Docker 101
Docker [1] manages and runs containers, a thing that acts like an operating system. It is similar to a virtual machine, but a container uses a lot of the underlying operating system (called the "host") to work. Instead of building a whole operating system with emulated hardware, its own kernel, and so on and so forth, a container uses everything it can from the underlying machine, and, if it is well-designed, implements only the bare essentials to run the application or service you want it to run.
Whereas virtual machines are designed to run everything a regular machine can run, containers are usually designed to run very specific jobs. That is why Docker is so popular for online platforms: You can have a blogging system in one container, a user forum in another, a store in another, and the database engine they all use in the background in another. Every container is perfectly isolated from the others. Docker allows you to link them up and pass information between them. If one goes down, the rest continue working; when the time comes to migrate to a new host, you just have to copy over the containers.
But there's more: Docker is building a library of images [2] that lets you enjoy whole services just by downloading and running them. These libraries are provided by the Docker company or shared by users and go from the very, very general, like a WordPress container [3], to the very, very niche, like a container that provides the framework to run a Minetest [4] server [5].
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Ubuntu 25.04 Coming Soon
Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin) has been given an April release date with many notable updates.
-
Gnome Developers Consider Dropping RPM Support
In a move that might shock a lot of users, the Gnome development team has proposed the idea of going straight up Flatpak.
-
openSUSE Tumbleweed Ditches AppArmor for SELinux
If you're an openSUSE Tumbleweed user, you can expect a major change to the distribution.
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.
-
TuxCare Has a Big AlmaLinux 9 Announcement in Store
TuxCare announced it has successfully completed a Security Technical Implementation Guide for AlmaLinux OS 9.
-
First Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.14 Now Available
Linus Torvalds has officially released the first release candidate for kernel 6.14 and it includes over 500,000 lines of modified code, making for a small release.
-
System76 Refreshes Meerkat Mini PC
If you're looking for a small form factor PC powered by Linux, System76 has exactly what you need in the Meerkat mini PC.
-
Gnome 48 Alpha Ready for Testing
The latest Gnome desktop alpha is now available with plenty of new features and improvements.
-
Wine 10 Includes Plenty to Excite Users
With its latest release, Wine has the usual crop of bug fixes and improvements, along with some exciting new features.