AWS Firecracker

Firecracker is an open-source virtualization technology specifically designed for creating and managing secure, multi-tenant container and function-based services that offer a serverless operational model. Firecracker runs workloads within lightweight virtual machines called microVMs, which combine the security and isolation features provided by hardware virtualization technology with the speed and flexibility of containers. The main component of Firecracker is the Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), which utilizes the Linux Kernel Virtual Machine (KVM) to create and operate microVMs. Firecracker adopts a minimalist design, eliminating unnecessary devices and guest-facing functionalities to minimize each microVM's memory footprint and attack surface. This enhances security, reduces startup time, and improves hardware utilization. Currently, Firecracker supports Intel, AMD (preview), and Arm (preview) CPUs. It has also been integrated into container runtimes such as Kata Containers and Weaveworks Ignite.

AWS Firecracker is an open-source virtualization technology specifically designed for creating and managing secure, multi-tenant container and function services, offering a serverless operational model. It executes workloads using lightweight micro virtual machines (microVMs), combining the security isolation of hardware virtualization with the speed and flexibility of containers.