How applications are created and deployed has changed with the use of container technology. With the use of containers, developers bundle their application with all of the dependencies needed for it to run in any given environment and ensure that it runs consistently across environments. The most popular containerization platform today is Docker. As the number of containers that an organization uses increases, manually managing multiple containers can become complicated.

This is where a Docker manager comes in very handy because it provides many of the tools needed to streamline the deployment, monitoring, and scalability of containers. By providing a central place to manage and operate containers, an administrator will find that they are able to more effectively manage modern applications.

What are Docker Containers?

Docker Containers are lightweight, portable environments for packaging software with the dependencies needed to run. Docker Containers share resources of the host operating system but do not have to be virtualized and can be installed and set up within a short period of time.

There are several benefits associated with using a container-based deployment model in a production environment:

• Speed in Deploying Applications.
• Consistent and Reliable Environments.
• Efficient Use of Resources.
• Application Portability.

What Is Docker Manager?

The term ‘Docker manager’ refers to any software or platform that manages and operates in a containerized environment. Using these tools, administrators can deploy, manage, and monitor their deployed containers without executing commands manually for each individual container.

Docker managers allow teams to manage clusters of containers as a group rather than managing each container independently. Other core capabilities include task automation and centralized performance management.

This means that instead of having to do the same process multiple times to deploy containers, as they typically would have to do manually. Docker managers provide a predefined structure to enable administrators to deploy containers quickly and easily.

Consequently, the speed of the development lifecycle is significantly increased, and the potential for configuration errors is reduced.

Centralized Monitoring of Containers

Once the application scales and multiple containers run concurrently in different environments, it becomes exponentially tedious to monitor individual containers.

To address this issue, Docker managers provide centralized dashboards for monitoring the status, performance, and logging of all containers. This centralized visibility provides teams the ability to identify problems in the early stages of their existence and help ensure that systems remain healthy.

Additionally, the use of centralized monitoring enhances the speed and accuracy with which organizations can identify problems and effectively troubleshoot them.

Scaling of Containers Automatically

Containers have a major feature of being able to be scaled easily. When you use a Docker manager, it makes scaling of containers based on the demand for those containers much easier to manage.

When you get an increase in user traffic to your application, the Docker manager can automatically create (start) new containers to handle the additional load. Likewise, when your application is experiencing a decrease in user traffic, it will automatically stop  the containers that are not being used in order to preserve system resources.

With this type of dynamic scaling, you can ensure that your applications are able to perform at the highest possible level without wasting excessive amounts of infrastructure resources.

Resource Management/Optimization

Each container shares system resources (CPU and memory) with other containers. If the system resources are shared inappropriately, resource conflicts can occur.

The use of a Docker manager allows the system administrator to assign system resources to containers efficiently. The system administrator can place limits on the amount of resources (CPU & memory) that each container is able to consume, and also monitor the consumption of resources by each container.

This will prevent a single container from tying up all of the system resources and adversely affecting the operation of other services.

Ability to Collaborate Better Between Development Teams

Container Management software provides a common working environment to all members of the development teams

• Systems Administration Teams
• DevOps Teams.

This shared environment allows teams to communicate better with each other when developing, testing, or deploying their applications.

These teams will also be able to deploy new updates to existing applications and maintain the reliability of the system at the same time as they do this.

Security and Access Control

Containerized environments require security to ensure their safe operation. The use of Docker managers provides secure application operations through access control and monitoring capabilities.

Restrictions on container/host permissions, container activity monitoring, and monitoring for configuration changes are some of the ways that administrators can reduce exposure to risk and prevent unauthorized modifications to applications.

Container security can also be strengthened through regular patching/updates and continued monitoring of container activity.

Integration with Server Management Tools

To effectively manage containers, server resource coordination is often necessary. A web hosting control panel can provide server configuration, domain configuration, and resource monitoring; all of which can be valuable resources to Docker managers when managing containers.

These tools together help create a balanced environment for the efficient management of both the containers and the supporting hosting infrastructure.

Potential Challenges to Recognize

Even though managing your own Docker environment makes everything easier, you still have to plan to configure (properly) each item appropriately. Admins need to have an understanding of how to configure the container network, how to set up a container, how to create volume mounts and configure the security policies for both your container and your host.

Without thinking through these steps when setting up your Docker Environment scaling and deploying errors will occur. Ensuring that everything is being monitored, documented regularly, and kept in a stable state over time helps ensure that the environment remains stable.

Conclusion

Docker managers are an important part of modern application infrastructures. They provide the ability to deploy containers quickly and easily, improve the ability to monitor container operation, and automate the scaling of the container-based workloads over time.

Docker Managers provide a centralized method for managing containers—reducing the operational complexity and increasing efficiency for developers and operations teams. As more and more applications are migrated to be containerized, the tools that make managing Docker easier will continue to play an important role in helping to deliver and maintain reliable and scalable system architectures.