1. If you can run a workload in a container, you should


2. Containers require applications to be “headless”, i.e., no GUI applications


3. Microsoft only supports the latest version of Windows in containers (Windows 10 and Server 2016,2019)


4. Some Windows services aren’t (yet) available in containers

• Containers allow developers to deliver and control the entire application environment. This removes restrictions typically required for applications which share their environment with other applications.


• Containerized application no longer has to follow standard guidelines for creating application files and directories. Each application has a virtual file system within its container which is shielded from applications on the host and in other containers.


• Containers support continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) processes by allowing build environments to be declarative and containerized, and as such, made deterministic and consistent.
  

• Containers place the responsibility on developers to declare and build a complete environment for QA testing. This guarantees prerequisites are met and makes it easy to return the environment to its initial state.

• Container-deployed applications are isolated and protected from changes to the environment by other applications.


• Containers can protect the end-user’s host environment from inadvertent modifications by containerized applications.

• Containers require significantly fewer resources than virtual machines because they’re able to share the operating system kernel and other resources. Hosting providers can achieve higher “density” on their physical hosts than with virtual machines.


• Cloud-hosted applications are faster, more transient, and easier to deploy. A case in point – Every time you use Gmail, Google Docs, Search, etc. a new container is created.


• The Hyper-V isolation mode with Docker on Windows can provide increased security with the trade-off of higher resource usage.

• Pack, ship, and run any application as a lightweight, self-sufficient container, which can run virtually anywhere, providing portability between development, QA, staging, and deployment environments.
  

• Quickly start using applications, database servers or web servers with less initial setup, configuration and administrative expertise.


• Easily discard containers after experimentation so that no application “residue” is left on the host.

“In the international transportation industry, goods have to be transported by different means like forklifts, trucks, trains, cranes, and ships. These goods come in different shapes and sizes and have different storing requirements: sacks of sugar, milk cans, plants etc. Historically, it was a painful process depending on manual intervention at every transit point for loading and unloading.

It has all changed with the uptake of intermodal containers. As they come in standard sizes and are manufactured with transportation in mind, all the relevant machineries can be designed to handle these with minimal human intervention. The additional benefit of sealed containers is that they can preserve the internal environment like temperature and humidity for sensitive goods. As a result, the transportation industry can stop worrying about the goods themselves and focus on getting them from A to B.

And here is where Docker comes in and brings similar benefits to the software industry.”