Docker Performance Evaluation across Operating Systems

Abstract

Docker has gained significant popularity in recent years. With the introduction of Docker Desktop for Windows and macOS, there is a need to determine the impact of the operating system on the performance of the Docker platform. This paper aims to investigate the performance of Docker containers based on the operating system. One of the fundamental goals of this study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the Docker architecture. This technology utilizes Linux kernel virtualization mechanisms such as namespaces and cgroups. Upon analyzing the distribution of Docker Desktop for Windows and Docker Desktop for macOS, it was discovered that running the Docker environment on these requires a lightweight virtual machine that emulates the Linux system. This information suggests that the additional virtualization layer may hinder the performance of non-Linux operating systems hosting Docker containers. The paper presents a performance test of the Docker runtime on Linux, Microsoft Windows, and macOS. The test evaluated specific aspects of operating system performance on a MacBook computer with an ×86/64 processor architecture. The experiment carried out examined the performance in terms of CPU speed, I/O speed, and network throughput. This test measured the efficiency of software that utilizes various system resources.