Introduction:
And how is it possible to migrate a Linux server without getting a massive headache? Believed it was impossible. But it’s not. Today I want to share with you some insights that might just change your deployments and migrations forever. Are you ready?
The Problem
For a moment, the idea was real. Linux server migrations could involve scaling the mountain of pain. Compatibility headaches and downtime hell, oh my! Manual processes that ratcheted up effort, risk and cost, and frequently had the poor sysadmin trying to stay sane while wailing and grinding teeth.
What are these containers?
If you’re wondering, ‘But Docker containers? Everything I’ve ever heard tells me they’re all for coding hipsters.’ Yes … and no. Docker is ready to come out of its beta period and shake up the server migration world. Even if you aren’t a coding geek.
The Solution
But how exactly does Docker work, and why might it make your Linux server migrations easier? Docker is a container technology that virtualization the application stack as a collection of dependent units. Put another way, Docker containers serve up the whole application as a single virtual, standalone and physically tiny starter file that can include the code, dependencies, libraries and even the environment needed to make the app run.
Examples
Suppose you are moving a web application from one server to another. If you are doing this by hand, starting with a blank system, you’ll have to install and configure all the software, libraries and configuration settings manually. It’s time-consuming, notoriously error-prone, and thus fraught with inconsistency.
But when you’re packaging up your application in a Docker container, you don’t need to worry about any of that. You package up your application, its dependencies, and deploy it to the new host system. Docker containers are isolated from the underlying system, so you won’t have to try to shoehorn your container into a system with the same exact system dependencies and libraries. Instead, it’s like moving your application as a whole into a tight little box that you can then plop down anywhere you want.
Conclusion
To sum up then, if you are still migrating your Linux servers like in the 90’s and still wasting millions (yes this is real) of configuration, memory and CPU cycles on inefficiencies of the traditional way, it is time to jump into the future and reap the benefits of simplicity, flexibility and efficiency delivered by Docker container technology. You will definitely wonder why you ever migrated the way you did. Have a nice migration!
