QoS and performance metrics for container-based virtualization in cloud environments

Current cloud deployments heavily depend on hypervisor-based virtualizations. The overarching characteristics of Docker and containerization have given them a momentum in their widespread adoption recently as alternatives for their counterparts. However, little research has been done for comparing the QoS of both technologies, thus leaving the domain without widely accepted performance metrics. Aiming at informing the decision of the best fit in a specific cloud deployment, we have designed performance metrics that compare the performance of both designs in an in-house cluster deployed by using OpenStack. We focus on well-established representatives as baselines, including KVM from the hypervisor-based side, LXD from the container-based side in addition to Docker. Our results show that containerization is not a predominant fit-all solution that can always replace hypervisors for all cluster deployment and application scenarios. It can instead be thought of as a complementary solution to use for specific application scenarios that are constrained with conditions that are solved by containerization merits.