HP-UX Containers (SRP) A.03.01 Administrator's Guide

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14.4 Choosing a container type
HP-UX Containers provide multiple container types to meet consolidation needs of the environment.
However, it is important to choose the right container type for the workload before embarking on your
consolidation effort.
A workload can be defined as a related set of applications and supporting services – far more than
just an application. A consolidation project should start at the workload level not the application to
ensure all environmental variables are considered during the planning phase.
The following section attempts to provide an initial guide to help the user determine which type of
container is best for the workload in question.
14.4.1When to use a system container
System containers provide a look and feel of a standalone system and many of the capabilities of a
virtual machine guest without the associated management and performance overhead. System
containers allow you to migrate more of the workload’s operating environment, minimizing process or
administrative changes required. When a user logs into a system container they will have private
versions of many of the system services they have in a standalone operating system. System
containers provide an easier up front migration path for workload consolidation by providing a
similar environment to that where the workload came from. You should use system containers when:
• The workload requires a unique hostname
• Users/Group names need to be private to the container
• Application installation does not allow for alternate installation path
• Private system services are required
• Migrating from other container technologies
• Application deployment/modifications are common
A system container provides virtualization features not found in a workload container allowing for
more services to be run in on a per-container basis.
14.4.2 When to use a workload container
Workload containers provide a filtered view of all resources on the system, including processes, file
systems, and network interfaces. Workload container configuration is highly flexible and allows
administrators to set access controls for a workload container that meets the workloads needs.
Because of this flexibility workload containers are ideal for workloads that:
• Require IPC access to other applications running in a separate workload containers
• Interact with services provided in the global view
• Need to share common IP address access with the global view or other workload containers
• Minimum disk space available
• Miss-matched software versions across HA nodes
• Quick setup time
• No requirement for:
o Unique hostname
o Private file system
o Private IPC name space