text: **2.3 Containers**
  
  Interconnected applications and services are the primary focus in 21st century. Services 
  availability is a key user expectation. Availability, scalability, resilience, and security are some 
  of the primary requirements for all service providers. All of these features demand platform 
  availability where operational overhead is a major challenge. 
  
  Operating system virtualization (see Figure 2-8) is a significant step to achieve optimal 
  resource utilization with reduced operation management effort. Container services are a step 
  further to ensure higher availability of services with minimal operation management 
  overhead. Containers are facilitating rapid and agile software development, testing, and 
  deployment. 