Ya sea que esté planeando comenzar su carrera en DevOps o ya lo esté, si no tiene a Docker en su currículum, sin duda es hora de que lo piense, ya que Docker es una de las habilidades críticas para cualquier persona que está en el campo de DevOps.
En esta publicación, haré todo lo posible para explicar Docker de la manera más simple que pueda.
Antes de profundizar y comenzar a explorar Docker, echemos un vistazo a los temas que cubriremos como parte de esta guía para principiantes.
- ¿Qué es Docker?
- El problema que resuelve Docker
- Ventajas y desventajas de usar Docker
- Componentes principales de Docker
- Terminología de Docker
- ¿Qué es Docker Hub?
- Ediciones Docker
- Instalación de Docker
- Algunos comandos de Docker esenciales para comenzar
- Envolver
Comencemos entendiendo, ¿Qué es Docker?
En términos simples, Docker es una plataforma de software que simplifica el proceso de construcción, ejecución, administración y distribución de aplicaciones. Para ello, virtualiza el sistema operativo de la computadora en la que está instalado y en ejecución.
La primera edición de Docker se lanzó en 2013.
Docker se desarrolla utilizando el lenguaje de programación GO.

Ahora intentemos comprender el problema y la solución que Docker tiene para ofrecer.
El problema
Supongamos que tiene tres aplicaciones diferentes basadas en Python que planea alojar en un solo servidor (que podría ser una máquina física o virtual).
Cada una de estas aplicaciones hace uso de una versión diferente de Python, así como las bibliotecas y dependencias asociadas, difieren de una aplicación a otra.
Dado que no podemos tener diferentes versiones de Python instaladas en la misma máquina, esto nos impide alojar las tres aplicaciones en la misma computadora.
La solución
Veamos cómo podríamos resolver este problema sin hacer uso de Docker. En tal escenario, podríamos resolver este problema al tener tres máquinas físicas, o una sola máquina física, que es lo suficientemente poderosa para alojar y ejecutar tres máquinas virtuales en ella.
Ambas opciones nos permitirían instalar diferentes versiones de Python en cada una de estas máquinas, junto con sus dependencias asociadas.
Independientemente de la solución que elijamos, los costos asociados con la adquisición y el mantenimiento del hardware son bastante elevados.
Ahora, veamos cómo Docker podría ser una solución eficiente y rentable para este problema.
Para entender esto, debemos echar un vistazo a cómo funciona exactamente Docker.

La máquina en la que Docker está instalado y ejecutándose generalmente se conoce como Docker Host o Host en términos simples.
Entonces, siempre que planee implementar una aplicación en el host, creará una entidad lógica en él para albergar esa aplicación. En la terminología de Docker, llamamos a esta entidad lógica un contenedor o un contenedor de Docker para ser más precisos.
Un contenedor Docker no tiene ningún sistema operativo instalado ni ejecutándose. Pero tendría una copia virtual de la tabla de procesos, la (s) interfaz (es) de red y los puntos de montaje del sistema de archivos. Estos se han heredado del sistema operativo del host en el que se aloja y ejecuta el contenedor.
Mientras que el núcleo del sistema operativo del host se comparte entre todos los contenedores que se ejecutan en él.
Esto permite que cada contenedor esté aislado del otro presente en el mismo host. Por lo tanto, admite varios contenedores con diferentes requisitos de aplicación y dependencias para ejecutarse en el mismo host, siempre que tengan los mismos requisitos del sistema operativo.
Para comprender cómo Docker ha sido beneficioso para resolver este problema, debe consultar la siguiente sección, que analiza las ventajas y desventajas de usar Docker.
En resumen, Docker virtualizaría el sistema operativo del host en el que está instalado y en ejecución, en lugar de virtualizar los componentes de hardware.
Las ventajas y desventajas de usar Docker
Ventajas de usar Docker
A continuación, se enumeran algunos de los beneficios clave de usar Docker:
- Docker admite múltiples aplicaciones con diferentes requisitos y dependencias de aplicaciones, para que se alojen juntas en el mismo host, siempre que tengan los mismos requisitos del sistema operativo.
- Almacenamiento optimizado. Se puede alojar una gran cantidad de aplicaciones en el mismo host, ya que los contenedores suelen tener un tamaño de pocos megabytes y consumen muy poco espacio en disco.
- Robustez. Un contenedor no tiene un sistema operativo instalado. Por lo tanto, consume muy poca memoria en comparación con una máquina virtual (que tendría un sistema operativo completo instalado y ejecutándose). Esto también reduce el tiempo de arranque a solo unos segundos, en comparación con un par de minutos necesarios para arrancar una máquina virtual.
