The big difference is that with Portal you can run 8 x 128 MB (or 4 x 256 MB) VMs within a single 1 GB memory plan. Running each of your apps in a separate VM on a standard VPS would cost a lot more.
Yes, we initially used containers. We think VMs are a more secure form of isolation, which is arguable. We also want users to have the ability to run apps based on a variety of operating systems and kernels.
Portal apps themselves can use containers of course. For example, a game server app might run each game process in a separate container within its own VM.
wmf|10 years ago
portalplatform|10 years ago
Portal apps themselves can use containers of course. For example, a game server app might run each game process in a separate container within its own VM.