Windows Server 2019 is the next long-term support release of Windows Server, and it's available now! It comes with some very useful improvements to running Docker Windows containers - which Docker Captain Stefan Scherer has already summarized in his blog post What's new for Docker on Windows Server 2019.
We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Just checking the Task Manager should help people if they should use Docker for Windows or the Docker Toolbox. Current 'Getting Started' says this - Docker for Windows requires 64bit Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise and Education (1511 November update, Build 10586 or later) and Microsoft Hyper-V.
Download Etcher v1.5.113 to create bootable drives. Etcher is an open-source solution to flash OS image to SD cards and USB drives. Download macos to usb.
UPDATE: the second edition of my book Docker on Windows is out now. It focuses entirely on Windows Server 2019
You need Windows Server to run 'pure' Docker containers, where the container process runs directly on the host OS. You can use the same Docker images, the same Dockerfiles and the same docker commands on Windows 10, but there's an additional virtualization overhead, so it's good to use a Windows Server VM for test environments.
On Windows 10 Docker Desktop is the easiest way to get started
- Install Docker Enterprise Edition for Windows Server 2016 Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Docker Enterprise Edition for Windows Server 2016 (Docker EE) enables native Docker containers on Windows Server 2016. The Docker EE installation package includes everything you need to run Docker on Windows Server 2016.
- Running Linux Containers on Windows Server 2019. Out of the box, Docker on Windows only run Windows container. To use Linux containers on Windows Server, you need to use the Docker Enterprise Edition Preview which includes a full LinuxKit system for running Docker Linux containers. Uninstall your current Docker CE.
- The official Windows Server Core base image for containers.
If you want to check out the newest version of Windows Server and get running Docker containers, here's what you need to do.
Get Windows Server 2019
You can download the ISO to install Windows Server 2019 now, from your Visual Studio subscription if you have one, or a 180-day evaluation version if you don't. VMs with Windows Server 2019 already deployed will be available on Azure shortly.
The installation procedure for 2019 is the same as previous Windows Server versions - boot a VM from the ISO and the setup starts. I prefer the core installation with no GUI:
I installed Server 2019 onto a Hyper-V VM running on my Windows 10 machine, with the VM disks stored on an external SSD drive. The setup finished in a few minutes, and it runs very quickly - even with just 4GB RAM allocated.
You can also upgrade from previous Windows Server versions to 2019 using the ISO.
Connect to the Server
When you RDP into a Windows Server Core machine you just see a command prompt. The first time you connect you'll need to set the password for the default Administrator account. Then I like to set PowerShell as the default command shell, so whenever you RDP you get into a PowerShell session:
Configure Windows Features
To run containers you need to enable the Containers feature, and for a non-production VM I also disable Windows Defender to stop it burning CPU cycles. You'll need to reboot after these steps:
Configure Windows Updates
You'll want to make sure you have the latest updates, but then I disable automatic updates so I only get future updates when I want them. There's no GUI in Windows Server Core, so run sconfig and then select:
option
5, to set Windows Updates to manualoption
7, to enable Remote Desktop Access to the serveroption
6, to download and install all updates
Then you're ready to install Docker.
Install Docker on Window Server 2019
Windows Server licensing includes the licence cost for Docker Enterprise, so you can run the enterprise edition with production support for containers from Microsoft and Docker.
The latest Docker Enterprise engine is version 19.03 18.03, which you can explicitly install with PowerShell:
This sets up Docker as a Windows Service, which you need to start:
Pull the Windows Base Images
Any Docker containers you run on Windows Server 2019 will be based on Windows Server Core or Nano Server. You'll need both those images, and be aware that the base images are now hosted on Microsoft's container registry, MCR:
These images are tiny compared to the Windows Server 2016 versions. Windows Server Core has shrunk from over 10GB to a 1.5GB download, and Nano Server has shrunk from over 1GB to a 90MB download!
[Optional] Pull the .NET Core Images
The .NET Core team released versions of their SDK and runtime images as soon as Windows Server 2019 launched. You can pull those now and start running your .NET Core apps in 2019 (there are also .NET Framework SDK and ASP.NET images available - hopefully SQL Server will get some attention soon..)
Docker Windows Server 2012
The upstream Docker images are still listed on Docker Hub, so that's where you go for discovery - but they get served from Microsoft's own image registry, MCR.