- Reduce costos. Docker es menos exigente cuando se trata del hardware necesario para ejecutarlo.
Desventajas de usar Docker
- Las aplicaciones con diferentes requisitos de sistema operativo no se pueden alojar juntas en el mismo host de Docker. Por ejemplo, digamos que tenemos 4 aplicaciones diferentes, de las cuales 3 aplicaciones requieren un sistema operativo basado en Linux y la otra aplicación requiere un sistema operativo basado en Windows. En tal escenario, las 3 aplicaciones que requieren un sistema operativo basado en Linux se pueden hospedar en un solo Docker Host, mientras que la aplicación que requiere un sistema operativo basado en Windows debe hospedarse en un Docker Host diferente.
Componentes principales de Docker
Docker Engine es uno de los componentes principales de Docker. Es responsable del funcionamiento general de la plataforma Docker.
Docker Engine es una aplicación basada en cliente-servidor y consta de 3 componentes principales.
- Servidor
- API REST
- Cliente

El servidor ejecuta un demonio conocido como dockerd (Docker Daemon) , que no es más que un proceso. Es responsable de crear y administrar imágenes, contenedores, redes y volúmenes de Docker en la plataforma Docker.
La API REST especifica cómo las aplicaciones pueden interactuar con el servidor y le indica que haga su trabajo.
El cliente no es más que una interfaz de línea de comandos que permite a los usuarios interactuar con Docker usando los comandos.
Terminología de Docker
Echemos un vistazo rápido a la terminología asociada con Docker.
Docker Images and Docker Containers are the two essential things that you will come across daily while working with Docker.
In simple terms, a Docker Image is a template that contains the application, and all the dependencies required to run that application on Docker.
On the other hand, as stated earlier, a Docker Container is a logical entity. In more precise terms, it is a running instance of the Docker Image.
What is Docker Hub?
Docker Hub is the official online repository where you could find all the Docker Images that are available for us to use.
Docker Hub also allows us to store and distribute our custom images as well if we wish to do so. We could also make them either public or private, based on our requirements.
Please Note: Free users are only allowed to keep one Docker Image as private. If we wish to keep more than one Docker Image as private, we need to subscribe to a paid subscription plan.
Docker Editions
Docker is available in 2 different editions, as listed below:
- Community Edition (CE)
- Enterprise Edition (EE)
The Community Edition is suitable for individual developers and small teams. It offers limited functionality, in comparison to the Enterprise Edition.
The Enterprise Edition, on the other hand, is suitable for large teams and for using Docker in production environments.
The Enterprise Edition is further categorized into three different editions, as listed below:
- Basic Edition
- Standard Edition
- Advanced Edition
Installing Docker
One last thing that we need to know before we go ahead and get our hands dirty with Docker is actually to have Docker installed.
Below are the links to the official Docker CE installation guides. You can follow these guides to install Docker on your machine, as they are simple and straightforward.
- CentOS Linux
- Debian Linux
- Fedora Linux
- Ubuntu Linux
- Microsoft Windows
- MacOS
Want to skip installation and head off straight to practicing Docker?
Just in case you are feeling too lazy to install Docker, or you don’t have enough resources available on your computer, you need not have to worry — here’s the solution to your problem.
You can head over to Play with Docker, which is an online playground for Docker. It allows users to practice Docker commands immediately, without having to install anything on your machine. The best part is it’s simple to use and available free of cost.
Docker Commands
Now it’s time to get our hands dirty with Docker commands, for which we all have been waiting till now.
docker create
The first command which we will be looking at is the docker create command.
This command allows us to create a new container.
The syntax for this command is as shown below:
docker create [options] IMAGE [commands] [arguments]
Please Note: Anything enclosed within the square brackets is optional. This is applicable to all the commands that you would see on this guide.
Some of the examples of using this command are shown below:
$ docker create fedora
02576e880a2ccbb4ce5c51032ea3b3bb8316e5b626861fc87d28627c810af03
In the above example, the docker create command would create a new container using the latest Fedora image.
Before creating the container, it will check if the latest official image of the Fedora is available on the Docker Host or not. If the latest image isn’t available on the Docker Host, it will then go ahead and download the Fedora image from the Docker Hub before creating the container. If the Fedora image is already present on the Docker Host, it will make use of that image and create the container.
If the container was created successfully, Docker will return the container ID. For instance, in the above example 02576e880a2ccbb4ce5c51032ea3b3bb8316e5b626861fc87d28627c810af03 is the container ID returned by Docker.
