Optimize Startup Performance for Shared Files Across Images

[sevetseh28]

Hi,

I’m trying to further improve container startup performance. Using Stargz Snapshotter with eStargz builds has already provided significant improvements, but I would like to optimize it further, considering that all my images share some common files.

Context:

• Each image represents a different environment, but they all run the exact same HTTP server.
• Before the container starts running, I check that the server is ready by curling it repeatedly until I receive a 200 OK response.

What I’ve Tried:

1. ctr-remote optimize with cat prefetching

• I used ctr-remote optimize to cat the HTTP server’s files, but the startup is faster but is still not as fast as expected.
• I assume this is because the files are still being lazily loaded.

2. Mounting the shared files from a Docker volume. I tried mounting the HTTP server’s files via a Docker volume to ensure they are readily available. However, it still seems like the files are being lazily loaded.

Question:

How can I further optimize startup performance, considering that all my images have some directories in common that I already know of?

• Is there a way to explicitly specify certain files to be fetched and kept ready on disk before the container starts?
• Would using prefetch directives or other techniques help in ensuring these files are fully loaded before execution?

Any insights or best practices would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!