Docker on Windows - HyperV is a must?

I would like to use Docker on Windows Server 2016 Host with linux containers

As per my understanding, the different between Docker and VMs is that for Docker we do not need to use HYPERVISOR.

But, i found that when i am installing Docker desktop for windows, it automatically under the hood using Microsoft Hyper-V which is HYPERVISOR.

Can someone explain what i am missing here?

I know that docker has native support for Windows containers but what about linux containers?

1 Answer

Docker on Windows requires having an available hypervisor for the virtualization of the containers.

Docker Desktop for Windows can use Microsoft Hyper-V on Windows 10 / Server 2016.

On other Windows versions, the Docker version called Docker Toolbox uses Oracle’s VirtualBox as hypervisor and installs it during its installation. As VirtualBox conflicts with Hyper-V, this version cannot be installed when Hyper-V is installed.

In addition, VirtualBox does not meet what Docker calls "minimal system requirements", so Docker Toolbox has degraded capabilities compared to Docker Desktop for Windows.