Docker is a containerization platform that allows developers to package and deploy applications in a portable and efficient manner. It enables developers to create, deploy, and run applications in containers, which are lightweight and portable units of software.
Docker uses a technology called containerization, which allows developers to package an application along with all its dependencies, such as libraries and system tools, into a single container. This makes it easy to move the application between different environments, such as development, testing, and production, without any compatibility issues.
Docker also makes it easy to manage multiple containers, as well as to scale and orchestrate them. This is achieved through the use of Dockerfiles, which are scripts that describe how to build and run a container, and Docker Compose, which is a tool for defining and running multi-container applications.
One of the biggest advantages of using Docker is the ability to run an application in a consistent environment, regardless of where it's deployed. This makes it easy to test and deploy applications, as the same container can be run on any machine that supports Docker.
Docker also enables efficient resource utilization by allowing multiple containers to share the same host operating system, which reduces the need for multiple virtual machines. This can greatly reduce the cost and complexity of deploying and managing applications.
Another advantage of Docker is that it allows for easy scaling of applications. By creating multiple containers for an application, it's simple to scale horizontally by adding more containers to handle increased load.
Here are the basic steps to install Docker on a Ubuntu-based system:
- Update your system:
sudo apt-get update
- Install dependencies:
sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common
- Add the Docker GPG key:
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
- Add the Docker repository to your system:
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu bionic stable"
- Update your system again:
sudo apt-get update
- Install Docker:
sudo apt-get install docker-ce
- Verify that Docker is running:
sudo systemctl status docker
- Start the Docker service:
sudo systemctl start docker
- Add your user to the Docker group:
sudo usermod -aG docker ${USER}
- Logout and login again to apply the group change.
Note: These steps are for Ubuntu 18.04, for other version the commands may slightly vary, for other operating system the steps may differ, you can refer to the official documentation for the installation steps for your operating system.
