<p>Some articles, including <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-docker-and-why-is-it-so-darn-popular/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this one</a> give some arguments why docker is popular:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>In a nutshell, here's what Docker can do for you: It can get more
  applications running on the same hardware than other technologies; it
  makes it easy for developers to quickly create ready-to-run
  containered applications; and it makes managing and deploying
  applications much easier. Put it all together and I can see why Docker
  is riding the hype cycle as fast as I can recall ever seeing an
  enterprise technology go.</p>
  
  <p>Moreover, for once the reality is living up to the hype. Frankly, I
  can't think of a single company of any size that's not at least
  looking into moving their server applications to containers in general
  and Docker in specific.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>My personal view is that a tool could be successful if it will solve a (major) problem. For example, a half year ago I gave a presentation of docker in the company, the developers had some doubts until they experienced a issue that it was not possible to run all microservices on their local machine.</p>

<p>The same is applicable to the question: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Are NixOS and GuixSD the incoming Linux distros of DevOps?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It depends whether these distributions will solve a (huge) problem. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-14T15:48:48.170Z
It does solve a lot of problems (whether these are huge is maybe more subjective) such as making it possible to "spin up" a Linux distro in the way you can do with Docker, in a reproducible, declarative fashion, and would save time spent configuring multiple instances by using a single configuration file. (As an aside, I was surprised to see that NixOS or GuixSD haven't yet been mentioned on this site, even though it is still relatively new).
warsong
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-14T15:59:15.333Z
With docker one could also use the same docker image and use different ENV variables. The built docker image is immutable and thus reproducible. What current problems does NixOS solve that docker is unable to solve?
030
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-14T16:18:40.313Z
It does what Docker does, only at the operating system level. Docker operates within an isolated container runtime, NixOS/GuixSD operate directly to the metal.
warsong
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-14T16:22:41.910Z
What will happen if a system fails to start after an update on NixOS? How to revert to the previous version that worked? With docker one just starts the previous version and everything works again.
030
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-14T16:35:30.900Z
@030 see `Rollbacks` at https://nixos.org/nixos/about.html.
Dan Cornilescu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-14T16:48:53.553Z
Does it support autoscaling as well?
030
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-14T21:50:59.907Z
What would it scale to?
warsong
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-15T06:22:09.940Z
Is it possible to scale from for example 1 to 5 instances if the load increases?
030
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-15T06:26:54.720Z
What are you even talking about? I think you are more than a bit confused
warsong
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-15T06:39:31.747Z
My question is whether NixOS is a suitable candidate like docker to autoscale http://docs.aws.amazon.com/autoscaling/latest/userguide/WhatIsAutoScaling.html
030
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T12:28:17.160Z
The purpose behind NixOS is not exactly the same as Docker's, autoscaling doesn't apply on this level, at least not how you're thinking in terms of containers/services being created automatically to keep up with load/demand.
warsong
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-14T15:23:58.050Z
2017-08-14T15:49:57.973Z
2017-08-14T15:49:57.973Z
030
<p>The main advantage of these distros is the declarative approach which allows for setup to be done in the same way as you would configure a Vagrantfile or Dockerfile.</p>

<p>In the way that Docker replaced/is replacing VMs for reproducibility, is there a chance these distros will eventually replace typical distros that are used in a DevOps setting due to their atomic and functional nature?</p>

<linux><configuration-management><nixos>
Are NixOS and GuixSD the incoming Linux distros of DevOps?
warsong
# Are NixOS and GuixSD the incoming Linux distros of DevOps?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-08-14)

The main advantage of these distros is the declarative approach which allows for setup to be done in the same way as you would configure a Vagrantfile or Dockerfile.

In the way that Docker replaced/is replacing VMs for reproducibility, is there a chance these distros will eventually replace typical distros that are used in a DevOps setting due to their atomic and functional nature?

**Tags:** linux, configuration-management, nixos


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-08-14. Score: 2

Some articles, including [this one](http://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-docker-and-why-is-it-so-darn-popular/) give some arguments why docker is popular:

> In a nutshell, here's what Docker can do for you: It can get more
> applications running on the same hardware than other technologies; it
> makes it easy for developers to quickly create ready-to-run
> containered applications; and it makes managing and deploying
> applications much easier. Put it all together and I can see why Docker
> is riding the hype cycle as fast as I can recall ever seeing an
> enterprise technology go.
>
> Moreover, for once the reality is living up to the hype. Frankly, I
> can't think of a single company of any size that's not at least
> looking into moving their server applications to containers in general
> and Docker in specific.

My personal view is that a tool could be successful if it will solve a (major) problem. For example, a half year ago I gave a presentation of docker in the company, the developers had some doubts until they experienced a issue that it was not possible to run all microservices on their local machine.

The same is applicable to the question:

> Are NixOS and GuixSD the incoming Linux distros of DevOps?

It depends whether these distributions will solve a (huge) problem.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: It does solve a lot of problems (whether these are huge is maybe more subjective) such as making it possible to "spin up" a Linux distro in the way you can do with Docker, in a reproducible, declarative fashion, and would save time spent configuring multiple instances by using a single configuration file. (As an aside, I was surprised to see that NixOS or GuixSD haven't yet been mentioned on this site, even though it is still relatively new).  
> **username_1**: With docker one could also use the same docker image and use different ENV variables. The built docker image is immutable and thus reproducible. What current problems does NixOS solve that docker is unable to solve?  
> **username_0**: It does what Docker does, only at the operating system level. Docker operates within an isolated container runtime, NixOS/GuixSD operate directly to the metal.  
> **username_1**: What will happen if a system fails to start after an update on NixOS? How to revert to the previous version that worked? With docker one just starts the previous version and everything works again.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 see `Rollbacks` at https://nixos.org/nixos/about.html.  
> **username_1**: Does it support autoscaling as well?  
> **username_0**: What would it scale to?  
> **username_1**: Is it possible to scale from for example 1 to 5 instances if the load increases?  
> **username_0**: What are you even talking about? I think you are more than a bit confused  
> **username_1**: My question is whether NixOS is a suitable candidate like docker to autoscale http://docs.aws.amazon.com/autoscaling/latest/userguide/WhatIsAutoScaling.html  
> **username_0**: The purpose behind NixOS is not exactly the same as Docker's, autoscaling doesn't apply on this level, at least not how you're thinking in terms of containers/services being created automatically to keep up with load/demand.  

---