Each container has a unique container ID. We refer to the container using its container ID for performing various operations on the container, such as starting, stopping, restarting, and so on.
Now, let us refer to another example of docker create command, which has options and commands being passed to it.
$ docker create -t -i ubuntu bash
30986b73dc0022dbba81648d9e35e6e866b4356f026e75660460c3474f1ca005
In the above example, the docker create command creates a container using the Ubuntu image (As stated earlier, if the image isn’t available on the Docker Host, it will go ahead and download the latest image from the Docker Hub before creating the container).
The options -t and -i instruct Docker to allocate a terminal to the container so that the user can interact with the container. It also instructs Docker to execute the bash command whenever the container is started.
docker ps
The next command we will look at is the docker ps command.
The docker ps command allows us to view all the containers that are running on the Docker Host.
$ docker ps
CONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES30986b73dc00 ubuntu "bash" 45 minutes ago Up About a minute elated_franklin
It only displays the containers that are presently running on the Docker Host.
If you want to view all the containers that were created on this Docker Host, irrespective of their current status, such as whether they are running or exited, then you would need to include the option -a, which in turn would display all the containers that were created on this Docker Host.
$ docker ps -a
CONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES30986b73dc00 ubuntu “bash” About an hour ago Up 29 minutes elated_franklin02576e880a2c fedora “/bin/bash” About an hour ago Created hungry_sinoussi
Before we proceed further, let’s try to decode and understand the output of the docker ps command.
CONTAINER ID: A unique string consisting of alpha-numeric characters, associated with each container.
IMAGE: Name of the Docker Image used to create this container.
COMMAND: Any application specific command(s) that needs to be executed when the container is started.
CREATED: This shows the time elapsed since this container has been created.
STATUS: This shows the current status of the container, along with the time elapsed, in its present state.
If the container is running, it will display as Up along with the time period elapsed (for example, Up About an hour or Up 3 minutes).
If the container is stopped, then it will display as Exited followed by the exit status code within round brackets, along with the time period elapsed (for example, Exited (0) 3 weeks ago or Exited (137) 15 seconds ago, where 0 and 137 are the exit codes).
PORTS: This displays any port mappings defined for the container.
NAMES: Apart from the CONTAINER ID, each container is also assigned a unique name. We can refer to a container either using its container ID or its unique name. Docker automatically assigns a unique silly name to each container it creates. But if you want to specify your own name to the container, you can do that by including the — — name
(double hyphen name) option to the docker create or the docker run (we will look at the docker run command later) command.
I hope this gives you a better understanding of the output of the docker ps command.
docker start
The next command we will look at, is the docker start command.
This command starts any stopped container(s).
The syntax for this command is as shown below:
docker start [options] CONTAINER ID/NAME [CONTAINER ID/NAME…]
We can start a container either by specifying the first few unique characters of its container ID or by specifying its name.
Some of the examples of using this command are shown below:
$ docker start 30986
In the above example, Docker starts the container beginning with the container ID 30986.
$ docker start elated_franklin
Whereas in this example, Docker starts the container named elated_franklin.
docker stop
The next command on the list is the docker stop command.
This command stops any running container(s).
The syntax for this command is as shown below:
docker stop [options] CONTAINER ID/NAME [CONTAINER ID/NAME…]
It is similar to the docker start command.
We can stop the container either by specifying the first few unique characters of its container ID or by specifying its name.
Some of the examples of using this command are shown below:
$ docker stop 30986
In the above example, Docker will stop the container beginning with the container ID 30986.
$ docker stop elated_franklin
Whereas in this example, Docker will stop the container named elated_franklin.
docker restart
The next command we will look at is the docker restart command.
This command restarts any running container(s).
The syntax for this command is as shown below:
docker restart [options] CONTAINER ID/NAME [CONTAINER ID/NAME…]
We can restart the container either by specifying the first few unique characters of its container ID or by specifying its name.
Some of the examples of using this command are shown below:
$ docker restart 30986
In the above example, Docker will restart the container beginning with the container ID 30986.
$ docker restart elated_franklin
Whereas in this example, Docker will restart the container named elated_franklin.
docker run
The next command we will be looking at is the docker run command.
This command first creates the container, and then it starts the container. In short, this command is a combination of the docker create and the docker start command.
The syntax for this command is as shown below:
docker run [options] IMAGE [commands] [arguments]
It has a syntax similar to that of the docker create command.
Some of the examples of using this command are shown below:
$ docker run ubuntu
30fa018c72682d78cf168626b5e6138bb3b3ae23015c5ec4bbcc2a088e67520
In the above example, Docker will create the container using the latest Ubuntu image and then immediately start the container.
