Run normal Win32 applications in Docker for Windows - windows

Question

I'm a little bit confused about the concept of Docker for Windows.
Can I create a docker container for windows (and a windows host like Server 2016) and install a normal windows application into that container (simple: notepad.exe; advanced some more complex application programmed in Delphi)?
And can I run this container on every Docker enabled (windows) Host? Does the container starts automatically the application inside? Or can a windows docker container only provide service or webbased applications like an IIS website?

Answer 1

if you have Windows Server 2016, you will be able to launch Windows containers (and you will need a Linux server to launch Linux containers).
See those links
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/quick_start/manage_docker
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/quick_start/container_setup
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/containers_welcome
In Windows, your Dockerfile will start with
FROM windowsservercore
instead of the more usual
FROM debian
or
FROM ubuntu
See some examples of IIS in (Windows) docker
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/quick_start/manage_docker
or a SQL Server in docker
http://26thcentury.com/2016/01/03/dockerfile-to-create-sql-server-express-windows-container-image/

Answer 2

The types of application that are candidates for docker are applications that do not have a UI.
Unlike a VM docker images are very slim having only enough codebase to service a particular use case. You can however create a docker image and use VNC to view a desktop like environment; but you have to go through hoops to configure it. Far easier to have a VM if you need a gui surface.
The strength of docker is to easily create containers of servers and DB back ends. You can even run email servers, or a stack of restful services.
On my laptop I had installed mysql, IIS and PHP. With docker I migrated all of these into an image. I spin it up when I need it and in less than 10 seconds i have a working db backend, an IIS server with PHP interface. I can maintain different versions of mysql, IIS and PHP for different iterations, they are all isolated from each other and run in their own container. When I upgrade my laptop I will not need to install any of these, just the image will work.

Answer 3

I know the topic is a bit old, but since I just tried I thought I'll add my 2ct.
No, you cannot start a Windows application inside a container and expect its windows to appear on your desktop.
While starting such an application is possible, in fact, it's of little use because you won't be able to see or interact with the UI.
For example, you can start notepad.exe in your Windows Core Server container and verify that the process is running (using tasklist instead of taskmanager, which cannot be seen as well).
But you cannot type anything into this notepad instance or access the menu.
Hth,
mav

Answer 4

No. Docker is essentially Linux. Yes, you can run Docker on Windows, but what it in fact does is to install VirtualBox and run a Linux VM inside it. Docker servers generally run on Linux VM's in the cloud. The programs you can put in a Docker container are Linux programs.