Is Docker Compose Right for Your Production Environment?

Santhosh Peesu•January 5, 2023

What is Docker Compose #

Docker Compose is a command line tool that simplifies the process of defining and running container Docker applications. A single configuration file enables developers to run multiple Docker containers at once, simplifying the management of complex applications.

Here is a high-level diagram that shows how Docker Compose works:

How Docker Compose Works

In the diagram above, the Docker Compose configuration yaml n file defined by developer will contain the configuration for multiple Docker containers. When you run the “docker-compose up” command, Docker Compose reads the configuration file and creates the specified containers. The containers are then linked together, allowing them to communicate and work together as a single application.

One of the main benefits of Docker Compose is that it allows developers to easily spin up and test applications locally. Instead of having to manually set up and manage each component of the application separately, developers can use a single configuration file and a single command to start all of the required containers. This makes it much easier to test and debug applications, as developers can quickly spin up a local environment and start working on their code.

For example, let's say you have a web application that consists of a web server, a database, and a cache. You can use Docker Compose to define the configuration for each of these components in a single file, and then use a single command to start all of the containers at once. This makes it much easier to manage the application, as you only need to deal with a single configuration file instead of managing each container separately.

Here is an example template of a docker-compose.yml file that defines the configuration for a simple web application:

version: '3'
services:
web:
image: nginx:latest
ports:
- "80:80"
db:
image: postgres:latest
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: user
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
cache:
image: redis:latest

In this example, the configuration file defines three services: a web server, a database, and a cache. The image field specifies the Docker image to use for each service, and the ports and environment fields specify additional configuration options. Along with it, we can set permissions for files and directories that are created inside a container. This is particularly important when running applications that require specific permissions to access certain resources.

To start the containers, you can use the docker-compose up command. This will create and start the containers based on the configuration specified in the file.

The source code for Docker Compose is available on GitHub repo at https://github.com/docker/compose. This repository contains the code for the core functionality of Docker Compose, as well as the documentation and examples.

List of Common Docker Compose Commands #

Here is a list of some of the most commonly used Docker Compose commands:

• docker-compose up: This command starts the containers defined in the docker-compose.yml file. If the containers do not already exist, Docker Compose will create them based on the images and configurations specified in the file.
• docker-compose down: This command stops the containers and removes them. It also removes any networks and volumes created by Docker Compose.
• docker-compose ps: This command lists the containers managed by Docker Compose, along with their status and other information.
• docker-compose logs: This command shows the logs for the containers managed by Docker Compose.
• docker-compose exec: This command allows you to execute a command in a running container managed by Docker Compose.
• docker-compose build: This command builds the images for the containers defined in the docker-compose.yml file.
• docker-compose start: This command starts the stopped containers managed by Docker Compose.
• docker-compose stop: This command stops the running containers managed by Docker Compose.
• docker-compose restart: This command restarts the running containers managed by Docker Compose.
• docker-compose pause: This command pauses the running containers managed by Docker Compose.
• docker-compose unpause: This command unpauses the paused containers managed by Docker Compose.
• docker run: This command is used to start a new container from a Docker image. It allows you to specify various options, such as the container's name, the ports to expose, the environment variables to set, and the command to run when the container is started.

How Docker Compose pulls Images from registry #

In Docker Compose, an image is a pre-built package that contains the code, libraries, and dependencies needed to run a specific application or service. When you use Docker Compose to create a container, it uses an image as the basis for the container.

To specify the image to use for a container in Docker Compose file, you can use the image field in the configuration file. Example template:

version: '3'
services:
web:
image: nginx:latest
ports:
- "80:80"
db:
image: mysql:latest
environment:
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: password
ports:
- 3306:3306
volumes:
- ./mysql:/var/lib/mysql
cache:
image: redis:latest

In the above source code, the web service uses the nginx:latest image, the db service uses the mysql:latest image, and the cache service uses the redis:latest image. The latest tag indicates that the latest version of the image should be used. You can also specify a specific version of the image by using a different tag.

Docker Compose will automatically pull the specified test or production images from a registry (such as Docker Hub) when you run the docker-compose up command. It will then use the images to create the containers for each service. Along with it, the environment variables set as part of config, Mysql password is read as environment variable.

You can also create your own images and use them with Docker Compose. To do this, you can use the build field in the configuration file to specify the location of a Dockerfile, which is a set of instructions for building the image. Docker Compose will then use the Dockerfile to build the image and use it to create the container.

