Comparative Performance Analysis of Docker Container and Virtual Machine: A Comprehensive Evaluation

Virtualization is essential for modern cloud and DevOps, enabling efficient resource use and flexible infrastructure. However, selecting between Virtual Machines (VMs) and containers poses challenges due to differing performance trade-offs. This study compares Docker containers and VMs on CPU processing, disk I/O, database operations, and web server throughput. Results show Docker outperforms VMs with 4.6% better single-core, 6.9% better multi-core performance, 17.9% higher read and 15.7% higher write throughput, and 18.8% lower latency. Database latency improves by 6.1%, with a 7.3% boost in transaction speed, while web server throughput increases by 11.5%. Containers excel in scalability and responsiveness, but VMs remain preferable for security-critical and high-load tasks. This analysis offers insights into optimizing infrastructure with a balanced use of containers and VMs.