Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support

Yusuf Haruna; Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan; Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima; Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad; Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani

doi:doi:10.11648/j.net.20221002.11

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Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support

Yusuf Haruna, Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan, Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima, Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad, Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani

Published in Advances in Networks (Volume 10, Issue 2)

Received: 8 April 2022 Accepted: 14 May 2022 Published: 17 October 2022

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Abstract

The superior performance of lightweight virtualization with containers over traditional virtualization enables the implementation of scalable systems and multi-tier/distributed networks. Containers supports the creation of dedicated network overlays, spanning over several virtual machines (VMs) or physical hosts to interconnect application fragments. Hence, there is a need to understand the comparative performance of various interconnection solutions in terms of needed resources (CPU, RAM, and networking). In this work, we use a variety of applications to benchmark the performance of different container interconnection solutions. Accordingly, we experimented with four applications namely Memcached, Nginx, PostgreSQL, and iperf3. Each of these applications was installed inside a container in one VM and their corresponding benchmarks (test client) in a separate container in another VM in order to benchmark the performance of the applications. The VMs were interconnected using four modes namely: host, NAT, Docker default overlay (VXLAN) and weave. The experimental results revealed superior performance in host mode, followed by NAT and the overlay networks (VXLAN and weave) which have the least performance due to packet encapsulation. In each case, sar was used to monitor the CPU utilization. We were able to reduce the overhead of the two overlay networks using RPS (Receive Packet Steering) technique because they brought solutions to some of the problems faced when connecting containers using host and NAT modes in the cloud.

Published in	Advances in Networks (Volume 10, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.net.20221002.11
Page(s)	15-30
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Virtualization, Container, Virtual Machine, Network

References

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[10]	M. G. Xavier, M. V. Neves, F. D. Rossi, T. C. Ferreto, T. Lange, and C. A. De Rose, “Performance evaluation of container-based virtualization for high performance computing environments,” in 2013 21st Euromicro International Conference on Parallel, Distributed, and Network-Based Processing. IEEE, 2013, pp. 233–240.
[11]	K. Lee, Y. Kim, and C. Yoo, “The impact of container virtualization on network performance of iot devices,” Mobile Information Systems, vol. 2018, 2018.
[12]	“Weaveworks.” (2019) [Online]. Available: https://www.weave.works/docs/net/latest/ overview/
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[15]	D. Zhuo, K. Zhang, Y. Zhu, H. H. Liu, M. Rockett, A. Krishnamurthy, and T. Anderson, “Slim:{OS} kernel support for a low-overhead container overlay network,” in 16th {USENIX} Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation ({NSDI} 19), 2019, pp. 331–344.
[16]	Wikipedia contributors, (2021) “Virtual extensible lan.” [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual Extensible LAN.
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[19]	“Nginx.” (2019) [Online]. Available: https://nginx.org/en/
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[21]	“Postgresql.” (2020) [Online]. Available: https://www.postgresql.org/
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[23]	H.-J. Schonig and Z. Boszormenyi, PostgreSQL Replication. Packt Publishing, 2015.
[24]	“sar(1) - linux man page.” (2019) [Online]. Available: https://linux.die.net/man/1/sar

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APA Style

Yusuf Haruna, Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan, Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima, Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad, Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani. (2022). Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support. Advances in Networks, 10(2), 15-30. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.net.20221002.11

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ACS Style

Yusuf Haruna; Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan; Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima; Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad; Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani. Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support. Adv. Netw. 2022, 10(2), 15-30. doi: 10.11648/j.net.20221002.11

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AMA Style

Yusuf Haruna, Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan, Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima, Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad, Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani. Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support. Adv Netw. 2022;10(2):15-30. doi: 10.11648/j.net.20221002.11

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@article{10.11648/j.net.20221002.11,
  author = {Yusuf Haruna and Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan and Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima and Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad and Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani},
  title = {Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support},
  journal = {Advances in Networks},
  volume = {10},
  number = {2},
  pages = {15-30},
  doi = {10.11648/j.net.20221002.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.net.20221002.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.net.20221002.11},
  abstract = {The superior performance of lightweight virtualization with containers over traditional virtualization enables the implementation of scalable systems and multi-tier/distributed networks. Containers supports the creation of dedicated network overlays, spanning over several virtual machines (VMs) or physical hosts to interconnect application fragments. Hence, there is a need to understand the comparative performance of various interconnection solutions in terms of needed resources (CPU, RAM, and networking). In this work, we use a variety of applications to benchmark the performance of different container interconnection solutions. Accordingly, we experimented with four applications namely Memcached, Nginx, PostgreSQL, and iperf3. Each of these applications was installed inside a container in one VM and their corresponding benchmarks (test client) in a separate container in another VM in order to benchmark the performance of the applications. The VMs were interconnected using four modes namely: host, NAT, Docker default overlay (VXLAN) and weave. The experimental results revealed superior performance in host mode, followed by NAT and the overlay networks (VXLAN and weave) which have the least performance due to packet encapsulation. In each case, sar was used to monitor the CPU utilization. We were able to reduce the overhead of the two overlay networks using RPS (Receive Packet Steering) technique because they brought solutions to some of the problems faced when connecting containers using host and NAT modes in the cloud.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support
AU  - Yusuf Haruna
AU  - Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan
AU  - Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima
AU  - Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad
AU  - Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani
Y1  - 2022/10/17
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.net.20221002.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.net.20221002.11
T2  - Advances in Networks
JF  - Advances in Networks
JO  - Advances in Networks
SP  - 15
EP  - 30
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-9782
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.net.20221002.11
AB  - The superior performance of lightweight virtualization with containers over traditional virtualization enables the implementation of scalable systems and multi-tier/distributed networks. Containers supports the creation of dedicated network overlays, spanning over several virtual machines (VMs) or physical hosts to interconnect application fragments. Hence, there is a need to understand the comparative performance of various interconnection solutions in terms of needed resources (CPU, RAM, and networking). In this work, we use a variety of applications to benchmark the performance of different container interconnection solutions. Accordingly, we experimented with four applications namely Memcached, Nginx, PostgreSQL, and iperf3. Each of these applications was installed inside a container in one VM and their corresponding benchmarks (test client) in a separate container in another VM in order to benchmark the performance of the applications. The VMs were interconnected using four modes namely: host, NAT, Docker default overlay (VXLAN) and weave. The experimental results revealed superior performance in host mode, followed by NAT and the overlay networks (VXLAN and weave) which have the least performance due to packet encapsulation. In each case, sar was used to monitor the CPU utilization. We were able to reduce the overhead of the two overlay networks using RPS (Receive Packet Steering) technique because they brought solutions to some of the problems faced when connecting containers using host and NAT modes in the cloud.
VL  - 10
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Yusuf Haruna

