What Is Docker and How to Use It?

In order to make container management systems available on a wide range of operating systems, Solomon Hykes founded Docker in 2013. Since then, Docker has developed into a tool that every developer should be familiar with. It made it easier for software developers to create, maintain, and deploy services and applications. With the help of that innovation, any program may be made and used everywhere, regardless of the operating system.

This article provides an overview of Docker and explains how newcomers can get started using it for development.

What Is Docker and How to Use It?

What is Docker?

A software platform called Docker allows you to combine apps and their dependencies into a single object, known as a container. Applications may be easily deployed and run on local development environments, distant servers, or the cloud thanks to this technology.

In order to create apps independent of one another, developers use Docker, which generates a set of namespaces for each container you run. This makes it simpler to debug, update, and re-deploy apps. By enabling users to run several applications on a single web server, it also lowers operational costs.

Applications are created in isolated environments known as containers by Docker. This means that each application can be used separately from the others and without affecting other applications or the system as a whole.

The Docker Engine and the Docker Hub are the two parts of the Docker architecture. While Docker Hub is hosted by a cloud service like AWS or Microsoft Azure, Docker Engine runs on your machine. This makes it easier for you to share and manage your virtual machine apps.

The advantages of using Docker

• Rapid deployment Docker containers can be moved around. In particular, if you frequently deploy your apps on virtual machines, Docker can help you deploy your applications quickly without having to worry about setting up a new environment. Additionally, Docker containers are small and demand less of the CPU's memory and storage.
• Security. Your applications may run in a more secure environment if you use Docker containers. You can manage the resources your applications have access to and reduce the effectiveness of cyberattacks by isolating them in their own containers. In order to minimize the chance of tampering, Docker containers can also run in read-only mode.
• simple configuration In order to make an application much easier to configure and deploy, Docker containers isolate an application's dependencies from the rest of the system. This helps to avoid any conflicts between various versions of dependencies that might exist on the same host system.
• The efficiency of Continuous Integration (CI). Due to its ability to isolate various CI processes from one another, Docker presents a special opportunity for CI. Because of the isolation, it is possible to run numerous CI jobs concurrently on the same build server, considerably increasing the process' efficiency and cutting down on runtime.
• Testing and recovery from disaster. Furthermore, DevOps and developers have a platform to test applications thanks to docker technologies. They may make exact replicas of the production environment using this method, which is useful for debugging and disaster recovery. You may quickly spin up your application in another environment if one goes down.
• Scalability. Docker containers are perfect for businesses experiencing rapid growth or fluctuating demand since they can be readily scaled up or down as needed. With Docker, you can easily remove containers to free up resources if traffic declines and fast add more containers to handle rising demand without having to provision and install new servers.
• capable of working with Kubernetes. Running Docker containers on Kubernetes can help developers reduce the many challenges of scaling and distributing them across multiple web servers. A container orchestration system called Kubernetes automates the deployment, scalability, and enhancement of an application's functionality.
• Create and use microservices. Software architectures known as microservices let you create and deploy discrete services on their own. It is possible for each microservice to be created, tested, and deployed separately from other services. This makes managing and growing your application simpler.

How to install Docker

• You must have access to an Ubuntu server in order to install Docker on it. Once it is ready, you must update your current list of packages by entering the following into the command line interface (CLI): Doing Sudo apt-get update
• Installing a few necessary packages, often known as dependencies, is the next step. These packages will aid in ensuring the successful installation of Docker. Run the following command to accomplish that: Curl, Sudo apt-get install and install apt-transport-HTTP, ca-certificates
• Incorporate the official Docker repository's GPG key into the system.
• Finally, use the sudo apt-get install docker-ce command to download and install Docker. Run the application after it has finished installing to make sure it functions.