one post reach 300 followers, then watch the same design break on a film star and get fixed.
DNS resolution — how a name finds a machineInstagram’s feed — the list that is built before you ask for it