github.com/slava-ustovytski/docker@v1.8.2-rc1/docs/reference/glossary.md (about) 1 <!--[metadata]> 2 +++ 3 title = "Docker Glossary" 4 description = "Glossary of terms used around Docker" 5 keywords = ["glossary, docker, terms, definitions"] 6 [menu.main] 7 parent = "mn_about" 8 weight = "50" 9 +++ 10 <![end-metadata]--> 11 12 # Glossary 13 14 A list of terms used around the Docker project. 15 16 ## aufs 17 18 aufs (advanced multi layered unification filesystem) is a Linux [filesystem](#filesystem) that 19 Docker supports as a storage backend. It implements the 20 [union mount](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_mount) for Linux file systems. 21 22 ## boot2docker 23 24 [boot2docker](http://boot2docker.io/) is a lightweight Linux distribution made 25 specifically to run Docker containers. It is a common choice for a [VM](#virtual-machine) 26 to run Docker on Windows and Mac OS X. 27 28 boot2docker can also refer to the boot2docker management tool on Windows and 29 Mac OS X which manages the boot2docker VM. 30 31 ## btrfs 32 33 btrfs (B-tree file system) is a Linux [filesystem](#filesystem) that Docker 34 supports as a storage backend. It is a [copy-on-write](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy-on-write) 35 filesystem. 36 37 ## build 38 39 build is the process of building Docker images using a [Dockerfile](#dockerfile). 40 The build uses a Dockerfile and a "context". The context is the set of files in the 41 directory in which the image is built. 42 43 ## cgroups 44 45 cgroups is a Linux kernel feature that limits, accounts for, and isolates 46 the resource usage (CPU, memory, disk I/O, network, etc.) of a collection 47 of processes. Docker relies on cgroups to control and isolate resource limits. 48 49 *Also known as : control groups* 50 51 ## Compose 52 53 [Compose](https://github.com/docker/compose) is a tool for defining and 54 running complex applications with Docker. With compose, you define a 55 multi-container application in a single file, then spin your 56 application up in a single command which does everything that needs to 57 be done to get it running. 58 59 *Also known as : docker-compose, fig* 60 61 ## container 62 63 A container is a runtime instance of a [docker image](#image). 64 65 A Docker container consists of 66 67 - A Docker image 68 - Execution environment 69 - A standard set of instructions 70 71 The concept is borrowed from Shipping Containers, which define a standard to ship 72 goods globally. Docker defines a standard to ship software. 73 74 ## data volume 75 76 A data volume is a specially-designated directory within one or more containers 77 that bypasses the Union File System. Data volumes are designed to persist data, 78 independent of the container's life cycle. Docker therefore never automatically 79 delete volumes when you remove a container, nor will it "garbage collect" 80 volumes that are no longer referenced by a container. 81 82 83 ## Docker 84 85 The term Docker can refer to 86 87 - The Docker project as a whole, which is a platform for developers and sysadmins to 88 develop, ship, and run applications 89 - The docker daemon process running on the host which manages images and containers 90 91 92 ## Docker Hub 93 94 The [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/) is a centralized resource for working with 95 Docker and its components. It provides the following services: 96 97 - Docker image hosting 98 - User authentication 99 - Automated image builds and work-flow tools such as build triggers and web hooks 100 - Integration with GitHub and Bitbucket 101 102 103 ## Dockerfile 104 105 A Dockerfile is a text document that contains all the commands you would 106 normally execute manually in order to build a Docker image. Docker can 107 build images automatically by reading the instructions from a Dockerfile. 108 109 ## filesystem 110 111 A file system is the method an operating system uses to name files 112 and assign them locations for efficient storage and retrieval. 113 114 Examples : 115 116 - Linux : ext4, aufs, btrfs, zfs 117 - Windows : NTFS 118 - OS X : HFS+ 119 120 ## image 121 122 Docker images are the basis of [containers](#container). An Image is an 123 ordered collection of root filesystem changes and the corresponding 124 execution parameters for use within a container runtime. An image typically 125 contains a union of layered filesystems stacked on top of each other. An image 126 does not have state and it never changes. 127 128 ## libcontainer 129 130 libcontainer provides a native Go implementation for creating containers with 131 namespaces, cgroups, capabilities, and filesystem access controls. It allows 132 you to manage the lifecycle of the container performing additional operations 133 after the container is created. 134 135 ## link 136 137 links provide an interface to connect Docker containers running on the same host 138 to each other without exposing the hosts' network ports. When you set up a link, 139 you create a conduit between a source container and a recipient container. 140 The recipient can then access select data about the source. To create a link, 141 you can use the `--link` flag. 142 143 ## Machine 144 145 [Machine](https://github.com/docker/machine) is a Docker tool which 146 makes it really easy to create Docker hosts on your computer, on 147 cloud providers and inside your own data center. It creates servers, 148 installs Docker on them, then configures the Docker client to talk to them. 149 150 *Also known as : docker-machine* 151 152 ## overlay 153 154 OverlayFS is a [filesystem](#filesystem) service for Linux which implements a 155 [union mount](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_mount) for other file systems. 156 It is supported by the Docker daemon as a storage driver. 157 158 ## registry 159 160 A Registry is a hosted service containing [repositories](#repository) of [images](#image) 161 which responds to the Registry API. 162 163 The default registry can be accessed using a browser at [Docker Hub](#docker-hub) 164 or using the `docker search` command. 165 166 ## repository 167 168 A repository is a set of Docker images. A repository can be shared by pushing it 169 to a [registry](#registry) server. The different images in the repository can be 170 labeled using [tags](#tag). 171 172 Here is an example of the shared [nginx repository](https://registry.hub.docker.com/_/nginx/) 173 and its [tags](https://registry.hub.docker.com/_/nginx/tags/manage/) 174 175 ## Swarm 176 177 [Swarm](https://github.com/docker/swarm) is a native clustering tool for Docker. 178 Swarm pools together several Docker hosts and exposes them as a single virtual 179 Docker host. It serves the standard Docker API, so any tool that already works 180 with Docker can now transparently scale up to multiple hosts. 181 182 *Also known as : docker-swarm* 183 184 ## tag 185 186 A tag is a label applied to a Docker image in a [repository](#repository). 187 tags are how various images in a repository are distinguished from each other. 188 189 *Note : This label is not related to the key=value labels set for docker daemon* 190 191 ## Union file system 192 193 Union file systems, or UnionFS, are file systems that operate by creating layers, making them 194 very lightweight and fast. Docker uses union file systems to provide the building 195 blocks for containers. 196 197 198 ## Virtual Machine 199 200 A Virtual Machine is a program that emulates a complete computer and imitates dedicated hardware. 201 It shares physical hardware resources with other users but isolates the operating system. The 202 end user has the same experience on a Virtual Machine as they would have on dedicated hardware. 203 204 Compared to to containers, a Virtual Machine is heavier to run, provides more isolation, 205 gets its own set of resources and does minimal sharing. 206 207 *Also known as : VM* 208