About the course
This intensive three-day hands-on course transitions engineers from basic container awareness to high-level proficiency in modern container orchestration and image optimization. By focusing on the underlying Linux primitives and the OCI standard, participants gain a deep architectural understanding of how Docker Engine v29 interacts with containerd and runc. We move beyond simple "Hello World" examples to explore sophisticated BuildKit techniques, including cache mounts and multi-stage builds, ensuring your CI/CD pipelines are both fast and secure.
The course bridges the gap between local development and production readiness. You will master Docker Compose for multi-service orchestration, implement persistent storage strategies, and navigate complex networking scenarios.
The final modules introduce essential security concepts and the broader ecosystem, including DevContainers and WebAssembly, providing a future-proof foundation for any cloud-native environment.
Instructor-led online and in-house face-to-face options are available - as part of a wider customised training programme, or as a standalone workshop, on-site at your offices or at one of many flexible meeting spaces in the UK and around the World.
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By the end of this course, attendees will be able to:
- Architect and build optimized, multi - stage Docker images using BuildKit and modern base image strategies like Distroless and Chainguard.
- Implement complex multi - container applications using Docker Compose v2 with advanced features like service health checks and the include directive.
- Configure secure and efficient container networking and persistent storage volumes for production - grade data management.
- Integrate Docker into CI/CD pipelines with multi - architecture support and automated vulnerability scanning.
- Apply core security principles to containerized workloads, including secret management and non - root user execution.
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This course is designed for Software Engineers, DevOps Professionals, and Systems Administrators who need to containerize applications and manage development or production environments. It is equally valuable for Developers looking to standardize team environments using DevContainers and modern build tools.
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This Docker training is designed to be accessible to individuals with a range of technical backgrounds. However, to get the most out of the course, it is recommended that participants have:
Familiarity with a Command-Line Interface: Comfort with using CLI including some basic Linux commands (e.g. PowerShell & WSL / Linux or Mac Terminal) for basic tasks will be beneficial, but not mandatory - we can guide you where needed.
Basic Understanding of Application Deployment: A general idea of how applications are typically deployed and run.
No prior experience with Docker or containerization is necessary. We will cover the fundamentals of Docker from the ground up.
We can customise the training to match your team's experience and needs - for instance with additional time and coverage of Linux fundamentals for those with less exposure. Get in touch to find out more.
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This Docker course is available for private / custom delivery for your team - as an in-house face-to-face workshop at your location of choice, or as online instructor-led training via MS Teams (or your own preferred platform).
Get in touch to find out how we can deliver tailored training which focuses on your project requirements and learning goals.
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Introduction to Containers
Container fundamentals: Namespaces, cgroups, and union filesystems.
Virtual Machines vs. Containers: Resource allocation and isolation boundaries.
OCI Standards: Runtime, Image, and Distribution specifications.
Docker Engine v29 Architecture: Deep dive into the CLI, daemon, containerd, and runc.
The Runtime Landscape: Comparing Docker, Podman, and containerd.
Image engineering and registry management
Image structure: Layers, metadata, and the copy - on - write model.
Advanced Naming: Registry, repository, tags, and content - addressable digests.
Base Image Selection: Comparing Ubuntu, Alpine, Distroless, and Chainguard.
Registry Operations: Working with Docker Hub, GitHub Container Registry, and private cloud registries.
Performance Impact: How image size affects deployment velocity and attack surfaces.
Advanced building with BuildKit
Dockerfile Best Practices: Instructions from FROM to ENTRYPOINT.
BuildKit Features: Parallel layer creation with COPY --link.
Optimization: Layer caching strategies and Dockerfile instruction ordering.
Advanced Mounts: Utilizing --mount=type=cache for package managers and --mount=type=secret for build - time credentials.
Multi - stage Builds: Segregating build dependencies from runtime artifacts.
Container networking and storage
Network Drivers: Bridge, Host, Overlay, and None drivers.
Service Discovery: User - defined bridges and automatic DNS resolution.
Persistence Strategies: Named volumes vs. bind mounts.
Security in Storage: Utilizing tmpfs for in - memory sensitive data.
Lifecycle Management: Volume pruning and data migration patterns.
Multi-service orchestration with Compose
Compose v2 Specification: Anatomy of a modern compose.yaml file.
Dependency Management: Health checks and startup conditions.
Modular Configuration: Using the include directive and Compose Profiles.
Development Velocity: Implementing Compose Watch for real - time code synchronization.
Environment Handling: Variable interpolation and .env file hierarchies.
CI/CD and production workflows
Pipeline Integration: Building, scanning, and signing images in GitHub Actions.
Multi - Arch Builds: Using Buildx to target amd64 and arm64 simultaneously.
Tagging Strategies: Semantic versioning vs. Git SHA tagging for production.
Automated Security: Implementing vulnerability scanning gates in the build pipeline.
Docker Security overview
The Principle of Least Privilege: Implementing non - root USER instructions.
Secret Management: Avoiding environment variable leaks.
Content Trust: Image signing and verification.
Scanning and Remediation: Identifying CVEs in base images and application layers.
The Modern Container Ecosystem
Developer Productivity: Docker Init, Docker Debug, and DevContainers.
Orchestration Pathways: From Docker Swarm to Kubernetes and K3s.
Future Trends: WebAssembly (Wasm) containers and the Docker AI toolchain.
Testing Patterns: Introduction to Testcontainers for integration testing.
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https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/ - get Docker Desktop
https://podman.io/ - get Podman (free open source Docker alternative)
https://containerd.io/ - open source container runtime
https://hub.docker.com/ - Browse the Docker Image marketplace
https://docs.docker.com/desktop/features/wsl/ - Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2) documentation
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