Show HN: Jetpack, a FreeBSD Jail/ZFS-based container runtime (opens in new tab)

We have put (and are putting) a bunch of work into LX branded zones[1], and are at the point that they are working on an incredibly broad class of apps (64-bit and with on-the-metal performance). A concrete case in point: we recently ran the (amazing!) hundred language quine relay[2] in an LX branded 64-bit Ubuntu 14.04 zone on SmartOS.[3]

As for ZFS support and Docker, it will be via sdc-docker[4], our (emerging) end-point for the Docker Remote API. The progress there has been swift and everything is being done in the open; expect to see something in production from us in this first calendar quarter.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrfD3pC0VSs

[2] https://github.com/mame/quine-relay

[3] https://twitter.com/bcantrill/status/554076708173643776

[4] https://github.com/joyent/sdc-docker

There's also a WordPress plugin called "Jetpack". Both are so different areas, that I don't think it matters much. If it happens that either project is actually bothered by mine and reaches out to me, I'll be happy to talk.

I've checked for name conflicts in related areas, in package repositories (FreeBSD ports, Debian's and Ubuntu's archives), major open source hosting services, and haven't found anything related. Let me know if I missed anything relevant.

This project is not a plugin API though, it's in a completely different universe.

If you must complain about a project called "Jetpack", point your arrows towards Wordpress[1].

[1] http://jetpack.me/

FTR - aboutthebsds.wordpress.com is a well known troll site and nothing on there should be taken seriously..

I would be far more willing to entrust a production DB to a jail than a docker container because it's been audited over the course of >a decade. Furthermore, aboutthebsds is a well-known linux polemicist blog.

There's nothing wrong with jails. Its a robust technology that's been battle tested for a decade. They provide lots of awesome features that are useful for reasons other than security. In fact, the primary reason I use jails is not for security at all. And, AFAIK there are no exploits in the wild for jails. Like any containerization or virtualization technology there are theoretical holes. I'd stake a large sum of money that we see major vulnerabilities in LXC/Docker in the next 5 years, we just haven't because they haven't been around as long.

I'd love to see a source for just about anything that blog claims because it reads like FUD and contains some factual inaccuracies like chroot not being in FreeBSD by the time jails were added. It also doesn't seem to understand what the difference between the base and the kernel is in FreeBSD. Jails are implemented similarly to LXC/Docker by having a few syscalls in the kernal for namespace isolation and the bulk of the execution happening in userspace.

aboutthebsds.wordpress.com is a well known troll site, don't link to it like it contains anything meaningful.

VPS seems to require VIMAGE, which currently is a no-go for me (I experience kernel panic on boot if I compile it in), and the second link… well… the tinfoil hat of the author's blog has to be impressive. I've tried to read this and some other rants (they pop up quite high in search results), and couldn't find any actual content or any sources for the statements.

Capsicum and rctl are definitely on my list of things to look into (especially capsicum, it seems to be enabled in the GENERIC kernel configuration).

Yeah I should have actually read that poorly written jails fud. My b.