Core Principles

Now that we understand how the btrfs file system can facilitate efficient copying of data, we need to understand how this ties into the Runtime interface, and how the end-user can use this functionality. In one sentence:

Virtualize operates by using a pre-existing virtual machine, which contains Docker containers, which, in turn, contain a database image and the desired data.

Concretely, this means that the end-user only interacts with this virtual machine through the Runtime interface after the initial set-up is completed. From the Runtime interface, all of the day-to-day tasks carried out on the virtual machine can be done. This may contain, for example:

• Resetting an existing environment’s data to a previous snapshot

• Copying an existing environment, and creating a new container with the same image

• Reading container logging, or logging returned from the virtual machine

Mostly, when working with the currently offered DATPROF tools, executing runs and designing templates is completely unaffected.