Getting Started With Docker

Introduction

Docker is by far the most popular application container technology on the market today. It’s an open platform that’s used the world over by many! Developers in particular, though more and more people are using Docker containers in a production environment and popularity is growing so much that it’s likely that vendors may being to deliver their products as containers. Containerizing an application means putting an application into

What is Containerizing an Application and Why do it?

Containerizing an application means putting an application into it’s own isolated virtual environment with it’s own dedicated file system and everything needed to run the application.

The container runs isolated. This means you can run these containers without worry of conflicts. You can easily and quickly run a container with your application, test it and then remove with no added overhead or ill effects to your system, making containers ideal fo QA testing. No need for dedicated virtual machines, you can take these containers and run them on your primary work laptop, if you like!

When building your application container, you can make sure the app works and then commit that container into an image. This image is like a base or good state of the application. You can pull that image to your system and then re-use as you wish. For example, you may have a large database product in a docker image. Rather than having to go through a lengthy install and configuration any time you want to setup a new instance, you can simply run a new docker container instance from that base docker image. Something that may have taking 20+ minutes through traditional means, now takes under 2 minutes!

Creating multiple unique containers with different variations for testing purposes without needing to re-install or silo the applications. You can also pull images created by others from the ou

It’s awesome for creating multiple unique containers with different variations for testing purposes without needing to re-install or silo the applications. You can also pull images created by others from the Docker Hub. It really is a huge weapon in the arsenal of developers!

You are sold!? You may be asking, how do I create my own container?

Installing Docker

Begin by installing Docker on your OS of choice by following the rest of my guide at: http://rorymon.com/blog/?p=3753