Docker
OS-level virtualization to deliver software in packages called containers.
Docker is well known for making development efficient and predictable. Docker takes away repetitive, mundane configuration tasks and is used throughout the development lifecycle for fast, easy and portable application development — desktop and cloud. Docker’s comprehensive end to end platform includes UIs, CLIs, APIs and security that are engineered to work together across the entire application delivery lifecycle.
The Docker Engine
The Docker engine allows you to develop,assemble,ship and run applications and components.
- Docker Daemon: A persistent background process that manages Docker images, containers, networks, and storage volumes. The Docker daemon constantly listens for Docker API requests and processes them.
- Docker Engine REST API: An API used by applications to interact with the Docker daemon; it can be accessed by an HTTP client.
- Docker CLI: A command line interface client for interacting with the Docker daemon. It greatly simplifies how you manage container instances and is one of the key reasons why developers love using Docker.
Docker Architecture
The Docker architecture uses a client-server model and comprises of the Docker Client, Docker Host, Network and Storage components, and the Docker Registry / Hub.
Docker Client
This helps to interact with the users. The Docker client can reside on the same host as the daemon or connect to a daemon on a remote host. A docker client can communicate with more than one daemon. The Docker client provides a command line interface (CLI) that allows you to issue build, run, and stop application commands to a Docker daemon.
The main purpose of the Docker Client is to provide a means to direct the pull of images from a registry and to have it run on a Docker host. Common commands issued by a client are:
docker build
docker pull
docker run
Docker Host
The Docker host provides a complete environment to execute and run applications. It comprises of the Docker daemon, Images, Containers, Networks, and Storage. As previously mentioned, the daemon is responsible for all container-related actions and receives commands via the CLI or the REST API. It can also communicate with other daemons to manage its services. The Docker daemon pulls and builds container images as requested by the client. Once it pulls a requested image, it builds a working model for the container by utilizing a set of instructions known as a build file.
Docker Objects
Various objects are used in the assembling of your application. The following are the Docker Objects:
Containers:
Containers are encapsulated environments in which you run applications. The container is defined by the image and any additional configuration options provided on starting the container, including and not limited to the network connections and storage options.
Images:
Images are a read-only binary template used to build containers. Images also contain metadata that describe the container’s capabilities and needs. Images are used to store and ship applications. An image can be used on its own to build a container or customized to add additional elements to extend the current configuration
Networking:
- Bridge network: Similar to the default bridge network, a user-defined Bridge network differs in that there is no need for port forwarding for containers within the network to communicate with each other. The other difference is that it has full support for automatic network discovery.
- Overlay network: An Overlay network is used when you need containers on separate hosts to be able to communicate with each other, as in the case of a distributed network. However, a caveat is that swarm mode must be enabled for a cluster of Docker engines, known as a swarm, to be able to join the same group.
- Macvlan network: When using Bridge and Overlay networks a bridge resides between the container and the host. A Macvlan network removes this bridge, providing the benefit of exposing container resources to external networks without dealing with port forwarding. This is realized by using MAC addresses instead of IP addresses.
Storage
You can store data within the writable layer of a container but it requires a storage driver. Being non-persistent, it perishes whenever the container is not running. Moreover, it is not easy to transfer this data. Docker offers four options:
- Data Volumes: Data Volumes provide the ability to create persistent storage, with the ability to rename volumes, list volumes, and also list the container that is associated with the volume. Data Volumes sit on the host file system, outside the containers copy on write mechanism and are fairly efficient.
- Data Volume Container: A Data Volume Container is an alternative approach wherein a dedicated container hosts a volume and to mount that volume to other containers. In this case, the volume container is independent of the application container and therefore can be shared across more than one container.
- Directory Mounts: Another option is to mount a host’s local directory into a container. In the previously mentioned cases, the volumes would have to be within the Docker volumes folder, whereas when it comes to Directory Mounts any directory on the Host machine can be used as a source for the volume.
- Storage Plugins: Storage Plugins provide the ability to connect to external storage platforms. These plugins map storage from the host to an external source like a storage array or an appliance.
Storage Plugins
There are storage plugins from various companies to automate the storage provisioning process. For example,
- HPE 3PAR
- EMC (ScaleIO, XtremIO, VMAX, Isilon)
- NetApp
There are also plugins that support public cloud providers like:
- Azure File Storage
- Google Compute Platform.
Docker Registries
Docker registries are services that provide locations from where you can store and download images. Public Registries include Docker Hub and Docker Cloud and private Registries can also be used. Common commands when working with registries include:
docker push
docker pull
docker run