Introduction To Containers

Containers Explained: How They Power Modern Applications with Speed, Consistency, and Scalability

Containers are lightweight, isolated execution environments that package applications together with their dependencies, ensuring consistent performance across different environments. Unlike traditional virtualization, containers do not require a full guest operating system; instead, they share the host OS kernel, making them faster, simpler, and more resource-efficient.

Key Benefits of Containers

1. Speed – Containers start almost instantly since they do not require booting a full operating system. This makes them ideal for dynamic scaling and rapid deployment.

2. Consistency – Applications run the same way regardless of the environment (development, testing, staging, or production), eliminating the classic “it works on my machine” problem.

3. Simplicity – Containers simplify software distribution and deployment by packaging everything an application needs (libraries, binaries, configurations) into one portable unit.

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Bare Metal vs Virtual Machines vs Containers

• Bare Metal

  • Applications are deployed directly onto the physical machine without any virtualization.

  • Provides maximum performance but lacks isolation, flexibility, and scalability.

  • Maintenance and upgrades can be complex and risky.

• Virtual Machines (VMs)

  • Virtualizes the hardware, allowing multiple operating systems to run on the same physical machine.

  • Each VM requires its own OS, which consumes more resources.

  • Offers strong isolation but at the cost of slower boot times and higher overhead.

• Containers

  • Virtualizes at the operating system level instead of the hardware.

  • Each container runs as an isolated process in its own namespace with only the necessary libraries and binaries.

  • Offers faster start-up, higher density, and easier scalability compared to VMs.

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Containers: Use Cases and Architectures

1. Solving Dev/Prod Parity

• The Problem: Developers often encounter the “it worked on my machine” issue when code behaves differently in production due to mismatched environments.

• With Containers: Both developers and production environments run from the same container image, ensuring consistency. This streamlines collaboration between teams and reduces deployment failures.

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2. Migrating Infrastructure

• Containers make applications highly portable.

• You can build an image once and deploy it anywhere – whether on-premises, in the cloud, or across hybrid infrastructures.

• This eliminates the need for application reconfiguration when moving workloads, making containers a natural fit for cloud migrations and multi-cloud strategies.

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3. Microservices-Based Architectures

• Instead of building large monolithic applications, containers allow developers to break applications into smaller, independent services.

• Each service runs in its own container, can be updated independently, and scaled according to demand.

• Paired with orchestration tools (like Kubernetes), microservices enable teams to build scalable, resilient, and modular applications.

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4. Elastic Architectures

• Containers make it possible to scale applications automatically based on demand.

• Scale-Out: Automation tools monitor system metrics (CPU, memory, network usage) and add new containers when workloads increase.

• Scale-In: When traffic decreases, unused containers are removed to save resources.

• This ensures businesses pay only for the resources they need while maintaining performance under high load.

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5. Self-Healing Architectures

• Containers enable a resilient system design where failed services can be quickly replaced without manual intervention.

• Monitor: Continuously check health status of containers.

• Terminate: If a container fails or becomes unresponsive, it is automatically terminated.

• Redeploy: A fresh container is launched to replace the faulty one.

• This “self-healing” mechanism minimizes downtime and improves reliability.

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6. CI/CD Pipelines (Continuous Integration & Continuous Delivery)

• Containers are integral to modern DevOps workflows.

• Push Change: Developers push updates to the application or service code.

• Detect & Test: CI platforms detect the change, automatically run tests, and validate the build.

• Deploy: If tests succeed, containers are redeployed seamlessly with the new version.

• This enables rapid iteration, reduces human error, and ensures faster delivery of features to users.

How To Install Docker Engine On Ubuntu And Create Your First Container

Navigate to your Ubuntu Linux, go to the Firefox browser, and search for Install Docker Engine on Ubuntu.

Click on the first link and follow the installation source on the left side, select Ubuntu

Open your Ubuntu Linux terminal, enter your root account, and follow the commands stated on the browser by copying and pasting into your Linux terminal.

How To Create A Container Using Port And NGINX

After successfully installed Docker Engine, run these commands to create your first container.

Run - docker run -d (your container name) -p 8080:80 nginx and click on enter.

Run - docker ps -a To list the running containers. you can create multiple containers using the image.

Run - docker ps To see the containers you have running.

Run - docker start To start your container OR Run - docker restart To restart.

Run - docker inspect (your container id or contname) and enter To see everything with in your container.

To see what you created on your ubuntu local host, Navigate to your file explorer, click on other location, var, lib, docker and you will see your containers.

Run - docker logs (our container id) To know who sign, how a person signin..it will show every activities you did with in.

Run - journal ctl -k | grep -i (what you are looking for) To streamline what you are looking for.

Run - dmesg | grep -i (what you are looking for) To debug system issues….To check for errors.

Run - docker rm (your container id) To remove the container permanently.

Run - docker container prune To remove container that is not running.

SUCCESS…..

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