Chapter 13. Docker platforms

 

This chapter covers

  • The factors that inform the choice of Docker platform
  • The areas of consideration needed when adopting Docker
  • The state of the Docker vendor landscape as of 2018

The title of this chapter might seem confusing. Did the previous chapter not cover Docker platforms like Kubernetes and Mesos already?

Well, yes and no. Although Kubernetes and Mesos are arguably platforms on which you can run Docker, in this book we’re taking a platform to mean a product (or integrated set of technologies) that allows you to run and manage the operation of Docker containers in a structured way. You could think of this chapter as being more infrastructural than purely technical.

As of the time of writing, there are several Docker platforms:

  • AWS Fargate
  • AWS ECS (Elastic Container Service
  • AWS EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service)
  • Azure AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service)
  • OpenShift
  • Docker Datacenter
  • “Native” Kubernetes
Note

“Native” Kubernetes means running and managing your own cluster on whichever underlying infrastructure you prefer. You might want to run it on dedicated hardware in your own data centre or on VMs on a cloud provider.

13.1. Organizational choice factors

13.2. Areas to consider when adopting Docker

13.3. Vendors, organizations, and products

Summary