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Docker on Windows
Docker on Windows

Docker on Windows: From 101 to production with Docker on Windows

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Profile Icon Elton Stoneman
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Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.4 (14 Ratings)
Paperback Jul 2017 358 pages 1st Edition
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Elton Stoneman
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£16.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.4 (14 Ratings)
Paperback Jul 2017 358 pages 1st Edition
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£22.99 £32.99
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Docker on Windows

Packaging and Running Applications as Docker Containers

Docker reduces the logical view of your infrastructure to three core components: hosts, containers, and images. Hosts run containers, which are isolated instances of an application. Containers are created from images, which are packaged applications. The Docker container image is conceptually very simple - it's a single unit that contains a complete, self-contained application. The image format is very efficient, and the integration between the image and the runtime is very smart, so mastering images is your first step to using Docker effectively.

You've already seen some images in Chapter 1, Getting Started with Docker on Windows, by running some basic containers to check your Docker installation was working correctly - but I didn't look very closely at the image or how Docker used it. In this chapter, you...

Running a container from an image

The docker container run command creates a container from an image and starts the application inside the container. It's actually equivalent to running two separate commands, docker container create and docker container start, which shows that containers can have different states. You can create a container without starting it, and you can pause, stop, and restart running containers. Containers can be in different states, and you can use them in different ways.

Doing one thing with a task container

The dockeronwindows/ch02-powershell-env image is an example of a packaged application that is meant to run in a container and perform a single task. The image is based on Microsoft Nano Server...

Building a Docker image

Docker images are layered. The bottom layer is the operating system, which can be a full OS like Windows Server Core, or a minimal OS like Microsoft Nano Server. On top of that are layers for each change you make to the base OS when you build an image - by installing software, copying files, and running commands. Logically, Docker treats the image as a single unit, but physically, each layer is stored as a separate file in Docker's cache, so images with a lot of common features can share layers from the cache.

Images are built using a text file with the Dockerfile language - specifying the base OS image to start with, and all the steps to add on top. The language is very simple, and there are only a few commands you need to master in order to build production-grade images. I'll start by looking at the basic PowerShell image I've been using...

Packaging your own applications

The goal of building an image is to package your application in a portable, self-contained unit. The image should be as small as possible, so it's easy to move around when you want to run the application, and it should have as few OS features as possible, so it has a fast startup time and a small attack vector.

Docker doesn't impose restrictions on the image size. Your long-term goal may be to build minimal images that run lightweight .NET Core applications on Linux or Nano Server. But you can start by packaging your existing ASP.NET apps in their entirety as Docker images to run on Windows Server Core. Docker also doesn't impose restrictions on how to package your app, so you can choose from different approaches.

Compiling the application...

Working with data in Docker images and containers

Applications running in a Docker container see a single filesystem that they can read from and write to in the usual way for the operating system. The container sees a single filesystem drive but it's actually a virtual filesystem, and the underlying data can be in many different physical locations.

Files that a container can access on its C drive could actually be stored in an image layer, in the container's own storage layer, or in a volume that is mapped to a location on the host. Docker merges all these locations into a single virtual filesystem.

Data in layers and the virtual C drive

The virtual filesystem is how Docker can take a set of physical image layers...

Packaging a traditional ASP.NET web app as a Docker image

Microsoft has made the Windows Server Core base image available on Docker Hub, and that's a version of Windows Server 2016 which has much of the functionality of the full server edition but without the UI. As base images go, it's very large - 5 GB compressed on Docker Hub, compared to 380 MB for Nano Server, and 2 MB for the tiny Alpine Linux image. But it means you can Dockerize pretty much any existing Windows app, and that's a great way to start migrating your systems to Docker.

Remember NerdDinner? It was an open source ASP.NET MVC showcase app, originally written by Scott Hanselman and Scott Guthrie - among others at Microsoft. You can still get the code at CodePlex, but there hasn't been a change committed since 2013, so it's an ideal candidate for proving that old ASP.NET apps can be migrated...

Running a container from an image


The docker container run command creates a container from an image and starts the application inside the container. It's actually equivalent to running two separate commands, docker container create and docker container start, which shows that containers can have different states. You can create a container without starting it, and you can pause, stop, and restart running containers. Containers can be in different states, and you can use them in different ways.

