Can someone please explain what a container is? Googling 'container' doesn't seem to give me useful or relevant results.
As an example: with containers you can run a database that needs a CentOS environment on the same physical machine that is running an application server that expects a Debian looking environment. All without the performance hit you would take from VMs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system-level_virtual...
"Operating system-level virtualization is a server virtualization method where the kernel of an operating system allows for multiple isolated user-space instances, instead of just one. Such instances (often called containers, VEs, VPSs or jails) may look and feel like a real server, from the point of view of its owner. On Unix systems, this technology can be thought of as an advanced implementation of the standard chroot mechanism. In addition to isolation mechanisms, the kernel often provides resource management features to limit the impact of one container's activities on the other containers."
Maybe it needs an extra distinguishing flourish for distinction? Kontainer? Softainer? DContainer?