Try it Out!
I've pushed an updated version of my .NET Core whoami image, so you can try out ASP.NET Core 3.0 running in Windows Server Core 2019 containers:
One of the enhancements for Docker in Windows Server 2019 is that loopback addresses now work, so you can visit this container using localhost on the server, and using the same published port from an external machine:
And in Swarm Mode..
I'll post a longer explanation of what you can do with Docker in Windows Server 2019 that you couldn't do in Windows Server 2016, but here's just one other thing: Windows Server 2019 now supports ingress networking for Docker swarm mode. That means you can run multiple containers on one server, all listening on the same port, and Docker will load-balance incoming requests between the containers.
I have lots more detail on this in my Pluralsight course Managing Load Balancing and Scale in Docker Swarm Mode Clusters
Switch your server to a single-node swarm:
Now deploy the whoami app as a swarm service, with multiple replicas and a published port:
Now when you browse to the VM from outside, Docker will load-balance requests across the five containers which are hosting the service:
There's More
Windows Server 2019 is an evolution to the container functionality you get with Docker. Windows Server 2016 is still perfectly fine for production, but 2019 brings Windows containers much closer to feature parity with Linux containers, and smooths over some things which are tricky in 2016.
And the next big thing is Windows support in Kubernetes, which is expected to GA before the end of the year :) went GA this year. Windows containers are now supported in mixed Linux-Windows Kubernetes clusters - find out more from my post Getting Started with Kubernetes on Windows.
Docker Enterprise Edition for Windows Server 2016 (Docker EE) enables nativeDocker containers on Windows Server 2016. The Docker EE installation packageincludes everything you need to run Docker on Windows Server 2016.This topic describes pre-install considerations, and how to download andinstall Docker EE.
Looking for Release Notes?Get release notes for allversions here or subscribe to thereleases feed on the Docker Blog.
Docker Universal Control Plane and Windows
With Docker EE, your Windows nodes can join swarms that are managedby Docker Universal Control Plane (UCP). When you have Docker EE installedon Windows Server 2016 and you have aUCP manager node provisioned, you can join your Windows worker nodes to a swarm.
Install Docker EE
Docker EE for Windows requires Windows Server 2016. SeeWhat to know before you install for afull list of prerequisites.
Open a PowerShell command prompt, and type the following commands.
Test your Docker EE installation by running the
hello-worldcontainer.
(optional) Make sure you have all required updates
Docker Windows Server Core
Some advanced Docker features (like Swarm) require that Windows is updated to include the fixes in KB4015217 (or a later cumulative patch).
Select option 6) Download and Install Updates.
Use a script to install Docker EE
Use the following steps when you want to install manually, script automatedinstalls, or install on air-gapped systems.
In a PowerShell command prompt, download the installer archive on a machinethat has a connection.
Copy the zip file to the machine where you want to install Docker. In aPowerShell command prompt, use the following commands to extract the archive,register, and start the Docker service.
Test your Docker EE installation by running the
hello-worldcontainer.
Install a specific version
To install a specific Docker version, you can use the MaximumVersion and MinimumVersion flags. For example:
Update Docker EE
To update Docker EE on Windows Server 2016:
What to know before you install
Docker Server Windows
- What the Docker EE for Windows install includes: The installationprovides Docker Engine and theDocker CLI client.
About Docker EE containers and Windows Server 2016
Looking for information on using Docker EE containers?
Getting Started with Windows Containers (Lab)provides a tutorial on how to set up and run Windows containers on Windows 10or Windows Server 2016. It shows you how to use a MusicStore application withWindows containers.
Setup - Windows Server 2016 (Lab)describes environment setup in detail.
Mac os 10.9 dmg download. Docker Container Platform for Windows Server 2016 articles and blogposts on the Docker website.
Docker Windows Server 2019 Linux Containers
Where to go next
Getting started provides an overview ofDocker for Windows, basic Docker command examples, how to get help or givefeedback, and links to all topics in the Docker for Windows guide.
FAQs provides answers to frequently askedquestions.
Release Notes lists componentupdates, new features, and improvements associated with Stable and Edgereleases.
Learn Docker provides general Docker tutorials.
Windows Containers on Windows Serveris the official Microsoft documentation.