Docker on centos has reduced costs and now supports reliable client performance testing
What is our primary use case?
My main use case for Docker on CentOS is to provide infrastructure-related support for one of my clients who has their own environment, along with performance testing tools, so we set up Docker on their CentOS servers.
A specific example of how I use Docker on CentOS for performance testing or insulated support is when the client needs to test their application on their environment, so we install the CentOS server with our product image, spin up the container, and test a few use cases.
Regarding my main use case for Docker on CentOS, I face challenges with Docker sometimes having network-related issues, which require us to restart the Docker daemon, but apart from this, I am not facing any other issues with Docker.
What is most valuable?
The best features Docker on CentOS offers are that it works equally well on CentOS as it does on Ubuntu or RHEL, though for one or two specific use cases, we set up Docker on the CentOS environment for our client only.
The compatibility of Docker on CentOS is really smooth, and I have not faced any kind of issue.
Docker on CentOS has positively impacted my organization because I manage the client's environment, and since CentOS is a free version for RHEL servers, they use it for cost criteria, and Docker works smoothly on CentOS.
What needs improvement?
I cannot provide specific outcomes or metrics related to efficiency, cost savings, or performance improvements since using Docker on CentOS in the client environments due to limited access, but I believe they use CentOS for Docker setup for cost-saving, and Docker is stable as an OS for RHEL freeware.
I am not facing any performance or compatibility issues on Docker on CentOS that need improvement.
Docker sometimes has some network-related issues, such as the host network not working, so we switch to a different type of network, and regarding CentOS, we are not using any support since it is freeware, relying only on documentation which serves as our support.
I am not finding anything that Docker on CentOS needs to improve because its documentation covers everything that works as expected.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Docker on CentOS for around four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Docker on CentOS is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Docker on CentOS depends on the hardware; if you have good hardware, you can scale Docker on CentOS as required.
How are customer service and support?
I have not used the support for Docker and CentOS since both are free resources, and I do not believe we need support for this.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before choosing Docker on CentOS, I evaluated other options such as
Ubuntu, as I have used it for our environment, but Docker on CentOS was chosen for the client requirement.
How was the initial setup?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Docker on CentOS is very favorable as CentOS is free of cost and does not require a purchase license, and the same applies to Docker without needing any specific license, but we do need manpower knowledgeable in Docker on CentOS for installation.
What about the implementation team?
We use
AWS as our cloud provider for Docker on CentOS.
What was our ROI?
I have seen some money saved because when someone requires a RHEL-based OS with Docker, CentOS is the best choice due to being freeware, making it easy to set up on that machine.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Docker on CentOS is very favorable as CentOS is free of cost and does not require a purchase license, and the same applies to Docker without needing any specific license, but we do need manpower knowledgeable in Docker on CentOS for installation.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I am not using any different solution.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for others looking into using Docker on CentOS is that if your client or company requires an RHEL-based environment and needs Docker, you can set up Docker on CentOS servers easily for testing, and if a subscription-related task is needed, then consider switching to an RHEL subscription.
I do not have any additional thoughts about Docker on CentOS. My overall review rating for Docker on CentOS is ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Containerization has supported short-term web prototypes but now presents serious security risks
What is our primary use case?
My main use case for Docker on CentOS is building a proof of concept web application for a few months.
What is most valuable?
In my opinion, the best features Docker on CentOS offers are limited right now due to its deprecation about a year and a half ago, which presents a lot of security risks. However, it previously had a huge documentation base because it was the industry standard for years, was very resource-efficient, and had a reliable file system from being derived from Red Hat Enterprise.
Docker on CentOS did not benefit my organization all that much because it was in a deprecated state when I was using it, which is why I quickly stopped using it due to the security vulnerabilities.
What needs improvement?
If Docker on CentOS were still actively supported, I would want to see security vulnerabilities patched since it has been deprecated for the last year and a half and to ensure that networking sections or commands do not conflict with Podman, which Red Hat now promotes.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Docker on CentOS for a few months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In my experience, Docker on CentOS is not stable anymore because it is not actively being maintained.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Docker on CentOS is scalable; I can build virtual machines, EC2 instances, and scale from zero to however many I want, but it is not advisable due to its deprecated state.
How are customer service and support?
I did not reach out for support specifically about Docker on CentOS, but I utilized Amazon's underlying AWS support, which is good and has quick response times.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used Debian with Docker, which is actively maintained, and I was reading some old documentation recommending CentOS when I started using it.
How was the initial setup?
I did not purchase Docker on CentOS through the AWS Marketplace, but rather through the EC2 section of the AWS console.
What was our ROI?
I have not seen a return on investment because the deprecation made it so there was none, and if anything, the ROI would have been negative since money and time were spent using something that did not progress.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing was all good; cost was never an issue, but security and deprecation made it a bad idea to use.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing Docker on CentOS, I considered using Debian because it seemed quicker and more efficient based on the documentation, but in the end, it turned out less efficient as I had to switch back to Debian.
What other advice do I have?
