[...]
I'd be interested to see which distro can get their image down to the smallest (functional) size. Strip the OS down to just the absolute minimum required to boot it up, then leave it upto the docker image creators to decide what services to enable. It's a great way to minimize attack vectors, keep image size down and make the container nice and lightweight.
A few years ago for a special purposed built box, I gutted a Slackware install, modified the disk scheduler in the kernel and removed every driver and every module that my hardware didn't use. My memory is a foggy on the numbers, but I believe the install itself was under a handful of GB (with my development tool chain and libraries) and booted to run level 3 using somewhere between 64-128 MB RAM (I think it was actually in the 32 MB range, but that sounds too small for me to be confident about it) and part of that was actually dedicated to the readahead daemon.
Granted I'd never do that again, but it was a fun summer project to build a server rack when I was just out of college. These days I don't flinch to throw hardware at a problem if I think it's going to take up my valuable time and it will scale for whatever values of "N" I'm expecting to be reasonable.
Up with service! Down with monopolies! Up with net neutrality! Down with regulation! Up with Pluto! Down with Kim Dotcom!
Wait a minute - Today's stories leave me feeling edgy and confused.
Things tend to equal out; read Slashdot again on Monday to set things right.
In less than a century, computers will be making substantial progress on ... the overriding problem of war and peace. -- James Slagle