Everyone hates patch queues (but should they?)
How important is upstreaming that patch? Less important than it used to be. Is it worth the hassle?
Dave Scott's Blog
Dave Scott works on Docker, bringing the benefits of containers to developers everywhere.
Latest posts
Hello World with Gaussian Splats
An interactive 3D Gaussian splat viewer showing a scene reconstructed from a photo using Apple's ml-sharp library.
Thoughts on Unikernels
Thoughts on Unikernels, after our 2013 paper ("Unikernels: Library Operating Systems for the Cloud") won one of the Influential Paper Awards at the 2025 ASPLOS conference.
Docker containers, space usage and OCaml qcow2 disk defragmentation
A deep dive into where data is stored in Docker containers, and how we could reclaim space using an OCaml qcow2 disk defragmentor
Understanding CLOS Network Switches
A deep dive into the architecture of network switches, featuring an interactive 3D visualization of CLOS networks, inspired by Sandy Fraser's approach to designing large-scale switches.
Summary of performance improvements in Docker Desktop 4.22
Improved networking performance, faster builds, lower memory usage and a "Resource Saver" mode.
Summary of improvements in Docker Desktop 4.21
Support for Wasm, better support for Rust, startup is much faster and there's a new UI to show builds.
Dockershim not needed: Docker Desktop with Kubernetes 1.24+
Lots of people have been asking us about the removal of a component called "dockershim" from upstream Kubernetes and how this will affect Docker Desktop. It won't affect anyone at all.
How Docker Desktop Networking works under the hood
All about the Unikernel-inspired userspace networking stack that connects containers to the outside world in Docker Desktop.
Early Docker build demonstrates incoming Apple Silicon support
An appleinsider post by Malcolm Owen based on my screenshot of an early Docker Desktop build running on Apple Silicon.
Capturing logs in Docker Desktop
A deep-dive into how the logging system works, joint work with Magnus Skjegstad
New Filesharing Implementation in Docker Desktop Windows
We replaced a complex SMB/CIFS based implementation with a FUSE+VSOCK-based one, to increase reliability and performance.
Addressing Time Drift in Docker for Mac
Discusses time sync between the LinuxKit VM and the host.
Docker for Mac: reducing disk space
Tips for reducing disk space usage in Docker for Mac by understanding and using TRIM.
macOS Sierra 10.12 release notes
Apple's release notes for macOS Sierra 10.12, which includes a fix for CVE-2016-4739 affecting mDNSResponder, joint work with Magnus Skjegstad and Anil Madhavapeddy.
Why we use OPAM for XenServer development
Describing how XenServer development benefits from the new OCaml package manager, OPAM.
Architecture of the "xapi toolstack" for Xen
A high-level overview of the "xapi toolstack" which supports clusters, shared storage with live migration, HA etc.
Using Irmin to add fault-tolerance to the Xenstore database
Xenstore is a critical component needed by hosts running the Xen hypervisor. We can use Irmin to add extra fault-tolerance.
Ceph and libvirt technology preview
Experimental packages which added support for libvirt and Ceph to XenServer.
Building a "Xenstore stub domain" with MirageOS
Using MirageOS to harden a critical service called "xenstore", required by the Xen hypervisor.