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Re-worked README for sysbox-ee.
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README.md

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<p align="center"><img alt="sysbox" src="./docs/figures/sysbox.png" width="800x" /></p>
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TODO: modify banner image, add Nestybox logo, call it "sysbox enterprise"
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## Contents
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- [Introduction](#introduction)
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- [System Containers](#system-containers)
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- [Free for Individual Developers, Paid for Enterprise](#free-for-individual-developers-paid-for-enterprise)
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- [Key Features](#key-features)
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- [Videos](#videos)
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- [Download](#download)
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- [Supported Distros](#supported-distros)
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- [Host Requirements](#host-requirements)
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- [Installation](#installation)
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- [Launching a System Container](#launching-a-system-container)
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- [Sysbox Features](#sysbox-features)
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- [Installing Sysbox](#installing-sysbox)
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- [Using Sysbox](#using-sysbox)
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- [Documentation](#documentation)
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- [Integration with Container Managers](#integration-with-container-managers)
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- [Sysbox is not Rootless Docker](#sysbox-is-not-rootless-docker)
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- [Sysbox enhances K8s.io KinD](#sysbox-enhances-k8sio-kind)
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- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
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- [Filing Issues](#filing-issues)
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- [Support](#support)
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- [Roadmap](#roadmap)
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- [We want your feedback](#we-want-your-feedback)
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- [Uninstallation](#uninstallation)
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- [About Nestybox](#about-nestybox)
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## Introduction
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**Sysbox** is a next-generation container runtime (runc), developed by
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[Nestybox](#about-nestybox), that enables containers to run not just
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micro-services, but also system software such as Docker, Kubernetes, Systemd,
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etc., inside the container, **seamlessly and securely**.
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**Sysbox Enterprise Edition** (Sysbox-EE) is the enterprise version of the
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open-source [Sysbox container runtime](https://github.com/nestybox/sysbox),
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developed by [Nestybox](https://www.nestybox.com).
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Without Sysbox, running such software in a container requires complex images,
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custom entrypoints, special volume mounts, and risky privileged containers.
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Sysbox removes all of this complexity while ensuring strong container security.
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And it's very fast and efficient too.
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Sysbox is a container runtime that enables Docker containers to act as virtual
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servers with full root access and capable of running software such as Systemd,
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Docker, and Kubernetes in them, **seamlessly and securely**.
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Sysbox sits below container managers such as Docker and Containerd, allowing you to
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use these well known tools to deploy the containers. No need to learn new tools!
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Sysbox-EE uses Sysbox at its core, but adds proprietary enterprise-level
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features around lifecycle, security, efficiency, scalability, and robustness
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to the Sysbox core. In addition, Sysbox-EE comes with professional support from
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Nestybox.
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If you want to run Docker, Kubernetes, or Systemd-reliant apps inside Docker
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containers, and want to do so easily, with unmatched efficiency, and securely,
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**Sysbox is right for you**.
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## Free for Individual Developers, Paid for Enterprise
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The complete list of features is [here](#sysbox-features).
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Sysbox-EE is **free for individual developers**, but licensed for enterprise
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use.
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## System Containers
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That is, if you are an engineer that wants to try Sysbox (at home or at your
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work), it's free. However, if you want to use it as part of the IT
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infrastructure of your company, it's licensed (non-free), so please [contact us](#contact).
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We call the containers deployed by Sysbox **system containers**, to highlight the
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fact that they can run not just micro-services (as regular containers do), but
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also system software such as Docker, Kubernetes, Systemd, inner containers, etc.
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## Key Features
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More on system containers [here](docs/user-guide/concepts.md#system-container).
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Sysbox-EE includes all of [Sysbox's features](https://github.com/nestybox/sysbox/README.md#sysbox-features),
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and in addition includes the following:
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### Lifecycle
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* Package installer that checks host requirements and eases installation and
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configuration.
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### Security
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* Stronger cross-container isolation (Sysbox-EE assigns exclusive user-ID and
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group-ID ranges to each container).
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### Efficiency
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* Important optimizations for running containers in containers. This speeds
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up container deployment and significantly reduces storage overhead.
