Docker Inc. Updates Enterprise Platform
At its DockerCon 2019 conference, Docker Inc. today previewed a 3.0 release of Docker Enterprise, a suite of highly integrated tools within a container platform due out in the second half of this year that the company says will improve the developer experience while making it easier to operationalize a container environment.
Scott Johnston, general manager for enterprise solutions at Docker Inc., says Docker Enterprise soon will be available as both a platform internal IT teams deploy and a service through Docker Inc. will manage on their behalf.
In addition, Docker Inc. today announced Docker Kubernetes Services (DKS), a distribution of Kubernetes that Johnston says has been specifically hardened for enterprise customers. Compatible with Docker Compose, Kubernetes YAML and Helm charts, DKS also marks the first time a distribution of Kubernetes has been integrated with a common set of developer tools running on the desktop and on a production server, Johnston says.
DKS also includes security tools compatible with the secure access markup language (SAML), access controls via integration with LDAP directories and automated lifecycle management tools. IT organizations also will have the option to use Docker Swarm Services (DSS) to manage container orchestration services if they so choose.
To further automate the management of Docker Enterprise 3.0, Docker Inc. also unveiled Docker Applications, a set of tools that automates the creation and integration of Docker Compose, Kubernetes YAML files, Helm charts and other low-level tools. Compatible with the Cloud Native Application Bundle (CNAB) specification defined by Docker, Microsoft, HashiCorp, Bitnami and Codefresh, Docker Applications can also be integrated with Docker Application Templates, Application Designer and Version Packs to make it possible to configure both applications and the Docker Enterprise 3.0 platform once and then deploy them anywhere.
Finally, Docker Inc. announced that an enterprise edition of Docker Desktop tools has been bundled with Docker Enterprise 3.0.
Johnston notes that while Docker technologies have gained a lot of momentum among developers, enterprise IT organizations are still in the early stages of determining how they plan to operationalize a container platform. Docker Inc. is attempting to meet those enterprise IT organizations anywhere they are on the journey either by delivering an entire platform or working through partners such as Capgemini to deliver Docker. 3.0 as a managed service, says Johnston.
What many of those IT organizations will soon come to appreciate is the need to synchronize updates across multiple container platform running on-premises, at the network edge and in the cloud, adds Johnston. That’s a lot easier to accomplish when the organization standardizes on a single integrated container platform versus relying on a “bag of parts” that are loosely stitched together, he notes.
Obviously, Docker Inc. is not the only provider of a container platform. As more enterprise IT organizations begin to make the transition to microservices-based applications built using containers, the challenges IT organizations will face trying to manage microservices at scale will be considerable. Many of those IT organizations will undoubtedly determine the path of least resistance to achieving the goal is to rely on a platform curated by somebody else on their behalf.
