DevOpsJanuary 6, 2026

Docker & Kubernetes Deep Dive: From Containers to Orchestration

Comprehensive guide to containerization with Docker and orchestration with Kubernetes. Learn cluster management, scaling strategies, and production best practices.

DT

Dev Team

18 min read

#docker#kubernetes#containers#k8s#devops#orchestration
Docker & Kubernetes Deep Dive: From Containers to Orchestration

Understanding Containers

Containers provide lightweight, portable, and consistent environments for running applications. Unlike virtual machines, containers share the host OS kernel, making them significantly more efficient.

Docker Fundamentals

Docker revolutionized containerization by providing an easy-to-use platform for building, shipping, and running containers.

#### Creating a Dockerfile

DOCKERFILE
# Multi-stage build for production
FROM node:20-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

FROM node:20-alpine AS runner
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "dist/server.js"]

Docker Compose for Local Development

YAML
version: '3.8'
services:
  app:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://db:5432/app
    depends_on:
      - db
  
  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: app
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: secret
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  postgres_data:

Kubernetes Architecture

Kubernetes (K8s) orchestrates containerized workloads across a cluster of machines.

Core Components

Control Plane:

  • API Server: Central management point
  • etcd: Distributed key-value store for cluster state
  • Scheduler: Assigns pods to nodes
  • Controller Manager: Maintains desired state
  • Worker Nodes:

  • kubelet: Manages containers on the node
  • kube-proxy: Network routing
  • Container Runtime: Docker, containerd, or CRI-O
  • Kubernetes Resources

    #### Deployments

    YAML
    apiVersion: apps/v1
    kind: Deployment
    metadata:
      name: webapp
    spec:
      replicas: 3
      selector:
        matchLabels:
          app: webapp
      template:
        metadata:
          labels:
            app: webapp
        spec:
          containers:
          - name: webapp
            image: myapp:1.0.0
            ports:
            - containerPort: 3000
            resources:
              requests:
                memory: "128Mi"
                cpu: "100m"
              limits:
                memory: "256Mi"
                cpu: "200m"
            livenessProbe:
              httpGet:
                path: /health
                port: 3000
              initialDelaySeconds: 30
              periodSeconds: 10

    #### Services

    YAML
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Service
    metadata:
      name: webapp-service
    spec:
      type: LoadBalancer
      selector:
        app: webapp
      ports:
      - port: 80
        targetPort: 3000

    Scaling Strategies

    Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA):

    YAML
    apiVersion: autoscaling/v2
    kind: HorizontalPodAutoscaler
    metadata:
      name: webapp-hpa
    spec:
      scaleTargetRef:
        apiVersion: apps/v1
        kind: Deployment
        name: webapp
      minReplicas: 2
      maxReplicas: 10
      metrics:
      - type: Resource
        resource:
          name: cpu
          target:
            type: Utilization
            averageUtilization: 70

    Production Best Practices

  • Use namespaces to isolate workloads
  • Implement resource limits to prevent noisy neighbors
  • Configure health checks for reliable deployments
  • Use secrets management (Vault, Sealed Secrets)
  • Implement network policies for security
  • Set up monitoring with Prometheus and Grafana
  • Conclusion

    Docker and Kubernetes form the foundation of modern cloud-native applications. Master these tools to build scalable, resilient systems.

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