What is Docker? Why you might be using it wrong & how to get the most out of your containers.
With the advent of all the new and exciting tech developments in recent years, its time to talk about the latest hot virtualisation technology from 2013! Jokes aside Docker is here to stay and is an absolutely invaluable tool for making the most out of your platform. As Devops engineers we encourage the move to containerisation, we want you as engineers to take ownership of your SDLC from beginning to end and containers are a fantastic way to give you that control and flexibility you need to keep being awesome. Whether you are an absolute beginner or a seasoned pro that wants a Devops perspective, this could be the workshop you are looking for. We are going to discuss what Docker is (and what it is not), we'll go through building containers, building containers for multiple architectures, right the way through to connecting multiple containers together into one coherent platform. Remember that there are no stupid questions, if theres anything you've been burning to know about Docker or containers in general then this might be the time to ask
What you should know
Nothing, no really, no prior knowledge of Docker is required as we are starting off from the bottom to get the foundation right, we will ramp up fairly quickly so don't worry if you know the basics already, all i ask is you keep an open mind as there may be things from even the basic level that everyone can learn.
What you should have
A laptop of some variety, with an x86_64 processor is the easiest option but as we are covering multi architecture builds surprisingly M1 and M2 macs are welcome. You will need to have docker, buildx and docker compose installed, instructions for these and any other software will be provided before the program as will any associated files and base images to pull so we are covered in case of network issues. On the off chance that everything is working smoothly on the day then creating a free account on docker hub 'https://hub.docker.com' will allow you to upload the containers you build so you can play with them at your leisure
Installation
Matt is a senior devops engineer at Lendable, he started out as a Linux sysadmin almost 20 years ago and worked his way up until devops became a thing, weirdly obsessed with automation and containerization which makes him a great devops engineer but a questionable party guest.
