First actions to get going with Containers and Docker

Q. What are some key actions to perform when first using Containers on Windows Server 2016?

A. Once you have installed a container host you likely want to actually create a container. By default an install of Containers configures a NAT network which enables containers created to be accessible from the network using the IP address of the container host.

The first step is to download a container OS image. Normally you will want the NanoServer image and the ServerCore image. These can be downloaded as follows:

For example:

C:Windowssystem32>docker ps -aCONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES87604fa30100 microsoft/windowsservercore "cmd.exe" 9 seconds ago Exited (0) 2 seconds ago infallible_bartikC:Windowssystem32>docker rm 87604fa3010087604fa30100C:Windowssystem32>docker ps -aCONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES

While you could create a custom image with IIS, for example, you can search the repository for an existing image:

docker search iisdocker pull microsoft/iis

You can now create container instances based on the IIS and customize but that is more advanced. For now you have used a container!