Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles

#41

Post by ph0rque » Fri, Jun 14, 2019, 4:57 PM UTC

pas wrote: post #38

ph0rque wrote: post #34

Does this allow for a docker image to be run inside a browser tab?

Naturally. With this and a bit of hacking: https://bellard.org/jslinux/

Forgive my lack of technical depth, but is it actually running client-side, in the memory allocated to my newly-opened browser tab, or on bellard.org's server and syncing the input/output to my browser?

Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles

#42

Post by buildbuildbuild » Fri, Jun 14, 2019, 5:02 PM UTC

RyanShook wrote: post #31

dharmab wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Docker images contain a filesystem for an operating system, minus the OS kernel. This project uses Docker to build a tiny OS, extracts all the files out of the Docker image, adds a small OS kernel and re-packages that as a VM image.

So why was Docker needed to create a lightweight VM? I thought Docker was supposed to replace VMs.

Docker containers do not yet offer the same security or “bring your own kernel” flexibility of full VMs, such as access to a CPU’s VT-x features.

Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles

#43

Post by smattiso » Fri, Jun 14, 2019, 5:02 PM UTC

What would it take to get this running on iOS and Android?

Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles

#44

Post by buildbuildbuild » Fri, Jun 14, 2019, 5:03 PM UTC

I’m curious how this approach compares with Kata Containers. Very cool.

Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles

#45

Post by wazoox » Fri, Jun 14, 2019, 5:04 PM UTC

ph0rque wrote: post #41

pas wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Naturally. With this and a bit of hacking: https://bellard.org/jslinux/

Forgive my lack of technical depth, but is it actually running client-side, in the memory allocated to my newly-opened browser tab, or on bellard.org's server and syncing the input/output to my browser?

It's a real VM running in your browser, in Javascript.

Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles

#46

Post by cbluth » Fri, Jun 14, 2019, 5:05 PM UTC

ph0rque wrote: post #41

pas wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Naturally. With this and a bit of hacking: https://bellard.org/jslinux/

Forgive my lack of technical depth, but is it actually running client-side, in the memory allocated to my newly-opened browser tab, or on bellard.org's server and syncing the input/output to my browser?

Technical depth? Did you click the link?

> Run Linux or other Operating Systems in your browser!

It runs in your browser.

If you clicked the link you would also see demo links that run in your browser.

Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles

#47

Post by lioeters » Fri, Jun 14, 2019, 5:06 PM UTC

ph0rque wrote: post #41

pas wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Naturally. With this and a bit of hacking: https://bellard.org/jslinux/

Forgive my lack of technical depth, but is it actually running client-side, in the memory allocated to my newly-opened browser tab, or on bellard.org's server and syncing the input/output to my browser?

The virtual machine (emulated CPU, devices) and the OS are running fully client-side:

https://bellard.org/jslinux/tech.html

Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles

#48

Post by pknopf » Fri, Jun 14, 2019, 5:08 PM UTC

hardwaresofton wrote: post #4

Recently on HN (I think) and related: - https://micromind.me/en/posts/from-docker-container-to-boota... - https://godarch.com/ Really like seeing these new usecases for containers -- would have never thought to mix the two technologies in this way.

Author of Darch here, if anyone has any questions.

Here are my personal recipes: https://github.com/pauldotknopf/darch-recipes

Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles

#49

Post by dharmab » Fri, Jun 14, 2019, 5:12 PM UTC

RyanShook wrote: post #31

dharmab wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Docker images contain a filesystem for an operating system, minus the OS kernel. This project uses Docker to build a tiny OS, extracts all the files out of the Docker image, adds a small OS kernel and re-packages that as a VM image.

So why was Docker needed to create a lightweight VM? I thought Docker was supposed to replace VMs.

Docker is not intended to replace VMs. It provides lightweight isolation for processes within a host but shares a kernel between processes, and some handy tooling for building images that works well with version control. (Building a CentOS based image is under a dozen LOC in Docker, and a few hundred LOC in Packer+Kickstart.)

Kata Containers (https://katacontainers.io) is more along the lines of a "VM replacement", although it is doing so using VMs.

Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles

#50

Post by lwb » Fri, Jun 14, 2019, 5:20 PM UTC

Wait a minute. I thought Docker was useful because you didn't want to run a whole VM. But this project turns a Dockerfile into a VM specification? Have we come full circle?