Docker runs containers on non-Linux systems, such as Windows and macOS, by leveraging a lightweight virtual machine (VM) that runs a Linux kernel. This approach is necessary because Docker containers rely on Linux kernel features for their operation.
Detailed Explanation
Linux Kernel Dependency:
Docker containers are built on Linux kernel features such as namespaces and cgroups, which provide the necessary isolation and resource management for containers. These features are not natively available on non-Linux operating systems like Windows and macOS[1].
Docker Desktop:
To address this, Docker provides Docker Desktop for Windows and macOS. Docker Desktop includes a lightweight VM that runs a Linux kernel. This VM is managed by Docker and is transparent to the user. On Windows, Docker Desktop can use either the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) or Hyper-V to run this VM[2][4][9].
WSL2 and Hyper-V on Windows:
WSL2: Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 is a compatibility layer for running Linux binary executables natively on Windows. Docker Desktop can use WSL2 to run a Linux kernel in a lightweight VM, allowing Docker containers to run as if they were on a native Linux system[2][10].
Hyper-V: For users who do not use WSL2, Docker Desktop can use Hyper-V, a native hypervisor for Windows, to create and manage the Linux VM required to run Docker containers[4][10].
macOS:
On macOS, Docker Desktop uses a similar approach by running a lightweight Linux VM using HyperKit, a lightweight hypervisor built on top of the Hypervisor.framework in macOS. This VM provides the necessary Linux kernel environment for Docker containers[1][9][15].
Container Management:
Once the Linux VM is running, Docker Desktop manages containers, images, networks, and volumes through a graphical user interface (GUI) and command-line interfa...
