How effective are OS-level virtualization tools for managing containers?
In 39th international conference on advanced information networking and applications (AINA-2025)
Abstract
As reliance on OS-level virtualization tools grows, understanding their efficiency in container management tasks is essential for optimizing performance. This study presents a comprehensive performance analysis of Docker, Podman, and LXD across key container management tasks: loading, starting, stopping, and removing containers and images. Our results indicate Docker’s consistent superiority in speed, achieving the fastest execution times across tasks but at the cost of higher CPU usage. Podman demonstrates balanced resource efficiency, though generally slower than Docker in image loading. LXD, while slower in starting containers, exhibits lower CPU usage in parallel operations, making it suitable for scenarios where resource efficiency is prioritized over speed. These findings underscore the impact of tool choice on containerized environment performance, highlighting the importance of selecting a tool based on specific deployment requirements.