Docker Cloud is a new service that aims to make it easier to work with Docker containers on multiple Clouds, developer Borja Burgos announced on Docker’s blog. The service aims to make it possible to build, ship, and run containers within the Docker ecosystem.
Docker Cloud expands on the features provided by Tutum, a start-up that Docker bought a few months ago, says Burgos, himself one of Tutum’s co-founders, by providing full integration with Docker Hub, Docker ID, Docker official repositories, and the Docker Engine. Docker Cloud thus allows developers and DevOps to:
- containerize applications;
- continuously deploy containers on any cloud through automated build, test, and deployment workflows;
- easily manage all containers and nodes.
Docker Cloud supports Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Digital Ocean, Packet, SoftLayer, and custom hosted nodes. Once a Docker Cloud account has been linked to one or more cloud providers, Docker Cloud requires the creation of node clusters, which are used to scale the infrastructure when needed. Within a cluster, all nodes should be of the same type and belong to the same provider. The next step after creating a node cluster is deploying a service, which is associated to a specific container with a given image:tag. Once a container has been associated to a node cluster, it can be configured by specifying the initial number of containers, ports, set memory and CPU limits, environment variables, etc. After that, a service can be created and deployed.
All of the above described steps can be carried through by using Docker Cloud web UI, or using its HTTP REST API and Websocket Stream API, which provide endpoints such actions, providers, nodes, services, etc.
Docker Cloud is a paid service for all Docker accounts, but it provides a free tier allowing up to 1 node, with additional nodes available at $0.02/node/hour.