A Guide To Running Your First Docker Container

On Windows we run this VM under WSL2 and in doing so are able to give all of your WSL2 distro’s access to Docker, simply by toggling them on in the UI. Starting from the top, Docker Desktop comes as one single package for Mac or Windows. By this we have a single installer which, in one click, sets up everything you need to use Docker in seconds. Hosting Jenkins on Hostinger’s VPS enables organizations to tap into a robust infrastructure vital for automating their Docker CI/CD pipelines. This synergy enhances their software delivery and deployment capabilities, streamlining the development lifecycle.

Though the technology behind containers has been around for a while, Docker made it easier to work with containers. Currently, the core technology exists as a popular, open-source container runtime called Docker Engine. The goal of Docker desktop is to deliver an easy-to-use development environment for building, shipping, and running dockerized apps.

Take the tutorial on your desktop or in the cloud

While most of us have likely spun up a virtual machine (VM) for one reason or another, venturing into the world of containerization with software like Docker is a little trickier. If you’ve been hesitant to try it out, this guide to docker what is it getting a Docker container up and running is worth a look. By installing Jenkins, you can automate crucial tasks such as building Docker images, running tests within containers, and deploying containers to production environments.

By taking advantage of Docker’s
methodologies for shipping, testing, and deploying code, you can
significantly reduce the delay between writing code and running it in production. Docker Desktop automates all of this and provides you a simple UI to make changes as you need. Additionally, Docker Swarm, an orchestration tool within the Docker ecosystem, strengthens DevOps practices by automating the deployment and scaling of applications. This automation is vital for achieving faster and more reliable software releases, reducing the potential for human error, and accelerating the rolling process of new features or updates.

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Furthermore, Jenkins excels in creating custom pipelines, providing a comprehensive range of plugins and tools for Docker-based projects. Docker is a revolutionary open-source platform, reshaping how we build, deploy, and manage software. The Docker container technology enables developers to package applications into standardized units for seamless deployment. A container packages code and all its dependencies into a single unit, thus letting an application run quickly and reliably from one computing environment to another. This makes such applications easily portable between machines and solves the “it works on my machine” problem.

The isolation and security lets you run many
containers simultaneously on a given host. Containers are lightweight and contain
everything needed to run the application, so you don’t need to rely on what’s
installed on the host. You can share containers while you work,
and be sure that everyone you share with gets the same container that works in the
same way. While the guide goes through setting up a self-hosted document management program called Paperless, it’s pretty easy to expand this to other services you might want to host on your own as well.

Manage containers using Docker Desktop

The daemon also provides a client-side command-line interface (CLI) for users to interact with the daemon through the Docker application programming interface. Docker Compose files define the composition of components in a Docker container. Docker gives software developers a faster and more efficient way to build and test containerized portions of an overall software application. This lets developers in a team concurrently build multiple pieces of software. Each container contains all elements needed to build a software component and ensure it’s built, tested and deployed smoothly. Docker enables portability for when these packaged containers are moved to different servers or environments.

If you set proxies or daemon configuration in Windows containers mode, these
apply only on Windows containers. If you switch back to Linux containers,
proxies and daemon configurations return to what you had set for Linux
containers. Your Windows container settings are retained and become available
again when you switch back. Docker only supports Docker Desktop on Windows for those versions of Windows that are still within
Microsoft’s servicing timeline. Docker Desktop is not supported on server versions of Windows, such as Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 2022.

The fastest way to containerize applications

And although it’s a little more involved you can always build your own containers too as our own [Ben James] discussed back in 2018. Other improvements to Docker Enterprise in 2017 included native Kubernetes support for container orchestration in addition to Docker’s Swarm mode. Support for IBM mainframe and Windows Server 2016 was also added for users to run mixed clusters and applications across multiple operating systems.

Filesystem change notifications (fsnotify/inotify) work transparently, automatically triggering page reload when source code changes. It also allows you to route back from the container to the host allowing Docker containers to access local services running on the host. If you want to learn more about the file sharing implementation on Mac, check out Dave’s deep dive blog post Deep Dive Into the New Docker Desktop filesharing Implementation Using FUSE. Docker containers virtualize the operating system and share the host OS kernel, making them lightweight and fast. In contrast, virtual machines (VMs) virtualize entire hardware systems and run a full-fledged guest operating system, which results in more resource-intensive operations.

Docker

Docker’s broader goal was to build up its business with containers as a service, but eventually, these plans were overtaken by the rise of Kubernetes. More than 40 container industry providers are members of the Open Container Initiative, including AWS, Intel and Red Hat. Docker Community Edition is open source, while Docker Enterprise Edition is a commercialized version offered by Docker Inc.

It provides a viable, cost-effective alternative
to hypervisor-based virtual machines, so you can use more of your server
capacity to achieve your business goals. Docker is perfect for high density
environments and for small and medium deployments where you need to do more with
fewer resources. With Dev Environments developers can now easily set up repeatable and reproducible development environments by keeping the environment details versioned in their SCM along with their code. Once a developer is working in a Dev Environment, they can share their work-in-progress code and dependencies in one click via Docker Hub. They can then switch between their developer environments or their teammates’ environments, moving between branches to look at work-in-progress changes without moving off their current Git branch. Docker Desktop also includes buildkit and buildx as part of the Docker CLI, giving developers access to faster builds and empowers developers to build for x86 or ARM from any local machine.

Docker Desktop is designed to let you build, share and run containers as easily on Mac and Windows as you do on Linux. Docker handles the tedious and complex setup so you can focus on writing code. Docker offers lightweight containers with the docker run command, making it ideal for creating consistent environments and facilitating rapid deployment. On the other hand, VMs are better suited for fully isolated systems that require dedicated resources and enhanced security. Using Docker in Linux systems has proven to streamline development environments and facilitate complex CI/CD pipelines. It effectively bridges the gap between developers and operations teams, automates complicated processes, and ensures consistency across various platforms.

• Docker in DevOps also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and experimentation.
• Docker handles the tedious and complex setup so you can focus on writing code.
• Another Docker client is Docker Compose,
  that lets you work with applications consisting of a set of containers.
• You can take these three Docker containers and run them all on the same machine.