Which statement is least true about the difference between containers and virtual machines?

The statement that containers are just smaller virtual machines is least true because it oversimplifies the fundamental differences between the two technologies. While both containers and virtual machines (VMs) are used for isolating applications and resources, they operate on different principles.

Containers are designed to virtualize the operating system rather than the hardware. They share the host OS kernel, which makes them lightweight and allows multiple containers to run concurrently with minimal overhead. This architectural choice enables containers to start up faster and use resources more efficiently than virtual machines, each of which requires a separate OS instance.

In contrast, virtual machines encapsulate an entire OS, including a separate kernel and virtualized hardware resources. This results in more overhead in terms of both performance and resource utilization. Therefore, stating that containers are merely smaller versions of VMs does not accurately convey the distinct characteristics and operational efficiencies that containers offer.

Understanding these differences is crucial for choosing the right technology for specific application deployment scenarios.