A quick specific example of how Docker on CentOS helped with my weather application proof of concept is that I was running a proof of concept to build a web app on CentOS on Docker on EC2 instances in AWS, but I realized quite quickly that CentOS actually became end-of-life in 2024, which led me to stop using it due to its deprecated state.
Those features helped me specifically during my project by making it more stable since it used less resources, resulting in a cost-efficient deployment, as the machines that I deployed it on used less of the resources than I thought they needed.
A lesson learned during that period that impacted my future decisions was to understand the development or deprecation timelines of all different types of software pieces in my stack and also to pay more attention to the organization's direction, as Red Hat was making it clear they wanted to switch away from CentOS 7 towards CentOS Stream.
My advice to others looking into using Docker on CentOS is not to use it because it is deprecated; instead, they should opt for something that is actively being maintained, such as Ubuntu or Debian.
I gave this review a rating of 7.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Containerization has transformed how I run microservices for high-speed web and API workloads
What is our primary use case?
My main use case for Docker on CentOS is for running websites and backend services. I use Docker on CentOS for running websites, specifically for APIs and for running NGINX service.
I used Docker on CentOS for a microfinance application that had more than 16 services at that time for the backend. The logic was basically on Node.js, and I used all those microservices on Docker on CentOS. Later on, I used the same service on ECS Fargate.
What is most valuable?
The best features Docker on CentOS offers include its lightweight containers and fast startup. Whenever there was a scale-out required for the APIs, it was immediate, less than 10 seconds to boot up, which was very helpful for the microfinance services.
The fast startup and lightweight containers of Docker on CentOS were very helpful because earlier when we used to have these APIs running on the EC2 instances, many instances were required for those services, even though the code was very small. We had to use many EC2 instances instead of using microservices or micro containers like Docker. When we moved to Docker, the scale-out was very fast and very helpful for the business. The boot time with Docker was very less compared to the EC2 instances because running on the EC2 instances required more boot time for the OS, and there was a long delay due to the script execution for a few seconds.
Docker on CentOS has positively impacted my organization as it helped us grow the business, and the customer was very happy with the services, thus revolutionizing the business.
What needs improvement?
Docker on CentOS can be improved by being in sync with the OS updates. The OS is already very compatible with Docker, but it can enhance functionality similar to Kubernetes regarding container orchestration, allowing it to compete with other tools.
The metrics of the containers in Docker on CentOS can also be improved, along with the monitoring part which needs enhancement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Docker on CentOS for the last four years.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise others looking into using Docker on CentOS that rather than using their services directly on the EC2 instances which costs higher and take more time to boot up, they should go with Docker containers, which are very fast, easy to deploy, and manage, allowing many services to run on the same EC2 instance without dependencies. If a service needs Node.js version 7 and another needs Node.js version 10, there might be conflicts when running directly on EC2 instances, but with Docker containers, these issues do not arise. Moving to microservices like Docker is the best choice rather than directly installing on the EC2 instances. I have covered all the important areas regarding Docker on CentOS. My overall rating for Docker on CentOS is 9 out of 10.
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Docker on CentOS 8: A great tool but struggling due to End-of Life cycle
What do you like best about the product?
- Docker simplifies application deployment and management using containerization, which helps with consistency across platforms in all environments.
- Using the official package manager of Yum it's very easy to install and use Docker on CentOs 8.
- The community has great resources that can solve almost all problems faced during troubleshooting.
- Docker is one of the very critical tools in my tech stack because it helped me with building the Ci/Cd pipeline and having smooth deployment and rollbacks if necessary.
- With additional features like Docker Compose and Docker Swarm it's very easy to use, deploy, and manage multiple services.
What do you dislike about the product?
- One of the biggest downsides of using docker with CentOs 8 is the archived version now because it stopped getting security updates after the end of 2021 which makes it a security threat for production use.
- Docker in itself is a complicated product that can take a while to understand and sometimes can be hard to understand OS-specific issues if occur for a beginner.
- Docker is great in performance but there were specific incidents in the past where I faced performance overhead and it took a while to figure out the issue because it required both docker and CentOs 8 in-depth knowledge to debug.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
- Docker is great tool for software development and deployment and CentOs 8 is easy to use OS in that regards where I could install docker and deploy it on other platforms without worry about compatibility because docker can take care it of for me.
- Packaging complex applications which are in different tech stack but could easily be containerised and deploy.
- Having easy support with other big tools like Jenkin, Kuberneters etc helped me test and deploy my application much more easily on other platforms which reduced a lot of overhead of figuring out a OS which can support all major tools.
- The big thing is solved for me is management of application deployment and increase feature deployment speed which is critical for small size team.
experience of using docker on centos
What do you like best about the product?
virtualization or containerization was one of the important thing now a days everyone focusing and docker was very useful to create development environment for our projects
What do you dislike about the product?
docker image size optimization related information is very less and sometime consumes lot of space in docker registery
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Docker integrates well with CI/CD tools, enabling automated builds, tests, and deployments. On CentOS 8, this makes it easier to implement robust DevOps practices.
