An introduction to Docker Machine

Before we roll our sleeves up and get stuck in with Docker Machine, we should take a moment to discuss what place it now occupies in the overall Docker ecosystem and what it actually is.

Docker Machine's biggest strength was that it provided a consistent interface to several public cloud providers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), DigitalOcean, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, as well as self-hosted VM/cloud platforms (including OpenStack and VMware vSphere) to quickly launch and configure individual Docker hosts. Being able to target all of these technologies using a single command with minimal user interaction is a very big-time saver. If you need to quickly access a Docker host in AWS one day and then in DigitalOcean the next, you know you are going to get a consistent experience.

Also, it allows you to launch a local Docker host, which was useful for operating systems such as the non-Professional versions of Windows 10, where Docker...