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* For example, with Sysbox (open-source version), a 10-node Kubernetes-in-Docker
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cluster starts in < 3 minutes and consumes up 10GB; with Sysbox-EE starts in
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< 2 minutes and consumes < 1GB of storage overhead.
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### Scalability
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* Higher efficiency means you can launch more containers per host.
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### Robustness
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* Sysbox-EE is tested and hardened for operation in production environments.
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## Videos
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## Download
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The latest release of Sysbox is [here](https://github.com/nestybox/sysbox-external/releases).
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TODO: fix this link with "sysbox-ee"
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The latest release of Sysbox-EE is [here](https://github.com/nestybox/sysbox-external/releases).
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Installation instructions are below.
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## Supported Distros
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Sysbox relies on functionality that is currently only present in Ubuntu Linux.
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Sysbox-EE relies on functionality that is currently only present in Ubuntu Linux.
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See the [distro compatibility doc](docs/distro-compat.md) for information on what versions
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of Ubuntu kernels are supported.
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## Host Requirements
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The Linux host on which Sysbox runs must meet the following requirements:
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The Linux host on which Sysbox-EE runs must meet the following requirements:
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1) It must have one of the supported Linux distros.
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2) Systemd must be the system's process-manager (the default in the supported distros).
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3) Docker must be [installed natively](docs/user-guide/install.md#docker-installation) (**not** with the Docker snap package).
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## Installation
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## Installing Sysbox
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It's very easy:
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1) Download the latest Sysbox package from the [release](https://github.com/nestybox/sysbox-external/releases) page.
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1) Download the latest Sysbox-EE package from the [release](https://github.com/nestybox/sysbox-external/releases) page.
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2) Verify that the checksum of the downloaded file fully matches the expected/published one.
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For example:
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If an error is returned, it simply indicates that no existing containers were
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found.
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4) Install the Sysbox package and follow the installer instructions:
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4) Install the Sysbox-EE package and follow the installer instructions:
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```console
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$ sudo apt-get install ./sysbox_0.2.0-0.ubuntu-focal_amd64.deb -y
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If you run into problems during install, see the [troubleshooting doc](docs/user-guide/troubleshoot.md).
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## Launching a System Container
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## Using Sysbox
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Once Sysbox is installed, you launch a system container with Docker as follows:
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Once Sysbox-EE is installed, you launch a system container with Docker as follows:
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```console
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$ docker run --runtime=sysbox-runc --rm -it --hostname my_cont debian:latest
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perfectly fine to run system containers launched with Docker + Sysbox alongside
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regular Docker containers; they won't conflict and can co-exist side-by-side.
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## Sysbox Features
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### Integrates with Docker
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- Launch system containers via the Docker CLI, using simple Docker images.
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### Docker-in-Docker
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- Run Docker inside a container easily and without unsecure privileged containers.
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- Full isolation between the Docker inside the container and the Docker on the host.
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### Kubernetes-in-Docker
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- **Easy:** Deploy K8s inside containers, using the K8s.io "kind" tool,
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Nestybox's "kindbox" tool, or even simple `docker run` commands. See [here](#sysbox-enhances-k8sio-kind) for more.
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- **Super efficient:** without Sysbox, a 10-node cluster eats up 10GB; with Sysbox
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its eats up 1GB or less. And it can be deployed in under 2 minutes!
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- **Secure:** avoid using unsecure privileged containers.
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- **Simple:** Use simple Docker images for the K8s nodes; easily embed any inner pod images into them.
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### Systemd-in-Docker
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- Run Systemd inside a Docker container easily, without complex container configurations.
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- Enables you to containerize apps that rely on Systemd.
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### Fast & Efficient
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- Sysbox uses host resources optimally to reduce container startup time and host
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storage overhead.
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### Portable
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- Deploy the containers on bare-metal or a VM.
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- Deploy them on premise, in the cloud, an edge device, or even IoT.
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### Easily preload inner container images into the system container image.
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- Using a simple Dockerfile or Docker commit.
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### Strong container isolation
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- No unsecure privileged containers!
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- Root user in the system container maps to a fully unprivileged user on the host.
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- Each system container gets exclusive range of host user IDs (for increased
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cross-container isolation).
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- Programs inside the system container (e.g., Docker) are limited
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to using the resources given to the system container itself.
