Just as container ships can carry more cargo because they use a standard form factor for storing the cargo, software containers can run more apps on each server by using a standard way to share the operating system without all the wasted overhead of virtual machines.
How?
- Containers bundle together all the pieces you need to run the app into one package.
- Containers make it easy to deploy apps to local servers and the cloud.
- Docker makes it easy to create containers.
Also check out Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols’ What is Docker and why is it so darn popular?.