What are Kata Containers?

Kata Containers is an open-source container runtime that utilizes lightweight virtual machines to provide hardware-level isolation for workloads, integrating seamlessly with existing container tools like Docker and Kubernetes. Unlike standard containers that share the host kernel, Kata Containers assigns each workload a dedicated guest kernel inside a VM, managed through VMM backends such as Cloud Hypervisor, Firecracker, or QEMU, offering enhanced security for untrusted or multi-tenant environments. This approach is especially beneficial for teams using Kubernetes, as it allows for simultaneous operation of Kata-backed pods and standard containers within the same cluster via RuntimeClass integration. Kata Containers is maintained by the OpenInfra Foundation and is not a virtual machine monitor itself but rather an orchestration framework that works with various VMMs, enabling flexible and secure deployment options across different infrastructure needs.