What technology is commonly used to ensure application and data portability across diverse environments?

The correct answer is Docker containers, which play a vital role in ensuring application and data portability across diverse environments. Docker containers encapsulate an application along with all its dependencies into a single package that can run consistently on any computing environment that supports Docker, regardless of the underlying infrastructure. This means that whether an application is being deployed on a developer's local machine, a testing server, or a production cloud environment, it behaves consistently, reducing deployment issues and compatibility challenges.

Using Docker containers allows developers to focus on building and deploying applications without worrying about differences in the underlying operating systems or configurations across various environments. This technology promotes efficiency and scalability, as containers can be easily moved, replicated, and managed across different infrastructures, making it ideal for development, testing, and deployment in cloud-native and microservices-based architectures.

While the other listed technologies can play roles in cloud and data strategies, they do not specifically offer the same level of application and data portability that Docker containers provide. Hybrid cloud infrastructure refers to a combination of both public and private clouds but doesn't inherently ensure that applications are portable. Microservices architecture focuses on designing applications as a collection of loosely coupled services, which aids in development but also doesn't guarantee portability on its own. Virtual LANs pertain to network