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Docker & Kubernetes

Containers, Helm, orchestration, service mesh

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Test yourself: Top 30 easy Docker & Kubernetes interview questionsMultiple choice, with the correct answer and why it is correct on every question. Free, no sign-in.

Easy everything in Docker & Kubernetes, page 4

ReplicaSet: Kubernetes' Pod Thermostat
easy2 min read

ReplicaSet: Kubernetes' Pod Thermostat

A ReplicaSet is Kubernetes' thermostat for pods, ensuring a specific number of replicas are always running. It replaces crashed pods or removes excess ones to maintain a stable state.

Labels and Selectors: The Glue of Kubernetes
easy2 min read

Labels and Selectors: The Glue of Kubernetes

Labels are key-value tags for organizing Kubernetes objects; selectors are queries to find them. This is how a Service finds its Pods. The main footgun is a mismatched selector, which orphans Pods from the Deployment that created them.

Kubernetes Pods: The Atomic Unit of Deployment
easy2 min read

Kubernetes Pods: The Atomic Unit of Deployment

A Pod is the smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes, a wrapper for one or more containers that run together on one machine. It's used for tightly coupled 'sidecar' helpers, like a log shipper.

easy2 min read

Docker Image Prune: Reclaim Your Disk Space

Docker image prune is a garbage collector for your local Docker setup, deleting unused images to free up disk space. Use it when low on storage after many builds. The footgun: by default, it only removes *dangling* (untagged) images, not all unused ones.

easy1 min read

Docker Login: Authenticating to a Container Registry

docker login saves your credentials for a container registry, letting you push and pull private images. Use it before interacting with private repos on Docker Hub, ECR, or GCR. The footgun: credentials are often stored unencrypted by default.

easy2 min read

Docker Push and Pull: Moving Container Images

Think of docker push and pull like git push and pull, but for container images. They move images between your machine and a remote registry. A common mistake is forgetting to tag an image with the registry's full address before pushing.

easy2 min read

Docker Hub: The Central Repository for Containers

Think of Docker Hub as the GitHub for Docker images. It's a central repository from Docker, Inc. for finding, storing, and sharing pre-built software containers to automate code deployment.

easy2 min read

Docker Compose: Orchestrate Multi-Container Apps Locally

docker compose is a conductor for multi-container apps, using a single YAML file to define and run all the parts of your stack together. It's ideal for local development to spin up a database and API with one command.

easy2 min read

Docker Compose Services: Defining Your App's Components

A service in Docker Compose is a blueprint for a running container. You define its image, ports, and environment to describe one piece of your application, like a web server or database. The footgun is using build and image together for one service.

easy2 min read

The docker-compose.yml File: Your App's Blueprint

The docker-compose.yml file is a blueprint for defining and running multi-container Docker applications. Use it to spin up a local dev environment with a database, backend, and frontend with one command.

easy2 min read

Docker Image Tagging: Versioning for Containers

A Docker tag is a human-readable label for a specific image version, like ubuntu:22.04. You use tags to pull specific base images or version your own builds. The biggest footgun is relying on the latest tag, which is just a convention.

easy2 min read

The Dockerfile: A Recipe for Your Container

A Dockerfile is a text-based recipe for building a Docker image, specifying the OS, code, and dependencies. You use it to create consistent, portable application environments.

easy2 min read

Container Lifecycle: From Create to Remove

A container is a state machine: created, running, paused, stopped, and removed. You manage this with commands like docker run, while orchestrators automate it. The footgun: stop doesn't delete a container; you must rm it to free up disk space.

easy2 min read

The 'Works on My Machine' Problem

Code runs on your laptop but fails in production because of hidden differences in environments. Docker solves this by packaging an app and its dependencies into a portable container, ensuring it runs the same everywhere.

easy2 min read

VMs vs. Containers: Houses vs. Apartments

VMs are like separate houses, each with a full OS. Containers are apartments sharing the host OS kernel. VMs provide strong isolation for different OSes, while containers offer lightweight packaging for apps.

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