{"id":14265,"date":"2015-07-01T15:22:54","date_gmt":"2015-07-01T15:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/linux-containers\/"},"modified":"2015-07-01T15:22:54","modified_gmt":"2015-07-01T15:22:54","slug":"linux-containers","status":"publish","type":"definition","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/31254\/linux-containers-lxc","title":{"rendered":"Linux Containers"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Does Linux Containers Mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Linux Containers (LXC) is a type of virtualization setup that works with virtual containers created at the operating system level. This innovative type of virtualization allows for sharing resources like CPU and memory, without actually creating virtual machines. Linux Containers supports isolated namespaces and shows users various views of the operating system environment.\n<\/p>\n

Techopedia Explains Linux Containers<\/span><\/h2>\n

Container-based virtualization has emerged as an alternative to traditional hypervisor virtualization, where a central resource manages various partitioned and designated virtual machines with their own CPU and memory allocations. By contrast, in a container environment, instead of setting up virtual machines, the system sets up resources for each container and delivers them directly from the operating system, which, in the case of LXC, is the kernel. Other container setups include Docker and CoreOS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Does Linux Containers Mean? Linux Containers (LXC) is a type of virtualization setup that works with virtual containers created at the operating system level. This innovative type of virtualization allows for sharing resources like CPU and memory, without actually creating virtual machines. Linux Containers supports isolated namespaces and shows users various views of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7813,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"definitioncat":[224,256],"class_list":["post-14265","definition","type-definition","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","definitioncat-containers-virtualization","definitioncat-emerging-technology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is Linux Containers (LXC)? - Definition from Techopedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Linux Containers and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Linux Containers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Linux Containers and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/31254\/linux-containers-lxc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Techopedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@techopedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/31254\/linux-containers-lxc#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/31254\/linux-containers-lxc\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret Rouse\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5\"},\"headline\":\"Linux Containers\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-07-01T15:22:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/31254\/linux-containers-lxc\"},\"wordCount\":137,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/31254\/linux-containers-lxc#respond\"]}],\"articleSection\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/31254\/linux-containers-lxc\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/31254\/linux-containers-lxc\",\"name\":\"What is Linux Containers (LXC)? 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