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Docker on CentOS vs Windows Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Docker on CentOS
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
29th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.9
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Windows Server
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
195
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2774466 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Containerization has transformed how I run microservices for high-speed web and API workloads
The best features Docker on CentOS offers include its lightweight containers and fast startup. Whenever there was a scale-out required for the APIs, it was immediate, less than 10 seconds to boot up, which was very helpful for the microfinance services. The fast startup and lightweight containers of Docker on CentOS were very helpful because earlier when we used to have these APIs running on the EC2 instances, many instances were required for those services, even though the code was very small. We had to use many EC2 instances instead of using microservices or micro containers like Docker. When we moved to Docker, the scale-out was very fast and very helpful for the business. The boot time with Docker was very less compared to the EC2 instances because running on the EC2 instances required more boot time for the OS, and there was a long delay due to the script execution for a few seconds. Docker on CentOS has positively impacted my organization as it helped us grow the business, and the customer was very happy with the services, thus revolutionizing the business.
GS
Manager, Information & Cloud Systems at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
Long-standing experience improves reliability and security, making it a trusted platform
It's difficult to see improvements when using it daily. They improved compatibility with other platforms, such as Linux. One improvement I was thinking about some years ago was the ability to manage an on-premises server from Azure. Now, they have created Azure Arc, and we are using it as a very good way of managing on-premises servers. What can be improved is on the Azure side. With Active Directory on the server side and Entra ID on the Azure side in our hybrid environment, we find issues with data syncing to Entra ID. In Entra ID, Microsoft omitted some parameters. In Active Directory, you can put an expiring date to an account, but you cannot do that in Entra ID. We have other means of doing that, but it's common to have consultants working for six months, requiring account expiration or renewal processes. The Entra ID Connect syncing tool could be improved. Though they moved the service to Azure and use an agent instead of having a dedicated server, it remains cumbersome to set up due to the differences between Entra ID and Active Directory.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Those features helped me specifically during my project by making it more stable since it used fewer resources, resulting in a cost-efficient deployment, as the machines that I deployed it on used less of the resources than I thought they needed."
"Docker on CentOS has positively impacted my organization as it helped us grow the business, and the customer was very happy with the services, thus revolutionizing the business."
"Docker on CentOS has improved my organization positively, as it is easy to operate and maintain, making it more flexible—you can change any service in the system, delete or remove the service port, and create new ones."
"Docker on CentOS has positively impacted my organization by improving our time to market."
"We can see faster deployments and reduced environment-related issues since adopting Docker on CentOS."
"From the very beginning, I have been using a Windows-based OS so for me, it's very easy because it's GUI compared to command line or something Linux-based."
"It is very easy to use for the end-user."
"Windows Server can be used for any kind of application. It is an operating system that supports enterprise applications. There is no application that doesn't go with Windows."
"Since Windows Server has a graphical user interface (GUI), it is easy to use and implement the services that we are using."
"The most valuable features I have found to be the flexibility and wide range of support training available."
"Windows Server is most commonly used and practiced."
"The features that I have found most valuable are that it is quick with an easy installation and has good troubleshooting compared to Linux or any other operating system."
"The most valuable feature is Active Directory."
 

Cons

"Docker on CentOS needs native orchestration and lifecycle management, which are currently limited."
"To achieve a higher rating of 9 or 10, they might need more automation features."
"Docker on CentOS can be improved by being in sync with the OS updates."
"I have not seen a return on investment because the deprecation made it so there was none, and if anything, the ROI would have been negative since money and time were spent using something that did not progress."
"They can simplify the utilization and control of the system when you have a lot of setups. They provided something called Windows Center or Control Center in version 2019. It's a free tool that comes with the Windows Server. You can install it on your desktop and use it. This tool simplifies the control and monitoring of all servers. If I have 200 servers, I don't need to log in to each one to configure it. I can manage them from this tool. However, this tool needs quite a lot of improvements. It's difficult to use, and they need to improve it."
"The cost to use the solution is quite high."
"I cannot tell if the security enhancements such as Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection have contributed to protecting sensitive data."
"Windows Server could be more user-friendly."
"One area that needs improvement is the management console."
"We encounter issues related to the product's UI when multiple users access the same machine."
"The security policies need improvement."
"Rebooting is sometimes required to resolve issues, although we don't know the root cause."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We have an enterprise agreement."
"Windows Server is highly priced."
"Our current license is an enterprise license agreement which gives you a whole lot of possibility, especially when you go through an R&D process. For example, you can provision everything, spread the service use over six months, and then wrap it up. It gives you a lot of flexibility."
"There is a one-time purchase for the license of Windows Server."
"Its price is fine. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"I rate the product's pricing an eight out of ten."
"It is an expensive solution."
"It is priced very well and we pay an annual license fee."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business78
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise88
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Docker on CentOS?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that it is good enough.
What needs improvement with Docker on CentOS?
I don't know how Docker on CentOS can be improved, and I don't wish to add more about the needed improvements or anything I wish it could do better.
What is your primary use case for Docker on CentOS?
I have been using Docker on CentOS for two years. My main use case for Docker on CentOS is in my CI/CD pipeline. A specific example of how I use Docker on CentOS in my CI/CD process is that we use ...
What needs improvement with Windows Server?
The user interface of Windows Server needs improvement, especially when working with users, user accounts, and groups. There are multiple ways to accomplish tasks that do not align completely, so t...
What is your primary use case for Windows Server?
I integrated Windows Server in my infrastructure. We use Hyper-V technology extensively, as it is very important for us, and it functions quite well.
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Rakuten, Rackspace, Tyco
Find out what your peers are saying about Docker on CentOS vs. Windows Server and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.