Microsoft to build support for Docker containers in next version of Windows Server

Microsoft took a further step underlining its commitment to make open source technologies available with its support for Docker containers into the next version of Windows Server that would release some time next year, TechTarget reported.

Docker is an open platform for distributed applications for developers and sysadmins.
With the new support, larger corporate and third-party developers would be able to create Docker container applications running on Windows Server either on-premises or Windows Azure in a virtual machine.

While according to most analysts, it was a smart, if not predictable move, according to some Windows Server users, most IT shops were not technically savvy enough to begin integrating the technology.

According to Mike Drips, a solutions architect with WiPro, Inc, to do this, one had to be either a [venture capital] funded startup or state-of-the-art enterprise that had a sophisticated staff to support this technology. He added, this required a level of support that most smaller and medium-size companies just would not be able to surface up.

The move could indicate, however, that Microsoft recognised next generation of applications using containers or container-like deployment methods potentially made it easier for users to abstract the application away from the operating system.

According to Al Gillen, program vice president, servers and system software at IDC, this allowed users to move to more of a continuous upgrade format for their OS without the traditional time-consuming task of dealing with application compatibility.

According to The Register, what containerization allowed users to do was launch multiple applications that shared the same OS kernel and other system resources but otherwise acted as though they were running on separate machines, with each sandboxed off from the others to not eliminate possibility of interference.

With Docker users got an easy way to package, distribute, deploy, and manage containerised applications. This came in especially handy for what Docker termed "cloud native" apps, where instead of deploying servers loaded with monolithic application stacks, administrators offered multiple "microservices" on virtual machine instances that then combined to form the complete product.

"If you look at the new modern web startups like Netflix or Yelp or Gilt Groupe or Groupon, they're all developing applications differently," Scott Johnston, Docker's senior VP of product, told The Reg in a briefing yesterday. "They're developing discrete components that are then aggregated together to create the final service that the consumer or the web browser sees."