Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles
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Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles
#2This has good potential, what are the limitations on the VM?
Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles
#3This has good potential, what are the limitations on the VM?
Some limitations in terms of the vms and providers:
* If the size of the initrd is too large, it cannot properly unpack into vm's RAM --- size of RAM must be increased accordingly. We could also change [boot params](https://www.lightofdawn.org/blog/?viewDetailed=00128), or use shared disks, etc.
* For hyperkit, apple's vmnet requires sudo to create a bridge interface on host. We've played with a version that use's vpnkit and port forwarding (like linuxkit/Docker for Mac), but this adds lots of complexity in image, and opted for the simpler approach.
* We would like a better template mechanism for reusing base images and extending. Right now, we support using base image reuse, with extensions through docker buildargs---ideally, we would want something like %include support in Dockerfiles.
* Finally, we're investigating how to make images work well on multiple providers. For example, ubuntu does not play nice with hyperkit out-of-the-box, but works fine for vbox and kvm.
Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles
#4Recently on HN (I think) and related:
- https://micromind.me/en/posts/from-docker-container-to-boota...
Really like seeing these new usecases for containers -- would have never thought to mix the two technologies in this way.
Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles
#5This has good potential, what are the limitations on the VM?
Some limitations in terms of the vms and providers: * If the size of the initrd is too large, it cannot properly unpack into vm's RAM --- size of RAM must be increased accordingly. We could also change [boot params]( https://www.lightofdawn.org/blog/?viewDetailed=00128 ), or use shared disks, etc. * For hyperkit, apple's vmnet requires sudo to create a bridge interface on host. We've played with a version that use's…
What about swarm mode and orchestration? Also I presume like LinuxKit, there will be configs for different clouds e.g. Digital Ocean and AWS run ISOs slightly differently.
Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some limitations in terms of the vms and providers: * If the size of the initrd is too large, it cannot properly unpack into vm's RAM --- size of RAM must be increased accordingly. We could also change [boot params]( https://www.lightofdawn.org/blog/?viewDetailed=00128 ), or use shared disks, etc. * For hyperkit, apple's vmnet requires sudo to create a bridge interface on host. We've played with a version that use's…
What about swarm mode and orchestration? Also I presume like LinuxKit, there will be configs for different clouds e.g. Digital Ocean and AWS run ISOs slightly differently.
Yes, one use-case is making it easier to setup/teardown clusters for local testing. Two practical scenarios for us: 1) autograding ansible/configuration scripts, 2) CI for instructions/tutorials that involve clusters/devops: https://builds.sr.ht/~ottomatica/job/69644#task-report
Cloud-ready images is an important direction, and on the horizon.
Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles
#7I’d love to see an orchestrator that made switching between bare metal, vm and containers a simple configuration option.
This is a step in that direction. Cool stuff!
Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles
#8If this works, this is fantastic. Getting away from the stupidly complex abstractions around Docker is a welcome change, especially if we can still package and deploy immutable images. We already manage containers like tiny VMs, so ditching the abstractions should simplify life a bit.
Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles
#9Why JavaScript instead of something more performant?
Re: Show HN: Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles
#10this is great! This might have saved me some time I was planning on spending to learn packer. I have a docker based project and I wanted to add VM generation to the CI pipeline.
Really excited to play with this tonight