Enable Linux Containers On Windows Server 2016

To run containers on windows server you need a physical server or virtual machine running windows server semi annual channel windows server 2019 or windows server 2016.

Enable linux containers on windows server 2016.

In this article i am going to walk through how to setup a container host using windows server 2016 version 1709 to run both windows and linux containers. Windows server 2016 version 1709 which is the only support os for running linux containers docker enterprise edition 17 10 preview 3 the docker linuxkit feature this is the feature that allows us to run linux containers and i ll show you how to enable it. It won t work on windows server 2016 of which the version is older than 1709. Windows nano server 2016 container image.

Deploying a windows container host has different steps depending on the operating system and the host system type physical or virtual. It turns out the linux containers on windows lcow server is a preview feature of both windows server version 1709 and docker ee. This document details deploying a windows container host to either windows server 2016 or windows server core 2016 on a physical or virtual system. Currently docker is the most used linux and windows containers management tools and also consider as the standard in the industry.

To run containers on windows 10 you need the following. Last time i checked the docker hub repository i saw that microsoft. Though containers are not a new concept for developers the integration of containers as a feature of the windows server environment is a big leap for developers security and network operations. On windows 10 using docker for windows linux containers run inside a full hyper v vm.

As a side learning of this topic i also got some ideas about the windows server semi annual channel. In windows server 2016 microsoft introduced windows containers. You cannot run linux containers on windows server 2016 yet. For testing you can download a copy of windows server 2019 evaluation or a windows server insider preview.

Now that windows server 1709 has been released we have some new features to play with. According to this from stefan scherer it is possible to run linux containers on server 2016. There is no release date for that yet. The base container images available on windows containers are.

It means that you can now run windows and linux containers at the same time on a windows server container host running windows server 1709 or windows 10 with the fall creators update 1709. Windows server 2016 1709 contains several enhancements for docker customers. Microsoft announced linux containers on windows server 2016 using windows hyper v containers. Windows server core 2016 container image.