CODEWITHSUNDEEP
windowsdocker
Toomanyquestions
Toomanyquestions

Reputation: 31

Docker on Windows 10 Home

My question is: If you use Docker tool box (that is required for windows 10 home to run Docker) you are essentially using a virtual machine (vm)?

If you are using a vm already the only reason to use docker from that point is to save on many more multiple instances?

Meaning if you only want 1 extra (guest instance): you can have a vm. Though, with docker (toolbox on windows 10 home) you would have 1 vm and it runs docker?

The only way that is useful is if you want many more instances as in: 1 vm + 1 docker or + 1000 more dockers?

Or am I missing something?

Upvotes: 3

Views: 1779

Answers (4)

neves
neves

Reputation: 39433

The greatest feature of the Windows 10 Home May 2020 Update is Windows Subsystem for Linus 2. You can docker in it without the need for a complete virtual machine as in Virtual Box.

Install Docker Desktop that it will automatically indentify WSL2.

Upvotes: 0

kowalski5233
kowalski5233

Reputation: 131

To answer the "usefulness" portion of the question:

It's also useful if you run code on a server, but need to develop/debug/update it. You want to test it locally, but to make sure the environment in which it executes is the same (to avoid unexpected, environment specific behavior), you use Docker both locally and on the server. In such a case, even though it's slow, I'll spin up a VM on my W10 Home laptop and run Docker in it.

Upvotes: 0

cuuupid
cuuupid

Reputation: 1012

So although Docker CE will tell you your Windows doesn't support Hyper-V, this isn't always the case (if you check in System Info you might have Hyper-V enabled, if you're on an Insider build or many builds on GPU computers after Anniversary update then you probably have Hyper-V on Windows 10 Home). There are a few workarounds until the Docker team addresses this issue.

You could use Docker from inside WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). Microsoft claims WSL accesses everything directly without Hyper-V so this should be theoretically at the same speed. Of course you can't use your GPU at all because of limitations with GPU passthrough on WSL, which you can ask to be resolved here.

You can also use Docker Toolbox as the other answer stated with Virtualbox, but this will be inherently much slower as you're virtualizing a container inside a virtualized container. You should be able to theoretically get GPU support through this, as well as other features e.g. GUI that you wouldn't be able to with WSL.

Upvotes: 0

JosephWorks
JosephWorks

Reputation: 692

Yes, docker toolbox uses Oracle VirtualBox cause Windows 7, 8, and Windows 10 home cannot use Hyper V. And yes, If you are using a VM already the only reason to use docker from that point is to save on many more multiple instances but it also allows easy backup and deployment. But you are losing a decent amount of memory when running a VM and then even more when you are running docker.

Upvotes: 1

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