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Please see our [Roadmap](#roadmap) for a list of features we are working on.
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## Documentation
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We have several documents to help you get started and get the best out of
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- [Issue Guidelines](docs/issue-guidelines.md)
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- Guidelines for filing issues in the Sysbox GitHub project site.
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- Guidelines for filing issues in the Sysbox-EE GitHub project site.
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In addition, the [Nestybox blog site](https://blog.nestybox.com) has articles
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on how to use system containers.
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## Integration with Container Managers
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Sysbox is designed to work with Docker.
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Though Sysbox is OCI-based (and thus compatible with OCI container managers),
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it's currently only tested with Docker / containerd.
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We don't yet support using other container managers (e.g., cri-o, etc). to deploy system containers with Sysbox.
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We don't yet support using other container managers to deploy system containers
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with Sysbox.
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We don't yet support using Kubernetes to deploy system containers with Sysbox.
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## Sysbox is not Rootless Docker
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Sysbox often gets confused with [Rootless Docker](https://docs.docker.com/engine/security/rootless/), but it's in
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fact very different.
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Rootless Docker aims to run the Docker daemon in the host without root
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privileges, to mitigate security risks. This however results in a number of
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[limitations](https://docs.docker.com/engine/security/rootless/#known-limitations)
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on what the Docker daemon can do.
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Sysbox aims to create containers that can run any system software in them easily
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and securely. The Docker on the host, as well as Sysbox, require root privileges
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to make this possible. Within the containers however, you can run Docker and Kubernetes,
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and they will only have privileges within the containers but none on the host.
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What Rootless Docker and Sysbox have in common is that both use the Linux
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user-namespace for isolation, but do so in different ways.
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## Sysbox enhances K8s.io KinD
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The [K8s.io KinD](https://kind.sigs.k8s.io) project produces a CLI tool called
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"kind" that enables deployment of Kubernetes clusters inside Docker containers.
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It's an excellent tool that makes deployment of K8s cluster in containers fast &
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easy.
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Sysbox complements this tool. When used with the Sysbox container runtime, the
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capabilities of the "kind" tool are enhanced:
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- The containerized K8s clusters consume **significantly less host
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storage** (70% reduction for a 10-node cluster!).
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- The cluster is much more **secure** (does not require risky privileged containers).
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- You can use Sysbox to **easily** embed inner pod images into the K8s nodes.
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Moreover, with Sysbox, you can easily create a containerized K8s cluster without
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using the K8s.io KinD tool, by using very simple Docker images and Docker run
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commands.
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We've created a tool called "kindbox" that is a simple wrapper around Docker
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commands to deploy a K8s cluster.
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This results in simple images and gives you full control of the
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cluster configuration. The Sysbox runtime does the heavy lifting of ensuring
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that K8s runs seamlessly inside the containers.
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The Sysbox [quickstart-guide](docs/quickstart/kind.md) and [user-guide](docs/user-guide/kind.md) have more on this.
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## Troubleshooting
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Refer to the [Troubleshooting document](docs/user-guide/troubleshoot.md)
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## Filing Issues
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We apologize for any problems in the product or documentation, and we appreciate
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users filing issues that help us improve Sysbox.
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users filing issues that help us improve Sysbox-EE.
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To file issues with Sysbox (e.g., bugs, feature requests, documentation changes, etc.),
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To file issues with Sysbox-EE (e.g., bugs, feature requests, documentation changes, etc.),
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please refer to the [issue guidelines](docs/issue-guidelines.md) document.
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## Support
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Reach us at our [slack channel][slack] or at `[email protected]` for any questions.
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See our [contact info](#contact) below for more options.
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## Roadmap
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The following is a list of features in the Sysbox roadmap.
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We list these here so that our users can get a better idea of where we
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are going and can give us feedback on which of these they like best
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(or least).
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Nestybox reserves the right to change these based on business
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priorities.
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Here is the list:
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- Support for more Linux distros.
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- Support for deploying system containers with Kubernetes.
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- Support for other container managers (e.g., cri-o).
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- Exposing host devices within the system container.
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- Running window managers (e.g., X) inside the system container (for GUI apps & desktops).
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## We want your feedback
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We love feedback, as it helps us improve Sysbox and set its future

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