Development and Production Environment Workflow using Docker Compose #

In development environments, Docker Compose is often used to set up and run applications locally, as it makes it easy to spin up and manage the required components with a single command.

In addition to being useful in development environments, Docker Compose can also be used in production environments to automate the deployment of multi-container applications. By using a single configuration file to define the configuration for each component of the application, developers can use a deployment tool like ansible to run the ‘docker-compose up’ command on the production server. This will create and start all of the required containers, allowing developers to deploy the application with a single command and make it production ready.

Here is a high-level diagram that shows how this might work:

While Docker Compose is a useful tool for managing multi-container applications, it is important to keep in mind that it does not provide as many features as more advanced orchestration tools like Kubernetes. For larger and more complex applications, it may be necessary to use a more feature-rich tool like Kubernetes to manage the application in a production environment.

As for using Docker Compose in production, it can be a useful tool, but it is not designed specifically for production environments. While it can be used to set up and run multi-container applications in production, it is generally better to use a more robust and feature-rich orchestration tool such as Kubernetes for managing applications in production environments.

Kubernetes is a powerful and widely-used container orchestration platform that was designed specifically for production environments. It provides features such as automatic container restarts, rolling updates, and resource management, which make it well-suited for running applications in production.

Difference between Docker Compose and Kubernetes #

Here is a comparison of Docker Compose and Kubernetes in table form:

As you can see from the table, Docker Compose and Kubernetes have some similarities, such as the use of yaml files, but they are designed for different purposes and have different capabilities. Docker Compose is primarily used in development environments and is good for managing simple multi-container applications. Kubernetes, on the other hand, is designed for production environments and is better suited for managing large and complex applications. It provides a much richer set of features and is more scalable, but it is also more complex to set up and use than Docker Compose.

Use Cases #

It is generally not recommended that Docker Compose be used in production environments due to its limited scalability, networking, and security features, but the following use cases might be suitable:

For development and testing purposes, Docker Compose can be useful for deploying a small number of containers quickly. Containers, dependencies, and configuration can be defined in a single file, which makes setting up and tearing down test environments easy.

A few simple microservices on a single host may be suitable for small-scale production deployments with Docker Compose. In spite of this, it is important to keep in mind that it does not offer the advanced features and scalability necessary for large production deployments.

In a hybrid environment, Docker Compose can be used alongside other container orchestration tools, such as Kubernetes. For example, it can be used to deploy a small number of containers on a single host, while the rest of the containers are managed by Kubernetes.

Tools equivalent to docker compose #

In addition to Docker Compose, several other tools are available for managing multi-container applications. Here are a few examples:

Docker Swarm: Docker Swarm is a native clustering tool that is included with Docker. It allows you to create a cluster of Docker hosts and then deploy applications to the cluster. One of the main benefits of Docker Swarm is that it is easy to set up and use, as it is integrated with Docker and uses a similar configuration file format to Docker Compose. However, it is not as feature-rich as some other orchestration tools, and may not be suitable for managing large and complex applications in production environments.

Apache Mesos: Apache Mesos is an open-source cluster manager that can be used to manage multi-container applications. It provides features such as resource management and load balancing, which make it well-suited for running applications in production environments. However, it is more complex to set up and use than Docker Compose, and may not be as easy to learn for developers who are new to container orchestration.

Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS): Amazon ECS is a managed container orchestration service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It allows you to deploy and manage Docker containers in the cloud, and provides features such as automatic scaling and resource management. One of the main benefits of ECS is that it is fully managed by AWS, so you don't have to worry about setting up and maintaining the infrastructure yourself. However, it is only available on the AWS platform, and may not be suitable for applications that need to be deployed on other cloud platforms or on-premises.

Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE): Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is a managed Kubernetes service provided by Google Cloud. It allows you to easily deploy and manage applications on Kubernetes in the cloud. GKE provides a rich set of features and is well-suited for running applications in production environments, but it is more complex to set up and use than Docker Compose. It is also only available on the Google Cloud platform, and may not be suitable for applications that need to be deployed on other cloud platforms or on-premises

Conclusion #

Overall, it is important to carefully evaluate the requirements of your production environment before deciding whether to use Docker Compose or another container orchestration tool. Based on the different use cases discussed earlier in this article, if the production environment is of larger-scale deployments or environments with more complex requirements, then docker compose may not be the right tool and instead other orchestrations tools would be a better option.