Containers or VM's?

Containers are the equivalent to a sever core install.  It has only the basics needed to run the OS.  VM Ware takes up a lot of space since it has a full suit of tools and capabilities.  Containers sound all good and fun however they have some slight issues due to how light weight they are.  One issue is their security.  Since containers are stripped down they have to use part of the OS to store files for the OS that they are hosting which can be a bad thing if they are not secured properly.  These files contain important files that the OS needs to run.  However these files can easily be protected by changing them to read only however that is not their default setting.  Another factor to think about when deciding on containers vs VM's is what type of applications are running.  If you want to run one instance of several different programs then containers are the way to go.  If you want to run multiple instances of the same program then you should use a VM.  Containers are good for supporting many different types of things and VM's are good for running several of the same programs.