Docker: Up & Running, 2nd Edition

Chapter 2. The Docker Landscape

Before you dive into configuring and installing Docker, a broad survey is in order to explain what Docker is and what it brings to the table. It is a powerful technology, but not a tremendously complicated one at its core. In this chapter, we’ll cover the generalities of how Docker works, what makes it powerful, and some of the reasons you might use it. If you’re reading this, you probably have your own reasons to use Docker, but it never hurts to augment your understanding before you jump in.

Don’t worry—this chapter should not hold you up for too long. In the next chapter, we’ll dive right into getting Docker installed and running on your system.

Process Simplification

Because Docker is a piece of software, it may not be obvious that it can also have a big positive impact on company and team processes if it is adopted well. So, let’s dig in and see how Docker can simplify both workflows and communication. This usually starts with the deployment story. Traditionally, the cycle of getting an application to production often looks something like the following (illustrated in Figure 2-1):

1. Application developers request resources from operations engineers.

2. Resources are provisioned and handed over to developers.

3. Developers script and tool their deployment.

4. Operations engineers and developers tweak the deployment repeatedly.

5. Additional application dependencies are discovered by developers.

6. Operations engineers work to install the additional ...