If we execute the above command, it would start the container and immediately stop it — we wouldn’t get any chance to interact with the container at all.
If we want to interact with the container, then we need to specify the options: -it (hyphen followed by i and t) to the docker run command presents us with the terminal, using which we could interact with the container by typing in appropriate commands. Below is an example of the same.
$ docker run -it ubuntu
root@e4e633428474:/#
In order to come out of the container, you need to type exit in the terminal.
docker rm
Moving on to the next command — if we want to delete a container, we use the docker rm command.
The syntax for this command is as shown below:
docker rm [options] CONTAINER ID/NAME [CONTAINER ID/NAME...]
Some of the examples of using this command are shown below:
$ docker rm 30fa elated_franklin
In the above example, we are instructing Docker to delete 2 containers within a single command. The first container to be deleted is specified using its container ID, and the second container to be deleted is specified using its name.
Please Note: The containers need to be in a stopped state in order to be deleted.
docker images
docker images is the next command on the list.
This command lists out all the Docker Images that are present on your Docker Host.
$ docker images
REPOSITORY TAG IMAGE CREATED SIZEmysql latest 7bb2586065cd 38 hours ago 477MBhttpd latest 5eace252f2f2 38 hours ago 132MBubuntu 16.04 9361ce633ff1 2 weeks ago 118MBubuntu trusty 390582d83ead 2 weeks ago 188MBfedora latest d09302f77cfc 2 weeks ago 275MBubuntu latest 94e814e2efa8 2 weeks ago 88.9MB
Let us decode the output of the docker images command.
REPOSITORY: This represents the unique name of the Docker Image.
TAG: Each image is associated with a unique tag. A tag basically represents a version of the image.
A tag is usually represented either using a word or set of numbers or a combination of alphanumeric characters.
IMAGE ID: A unique string consisting of alpha-numeric characters, associated with each image.
CREATED: This shows the time elapsed since this image has been created.
SIZE: This shows the size of the image.
docker rmi
The next command on the list is the docker rmi command.
The docker rmi command allows us to remove an image(s) from the Docker Host.
The syntax for this command is as shown below:
docker rmi [options] IMAGE NAME/ID [IMAGE NAME/ID...]
Some of the examples of using this command are shown below:
docker rmi mysql
The above command removes the image named mysql from the Docker Host.
docker rmi httpd fedora
The above command removes the images named httpd and fedora from the Docker Host.
docker rmi 94e81
The above command removes the image starting with the image ID 94e81 from the Docker Host.
docker rmi ubuntu:trusty
The above command removes the image named ubuntu, with the tag trusty from the Docker Host.
These were some of the basic Docker commands you will see. There are many more Docker commands to explore.
Wrap-Up
La contenerización ha recibido recientemente la atención que se merece, aunque ha existido durante mucho tiempo. Algunas de las principales empresas de tecnología como Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Intel, Tesla y Juniper Networks tienen su propia versión personalizada de motores de contenedores. Dependen en gran medida de ellos para crear, ejecutar, administrar y distribuir sus aplicaciones.
Docker es un motor de contenedorización extremadamente poderoso y tiene mucho que ofrecer cuando se trata de construir, ejecutar, administrar y distribuir sus aplicaciones de manera eficiente.Acaba de ver a Docker a un nivel muy alto. Hay mucho más que aprender sobre Docker, como:
- Comandos de Docker (comandos más potentes)
- Imágenes de Docker (cree sus propias imágenes personalizadas)
- Docker Networking (instalación y configuración de redes)
- Servicios de Docker (Agrupación de contenedores que usan la misma imagen)
- Docker Stack (Grouping services required by an application)
- Docker Compose (Tool for managing and running multiple containers)
- Docker Swarm (Grouping and managing one or more machines on which docker is running)
- And much more…
If you have found Docker to be fascinating, and are interested in learning more about it, then I would recommend that you enroll in the courses which are listed below. I found them to be very informative and straight to the point.
If you are an absolute beginner, then I would suggest you enroll in this course, which has been designed for beginners.
If you have some good knowledge about Docker, and are pretty much confident with the basic stuff and want to expand your knowledge, then I would suggest you should enroll into this course, which is aimed more towards advanced topics related to Docker.
Docker es una habilidad preparada para el futuro y está cobrando impulso.
Invertir su tiempo y dinero en aprender Docker no sería algo de lo que se arrepintiera.
Espero que hayas encontrado esta publicación informativa. siéntete libre de compartirlo. Esto realmente significa mucho para mí.Antes de que te despidas ...
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