Department of Computer Science, Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Nigeria
Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan

Department of Computer Science, Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Nigeria
Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima

Department of Computer Science, Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Nigeria
Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad

Department of Computer Science, Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Nigeria
Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani

Department of Computer Science, Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Nigeria

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APA Style

Yusuf Haruna, Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan, Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima, Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad, Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani. (2022). Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support. Advances in Networks, 10(2), 15-30. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.net.20221002.11

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ACS Style

Yusuf Haruna; Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan; Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima; Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad; Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani. Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support. Adv. Netw. 2022, 10(2), 15-30. doi: 10.11648/j.net.20221002.11

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AMA Style

Yusuf Haruna, Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan, Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima, Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad, Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani. Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support. Adv Netw. 2022;10(2):15-30. doi: 10.11648/j.net.20221002.11

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@article{10.11648/j.net.20221002.11,
  author = {Yusuf Haruna and Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan and Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima and Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad and Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani},
  title = {Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support},
  journal = {Advances in Networks},
  volume = {10},
  number = {2},
  pages = {15-30},
  doi = {10.11648/j.net.20221002.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.net.20221002.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.net.20221002.11},
  abstract = {The superior performance of lightweight virtualization with containers over traditional virtualization enables the implementation of scalable systems and multi-tier/distributed networks. Containers supports the creation of dedicated network overlays, spanning over several virtual machines (VMs) or physical hosts to interconnect application fragments. Hence, there is a need to understand the comparative performance of various interconnection solutions in terms of needed resources (CPU, RAM, and networking). In this work, we use a variety of applications to benchmark the performance of different container interconnection solutions. Accordingly, we experimented with four applications namely Memcached, Nginx, PostgreSQL, and iperf3. Each of these applications was installed inside a container in one VM and their corresponding benchmarks (test client) in a separate container in another VM in order to benchmark the performance of the applications. The VMs were interconnected using four modes namely: host, NAT, Docker default overlay (VXLAN) and weave. The experimental results revealed superior performance in host mode, followed by NAT and the overlay networks (VXLAN and weave) which have the least performance due to packet encapsulation. In each case, sar was used to monitor the CPU utilization. We were able to reduce the overhead of the two overlay networks using RPS (Receive Packet Steering) technique because they brought solutions to some of the problems faced when connecting containers using host and NAT modes in the cloud.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Analysis of Docker Networking and Optimizing the Overhead of Docker Overlay Networks Using OS Kernel Support
AU  - Yusuf Haruna
AU  - Abdulmalik Ahmad Lawan
AU  - Kamaluddeen Ibrahim Yarima
AU  - Muhammad Mahmoud Ahmad
AU  - Mustapha Abdulkadir Sani
Y1  - 2022/10/17
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.net.20221002.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.net.20221002.11
T2  - Advances in Networks
JF  - Advances in Networks
JO  - Advances in Networks
SP  - 15
EP  - 30
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-9782
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.net.20221002.11
AB  - The superior performance of lightweight virtualization with containers over traditional virtualization enables the implementation of scalable systems and multi-tier/distributed networks. Containers supports the creation of dedicated network overlays, spanning over several virtual machines (VMs) or physical hosts to interconnect application fragments. Hence, there is a need to understand the comparative performance of various interconnection solutions in terms of needed resources (CPU, RAM, and networking). In this work, we use a variety of applications to benchmark the performance of different container interconnection solutions. Accordingly, we experimented with four applications namely Memcached, Nginx, PostgreSQL, and iperf3. Each of these applications was installed inside a container in one VM and their corresponding benchmarks (test client) in a separate container in another VM in order to benchmark the performance of the applications. The VMs were interconnected using four modes namely: host, NAT, Docker default overlay (VXLAN) and weave. The experimental results revealed superior performance in host mode, followed by NAT and the overlay networks (VXLAN and weave) which have the least performance due to packet encapsulation. In each case, sar was used to monitor the CPU utilization. We were able to reduce the overhead of the two overlay networks using RPS (Receive Packet Steering) technique because they brought solutions to some of the problems faced when connecting containers using host and NAT modes in the cloud.
VL  - 10
IS  - 2
ER  -

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