Packaging applications.
WHAT A CONTAINER IS
An application packaged with everything it needs to run, isolated from what surrounds it.
WHY THEY EXIST
The same package runs identically wherever it is deployed.
That removes a large class of problems.
WHAT PROBLEM THEY SOLVE
Software behaving differently between environments.
WHAT THEY ARE NOT
Virtual machines. They are lighter and share the underlying system.
WHO BENEFITS
Development teams deploying regularly Applications with complex dependencies Anyone moving workloads between environments
WHAT THEY REQUIRE
Skill to build and operate An orchestration approach, once there are many
WHAT ORCHESTRATION MEANS
Managing many containers: scheduling, scaling, recovery.
Powerful, and substantial complexity.
WHAT MOST SMALL BUSINESSES NEED
Not this.
A straightforward application on managed hosting is simpler and adequate.
WHEN TO CONSIDER IT
When you deploy frequently, run several services, or genuinely need portability.
WHAT TO AVOID
Adopting it because it is current practice elsewhere.