Installation and Setup

Installation and Setup

Docker Engine provides the daemon, API, command-line client, and runtime integration. Docker Desktop packages a managed Linux environment and developer tools for macOS and Windows. Linux servers normally use Docker Engine from an official, supported package source.

Core ideas

• The daemon owns images, containers, networks, and volumes on its endpoint.
• A Docker context stores an endpoint and connection metadata, allowing one client to target different engines.
• Membership in the Linux docker group is effectively root-equivalent access to the daemon.
• Rootless mode can reduce daemon privilege, with platform-specific networking and feature tradeoffs.

How it works

Install from official platform guidance, start the engine, select the expected context, and run hello-world. Configure storage, logging, DNS, proxies, registry trust, and resource limits deliberately. Protect any remote daemon API with mutual TLS and network restrictions.

Command or configuration example

docker version
docker context ls
docker info
docker run --rm hello-world

# Create a context only for a TLS-protected remote endpoint
docker context create staging --docker host=tcp://docker.example:2376

Run examples first in a disposable environment. Replace image names, versions, credentials, ports, paths, and resource values with reviewed settings appropriate to your system.

Production guidance

• Do not expose an unauthenticated Docker socket or TCP endpoint.
• Keep Engine, Desktop, Compose, Buildx, and host security updates current.
• Separate developer convenience settings from locked-down production daemon policy.

The chapter quiz follows this lesson and checks the concepts as well as the operational tradeoffs.