EXPERTPlatform Engineer

Design a Container System

Build a containerization system with namespace isolation, cgroups resource limiting, and image layering

Estimated Time: 180 minutes

Solution Overview

Containers use Linux namespaces (pid, network, mount, ipc, uts, user) for process isolation. Cgroups limit CPU/memory/I/O resources. Union file systems layer images for efficiency. Container runtimes manage container lifecycle.

Architecture Pattern

Namespace-based process isolation with cgroup resource control

Key Concepts

Linux NamespacesCgroupsUnion File SystemsContainer RuntimesImage Layers

Used By Companies

DockerKubernetesPodman

Learn Implementation Details

Explore a complete guide for building this system from scratch with step-by-step tutorials:

Solution Overview

Containers use Linux namespaces (pid, network, mount, ipc, uts, user) for process isolation. Cgroups limit CPU/memory/I/O resources. Union file systems layer images for efficiency. Container runtimes manage container lifecycle.

Companies
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Podman
Key Concepts
  • Linux Namespaces
  • Cgroups
  • Union File Systems
  • Container Runtimes
  • Image Layers
Implementation Url

https://github.com/codecrafters-io/build-your-own-x#build-your-own-docker