Summary
In this chapter, we learned why Windows containers are an essential topic for organizations going through their modernization journey and why it may be a challenge due to a lack of expertise; then, we delved into how Windows Server exposes container primitives through the HCS and how container runtimes interact with the Windows kernel for resource controls. We also delved into the Windows container base images available, image sizing, and licensing.
In a nutshell, the use case for a Windows container is very straightforward; if it can’t be solved with Linux due to incompatibility or application dependencies/requirements, then go with Windows, period. To add more to that, in the same way that we shouldn’t use Windows containers to run a Go application, we shouldn’t even try to use a Linux container to run a .NET Framework application.
In Chapter 2, Amazon Web Services – Breadth and Depth, we will understand why AWS is the best choice for running Windows containers. You will learn how AWS Nitro improves container performance and the information you need to choose what AWS container orchestrator make sense for your use case.
