What is LXC Linux Containers?
LXC (Linux Containers) is an operating-system-level virtualization technology that allows multiple isolated Linux systems to run on a single Linux host. LXC relies on cgroups and namespaces functionality in the Linux kernel to provide strong isolation of resources like CPU, memory, block I/O and network between containers.
Some key characteristics of LXC:
- Very low overhead - Containers share the same Linux kernel, requiring no hypervisor. This allows higher server efficiency and density.
- Application isolation - Each container runs as an isolated system and has its own software, libraries, file system structure etc.
- Resource control - CPU, memory, I/O and network resources can be restricted on a per-container basis.
- Security - Kernel namespaces provide strong isolation between containers and the host system.
- Portability - Images can be easily migrated between different Linux hosts.
With lightweight virtualization, high scalability and carrier-grade security, LXC offers an attractive approach for deploying scalable services on shared infrastructure.