unable to start 'Docker for windows' on Azure Win 10 VM

Question

I just downloaded "Docker for Windows" from the Docker Hub website https://hub.docker.com/editions/community/docker-ce-desktop-windows

I am running an Azure VM with Windows 10 Pro N. The VM's size is 'Standard B2s (2 vcpus, 4 GB memory)'

I am getting the error below:

I read this link: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/nested-virtualization-in-azure/

Is this issue due to VM size? If so, how do I install the version of Docker for this VM?

Answer 1

I had the same problem getting Docker upp and running inside an Aure Virtual Machine and the two core blocking issues are:

1. Ensure that the VM SKU size supports virtualization, and I usually use Standard_D2s_v3 or Standard_D2s_v4.

2. Ensure you do not enable Trusted Launch Virtual Machines because this feature disables virtualization inside the VM.

Step two above took me a day or more to figure out!

I blogged about the details about how to get Docker to run in Azure here: Running Docker in an Azure Windows Virtual Machine – Not so fast!

Answer 2

Only certain Azure VMs support nested virtualization. This link shows which ones support it.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/acu

Look for the machines with "***" in the "vCPU: Core" column as the article states:

***Hyper-threaded and capable of running nested virtualization

Answer 3

Yes, it due to the VM size. While you want to install Docker engine in the Windows VM, you need to enable the virtualization in the VM. And for Azure VM, it means the appropriate sizes for the VM. See the steps that enable nested virtualization in an Azure VM. Then the Docker engine will work well in the VM.

Here is the example, the vm size is Standard D2s v3 (2 vcpus, 8 GiB memory), then the docker engine installs in it and works well. Below is the screenshot: