LXC and LXD are two important acronyms to know if you’re into containers. Unfortunately, they’re also acronyms that are hard to keep straight from one another. They sound alike. They refer to similar platforms, which were created in large part by the same company. And they’re deeply intertwined with one another at a technical level.

If this sounds confusing, it’s because it is, at least at first. Fortunately, with a little bit of explaining, it’s easy enough to understand LXC, LXD and what they mean for admins and developers who want to use containers.

This post explains what LXC and LXD are, what’s different between them, and why developers or admins would want to use them—or, alternatively, why they might prefer to stick with Docker or CoreO.