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Dockerfiles are basically Docker's way of doing config management. Pros: docker caches every step of your Dockerfile, so iteration is fast. Cons: Dockerfiles are basically glorified shell scripts. At Clever we basically have a single Dockerfile that calls our existing Salt setup, and so far it's worked decently well.

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If your Dockerfile just calls Salt, is Docker then simply just a lightweight alternative to Vagrant + Virtualbox?

Does your Dockerfile do anything besides call Salt? If so, what's a good rule of thumb for what goes into the Dockerfile as opposed to Salt or any other config management tool?

Indeed--it's a lightweight alternative with a better deployment story IMO. A bunch of containers running on a set of hosts is easier to manage than a virtualization setup.

Here's a simplified version of the dockerfile template we use: https://gist.github.com/rgarcia/7917826. It basically outsources all of the work to a salt state.

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