In the Linux world containers have been around awhile but with new technology such as Docker and now Microsoft containers are going main stream. In fact, they may be the preferred choice over VM’s to deploy applications.

Microsoft – Windows Server 2016, the next generation of Windows Server which is in Technical Preview 3 now and general availability is next year.  Microsoft Plans to roll out Windows Server Containers, an official name for Windows Server Technology that exist in the Linux world today.

The way to think about Hyper-V Containers is that they offer both OS virtualization (container) and machine virtualization (VM) in a slightly lighter-weight configuration that will have less of a performance hit than a traditional VM. Hyper-V Containers are supposed to be interchangeable with Windows Server Containers. In other words, Windows Server Container applications that are pushed or pulled from the Docker Hub or local repository can be placed in either a regular Windows Server Container or a Hyper-V Container without any modification.

With container automated cloud deployment and continuous integration has never been easier. The flexibility containers offer in being able to quickly deploy multi-tier application to many environments at keep them all in sync while keeping sprawl in check. Containers are much faster to deploy and require much less overhead to operate.

Knowing containers will play a big role in many enterprise applications on both public and private clouds in the future especially as Microsoft is now fully on board we have to understand how containers operate so they can be fully tested to ensure the applications inside them operate and perform as designed.