What type of isolation do all virtualized containers use?

All virtualized containers utilize process isolation as their fundamental mechanism for separating and managing workloads. Process isolation ensures that each container runs in its own environment, thereby allowing it to operate independently of others. This isolation is achieved primarily through the use of namespaces and control groups (cgroups) in the Linux kernel, which enable containers to have their own unique views of system resources such as process IDs, network interfaces, and filesystems.

In practical terms, process isolation allows multiple containers to run simultaneously on the same host without interfering with each other’s processes. Each container believes it has its own separate instance of the operating system and processes, leading to improved security and stability. This feature is crucial for applications that require distinct environment settings and configurations while still sharing the underlying operating system and resources efficiently.

While other types of isolation such as network, resource, and file isolation may be involved, they typically stem from the underlying process isolation. This highlights the importance of process isolation as the fundamental basis of container technology.