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| 1 | +// Module included in the following assemblies: |
| 2 | +// * assembly/openshift_images |
| 3 | + |
| 4 | +[id='containers-about_{context}'] |
| 5 | += What is a container? |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +The basic units of {product-title} applications are called _containers_. |
| 8 | +link:https://access.redhat.com/articles/1353593[Linux container technologies] |
| 9 | +are lightweight mechanisms for isolating running processes so that they are |
| 10 | +limited to interacting with only their designated resources. |
| 11 | +The word "container" is defined as a specific running or paused instance of a container image. |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +Many application instances can be running in containers on a single host without |
| 14 | +visibility into each others' processes, files, network, and so on. Typically, |
| 15 | +each container provides a single service (often called a "micro-service"), such |
| 16 | +as a web server or a database, though containers can be used for arbitrary |
| 17 | +workloads. |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +The Linux kernel has been incorporating capabilities for container technologies |
| 20 | +for years. The Docker project developed a convenient |
| 21 | +management interface for Linux containers on a host. |
| 22 | +More recently, the link:https://github.com/opencontainers/[Open Container Initiative] |
| 23 | +has developed open standards for container formats and container runtimes. |
| 24 | +{product-title} and |
| 25 | +Kubernetes add the ability to orchestrate OCI- and Docker-formatted containers across |
| 26 | +multi-host installations. |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | +Though you do not directly interact with container runtimes when using |
| 29 | +{product-title}, understanding their capabilities and terminology is |
| 30 | +important for understanding their role in {product-title} and how your |
| 31 | +applications function inside of containers. |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +Tools such as link:https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux_atomic_host/7/html-single/managing_containers/#using_podman_to_work_with_containers[podman] can be used to replace `docker` command-line |
| 34 | +tools for running and managing containers directly. |
| 35 | +Using `podman`, you can experiment with containers separately from {product-title}. |
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