Why Should You Use Docker?

What is docker?

Docker is an open-source and containerization platform that enables developers to build, run, and deploy applications quickly. Docker package application, including all its libraries, configurations, and dependencies.

Its primary focus is to automate the deployment of applications inside containers that boots up in seconds.

Why use docker?

• In the tech world, I think you heard the phrase “It works on my machine” and mostly, this happens because of the different libraries, configurations, and dependencies required for the application to run under the operating system.
• Managing application dependencies and configuration is a crucial task for the DevOps team, and Docker has all capabilities to handle this kind of problem in the software development lifecycle.
• Docker helps us to build and deploy distributed microservice applications with the help of continuous integration and continuous deployment pipeline and saves a lot of time.
• Docker uses the container as a unit of software that packages application code with all its dependencies so the application can run quickly in isolated environments.

Benefits of docker

1. Application portability- Docker is the container base platform and allows running containers on a physical machine, virtual machine, and any other cloud provider in less time without modification
2. Faster delivery and deployment- Docker enables us to build and deploy application images across every step of the deployment phase efficiently.
3. Scalability- Docker is scalable because it has the ability to increase and decreases the number of application instance easily in different environments. 
4. Isolation- Docker containerizes and runs the application in an isolated environment with all dependencies and configurations. 
5. Security- Docker ensures the applications running inside the different containers are isolated from each other, and it has different security layers and tools to manage that thing.  
6. High Performance- Docker is generally faster and takes fewer resources than VMs.
7. Version Control Management- Docker provides versioning-related things that can track container versions and roll back the same if required.

Difference between Virtualization and Containerization

• Virtualization is creating a virtual version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, storage devices, and computer network resources such as CPU and Memory.
• Containerization is operating system-level virtualization or application-level virtualization over multiple network resources so that software applications can run in their own isolated environments called containers in any cloud or non-cloud environment, regardless of type or vendor.

Docker tools and terms

1. Docker client- Docker client is used by users through CLI with different commands like docker run, docker build, and communication with the docker daemon server through REST APIs.
2. Docker image- A docker file is a text file consisting of a set of instructions that the docker uses to build the docker image.
3. Docker container- A Docker container is the running instance of a Docker image, which runs in its isolated environment.
   
4. Docker Hub- Docker Hub is a cloud-based service to push and pulls different images which are available.
5. Docker registry-Docker registry is a system for storing, distributing, and managing different versions of Docker images.

This is all about docker.

Happy Learning!