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
# 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
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:
Worker Nodes:
Kubernetes Resources
#### Deployments
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
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
name: webapp-service
spec:
type: LoadBalancer
selector:
app: webapp
ports:
- port: 80
targetPort: 3000Scaling Strategies
Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA):
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: 70Production Best Practices
Conclusion
Docker and Kubernetes form the foundation of modern cloud-native applications. Master these tools to build scalable, resilient systems.
Recommended Reading

Kubernetes in Action
by Marko Lukša
Deep dive into Kubernetes concepts and operations
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Docker Deep Dive
by Nigel Poulton
The most comprehensive Docker book available
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
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