Doing one thing with a task container

The dockeronwindows/ch02-powershell-env image is an example of a packaged application that is meant to run in a container and perform a single task. The image is based on Microsoft Nano Server and is set up to run a simple PowerShell script when it starts, printing details about the current environment. Let's see what happens when I run a container directly from the image:

> docker container run dockeronwindows/ch02-powershell-env
Name                        ...
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Download code icon Download Code

Key benefits

  • Package traditional .NET Frameworks apps and new .NET Core apps as Docker images, and run them in containers for increased efficiency, portability, and security
  • Design and implement distributed applications that run across connected containers, using enterprise-grade open source software from public Docker images
  • Build a full Continuous Deployment pipeline for a .NET Framework application, and deploy it to a highly-available Docker swarm running in the cloud

Description

Docker is a platform for running server applications in lightweight units called containers. You can run Docker on Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10, and run your existing apps in containers to get significant improvements in efficiency, security, and portability. This book teaches you all you need to know about Docker on Windows, from 101 to deploying highly-available workloads in production. This book takes you on a Docker journey, starting with the key concepts and simple examples of how to run .NET Framework and .NET Core apps in Windows Docker containers. Then it moves on to more complex examples—using Docker to modernize the architecture and development of traditional ASP.NET and SQL Server apps. The examples show you how to break up monoliths into distributed apps and deploy them to a clustered environment in the cloud, using the exact same artifacts you use to run them locally. To help you move confidently to production, it then explains Docker security, and the management and support options. The book finishes with guidance on getting started with Docker in your own projects, together with some real-world case studies for Docker implementations, from small-scale on-premises apps to very large-scale apps running on Azure.

Who is this book for?

If you want to modernize an old monolithic application without rewriting it, smooth the deployment to production, or move to DevOps or the cloud, then Docker is the enabler for you. This book gives you a solid grounding in Docker so you can confidently approach all of these scenarios.

What you will learn

  • • Comprehend key Docker concepts: images, containers, registries, and swarms
  • • Run Docker on Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, and in the cloud
  • • Deploy and monitor distributed solutions across multiple Docker containers
  • • Run containers with high availability and fail-over with Docker Swarm
  • • Master security in-depth with the Docker platform, making your apps more secure
  • • Build a Continuous Deployment pipeline by running Jenkins in Docker
  • • Debug applications running in Docker containers using Visual Studio
  • • Plan the adoption of Docker in your own organization

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Jul 13, 2017
Length: 358 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785281655
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Docker
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Product Details

Publication date : Jul 13, 2017
Length: 358 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785281655
Vendor :
Docker
Languages :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

12 Chapters
Getting Started with Docker on Windows Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Packaging and Running Applications as Docker Containers Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Developing Dockerized .NET and .NET Core Applications Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Pushing and Pulling Images from Docker Registries Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Adopting Container-First Solution Design Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Organizing Distributed Solutions with Docker Compose Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Orchestrating Distributed Solutions with Docker Swarm Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Administering and Monitoring Dockerized Solutions Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Understanding the Security Risks and Benefits of Docker Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Powering a Continuous Deployment Pipeline with Docker Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Debugging and Instrumenting Application Containers Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Containerize What You Know - Guidance for Implementing Docker Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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1 star 14.3%
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Dan Arnold Jun 25, 2018
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I found this book invaluable due to the specific coverage of Windows containers. Information on the internet is typically oriented towards Linux especially in the networking area.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Amazon Customer Aug 11, 2018
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Great introduction to Docker on Windows. I keep using it as a reference as I plow into Docker.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Steven Follis Sep 08, 2017
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Thorough primer on Docker with excellent real world code samples. Highly recommended for professionals wanting to expand their skillsets with containers.
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peter de tender - Business Program Manager - Azure Technical Trainer at Microsoft Sep 20, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I was looking for a book to get me up-to-speed on Docker, and that's exaxtly what this book does. Starting from the basics of container concepts, Elton clearly describes the Docker features, the roadmap, best practices, all using super-cristal clear examples. Besides sharing his Docker experiences, Elton also shared his knowledge as a deep-dive technical .NET developer, walking you through step-by-step scenarios on how to cloud-enable and containerize your legacy applications. Great job done Elton!
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Brent Arias Oct 13, 2017
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I love this book. It is densely packed with fast-moving, insightful and real-world guidance. Other sources I've studied have been too context-free for my own tastes. In contrast, "Docker on Windows" has a writing style and progression of examples which, for me, have been perfect for comprehension and retention.The path carved by Microsoft to bring a native Docker to Windows is very exciting - and I've found Stoneman's book the perfect place to start mastering this new frontier. Just get it; you'll be glad you did.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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