What Is Distroless? (Everything to Know)

Distroless is a container image technology developed by Google.

These images are similar to traditional Docker images with one major difference:

Distroless images remove the operating system and contain only a user’s application and runtime dependencies.

By removing the operating system, this “stripped down” version significantly reduces attack vectors that hackers can exploit.

The Future of Distroless

Distroless is part of the Container Security trend.

Container technology is currently used by 30% of organizations.

But security concerns are a major reason why many companies remain reluctant to adopt this technology.

In fact, according to a Gartner survey, security concerns are the third most cited challenge when it comes to container management.

This has created a demand for security solutions specific to containers (especially as more businesses adopt container technology).

All this is why the market for container security solutions is forecasted to increase by 2x over the next six years.

Distroless is one solution that can help address some of these security concerns.

Distroless’ Popularity

While Distroless is still relatively new, it is gaining popularity among developers and is being used by companies like Netflix, Twitter, and PayPal.

As container technology becomes more popular, businesses will be looking for ways to secure their containers. Distroless is one solution that can help.

This technology removes the operating system from containers, which significantly reduces the attack surface for hackers.

What is a Distroless container?

FAQs – Distroless

What is Distroless?

Distroless is a type of container image that does not include an operating system. This allows for smaller image sizes, increased security, and faster startup times.

What are the benefits of using Distroless?

Some benefits of using Distroless images include reduced attack surface, faster startup times, and smaller image sizes.

Is there a downside to using Distroless?

The main downside to using Distroless is that you need to be more careful when building and deploying your applications.

Since there is no operating system, you need to ensure that all of your dependencies are statically linked and that you do not include any sensitive information in your images.

How do I get started with Distroless?

You can get started with Distroless by following the instructions on the Google Container Registry. You will need to build your own images or use a pre-built image from a third-party provider.

What are some other resources for learning about Distroless?

Some other resources for learning about Distroless include the Google Container Registry documentation and the blog post “Why We Chose Distroless Docker Images.”

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