Docker to Be Supported in Azure and Windows Server

Docker, a popular open-source tool for deploying and managing server applications, is now available for use on Azure virtual machines (VMs) running Linux, and the next version of Windows Server is expected to add support for Docker. Microsoft’s support of Docker could help organizations deploy, manage, and scale their applications more easily on Linux and eventually on Windows Server, whether those OSs are hosted in Azure or on-premises. Some types of applications are not suitable for use with Docker, and much is unknown about what types of applications will be supported with Docker on Windows Server.

Understanding Docker

An open source project primarily run by a company by the same name, Docker was created to help organizations redistribute Web applications and required components across servers in a reliable and reproducible way. Web applications, like the popular WordPress publishing platform, are ideal candidates for Docker-based deployment.

To use Docker, developers create Docker images containing the files needed in order for their applications to run. Docker images are read-only and are contained within ZIP files. The resulting image is redistributed through a Docker registry (called the Docker Hub), which is a centralized repository for storing images for reuse by others. (It is not related to the Windows Registry.) The Docker Hub is a community-driven public Docker registry. Redistributing applications as images results in a consistent starting point for developers, testers, or administrators to deploy or update applications, as compared to complex installation scripts or installers with multiple steps.