Virtualization and containers concept in Intro to Computing - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding Virtual Machines vs Containers

Which of the following best explains the main difference between a virtual machine (VM) and a container?

A VMs and containers are the same; both run applications directly on the host without isolation.

B A container runs a full operating system on virtualized hardware, while a VM shares the host OS kernel and isolates applications.

C A VM runs a full operating system on virtualized hardware, while a container shares the host OS kernel and isolates applications.

D Both VMs and containers run full operating systems but containers use more resources than VMs.

💡 Hint

Think about what is virtualized in each technology: hardware or operating system.

Virtual machines virtualize hardware and run separate OS instances, while containers share the host OS kernel but isolate applications in separate user spaces.

❓ trace

intermediate

Trace Container Startup Process

Consider this simplified flowchart of starting a container:

1. Host OS starts container runtime
2. Runtime creates container namespace
3. Container process starts using host kernel
4. Application runs inside container

Which step ensures the container's file system and network are isolated from the host?

A Step 1: Host OS starts container runtime

B Step 2: Runtime creates container namespace

C Step 3: Container process starts using host kernel

D Step 4: Application runs inside container

💡 Hint

Namespaces isolate resources like file systems and networks.

Creating container namespaces isolates the container's file system, network, and process IDs from the host, providing separation.

❓ Comparison

advanced

Resource Usage Comparison

Which statement correctly compares resource usage between virtual machines and containers?

A Containers use less memory and start faster because they share the host OS kernel, unlike VMs which run full OS instances.

B Virtual machines use less CPU than containers because they run on virtual hardware.

C Containers require more disk space than virtual machines because they include the entire OS.

D Virtual machines start faster than containers because they do not need to isolate processes.

💡 Hint

Think about what each technology needs to load to start running.

Containers share the host OS kernel, so they use less memory and start quickly. VMs boot a full OS, which takes more resources and time.

❓ identification

advanced

Identify the Container Technology

Which technology uses cgroups and namespaces to isolate applications without running a full guest OS?

A Hypervisor-based Virtual Machine

B Emulator

C Bare-metal Server

D Containerization

💡 Hint

It isolates applications but shares the host OS kernel.

Containers use Linux cgroups and namespaces to isolate resources and processes without a full guest OS.

🚀 Application

expert

Choosing Virtualization for a Multi-OS Environment

You need to run multiple different operating systems on one physical server for testing. Which approach is best and why?

A Use virtual machines because they can run different OSes independently on virtual hardware.

B Use containers because they share the host OS and can run any OS inside them.

C Use bare-metal servers because they allow running multiple OSes on the same hardware simultaneously.

D Use containers because they provide full hardware virtualization for each OS.

💡 Hint

Consider if the OSes need different kernels or full OS environments.

Virtual machines provide full hardware virtualization, allowing different OSes to run independently. Containers share the host OS kernel and cannot run different OS kernels.