In the Linux operating system world, container technology has existed for quite some time, reaching back over a decade to the initial ideas around separate namespaces for file systems and processes. At some point in the more recent past, LXC was born and became the common way for users on Linux to access this powerful isolation technology hidden within the Linux kernel.
Even with LXC masking some of the complexity of assembling the various technology underpinnings of what we now commonly call a “container”, containers still seemed like a bit of wizardry, and other than niche uses for those versed in this art of containers, it was not broadly used by the masses.
Docker changed all this in 2014 with the arrival of new, developer-friendly packaging of this same Linux kernel technology that powered LXC—in fact, early versions of Docker used LXC behind the scenes – and containers truly came to the masses as developers were drawn to the simplicity and re-use of Docker’s container images and simple runtime commands.
Read more at InfoQ
