108 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
108 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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description: Introduction and Overview of Machine
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keywords: docker, machine, amazonec2, azure, digitalocean, google, openstack, rackspace, softlayer, virtualbox, vmwarefusion, vmwarevcloudair, vmwarevsphere, exoscale
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title: Docker Machine overview
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redirect_from:
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- /machine/overview/
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---
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You can use Docker Machine to:
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* Install and run Docker on Mac or Windows
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* Provision and manage multiple remote Docker hosts
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* Provision Swarm clusters
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## What is Docker Machine?
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Docker Machine is a tool that lets you install Docker Engine on virtual hosts,
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and manage the hosts with `docker-machine` commands. You can use Machine to
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create Docker hosts on your local Mac or Windows box, on your company network,
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in your data center, or on cloud providers like Azure, AWS, or DigitalOcean.
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Using `docker-machine` commands, you can start, inspect, stop, and restart a
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managed host, upgrade the Docker client and daemon, and configure a Docker
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client to talk to your host.
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Point the Machine CLI at a running, managed host, and you can run `docker`
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commands directly on that host. For example, run `docker-machine env default` to
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point to a host called `default`, follow on-screen instructions to complete
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`env` setup, and run `docker ps`, `docker run hello-world`, and so forth.
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Machine _was_ the _only_ way to run Docker on Mac or Windows previous to Docker
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v1.12. Starting with the beta program and Docker v1.12,
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[Docker Desktop for Mac](../docker-for-mac/index.md) and
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[Docker Desktop for Windows](../docker-for-windows/index.md) are available as native apps and the
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better choice for this use case on newer desktops and laptops. We encourage you
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to try out these new apps. The installers for Docker Desktop for Mac and Docker Desktop for
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Windows include Docker Machine, along with Docker Compose.
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If you aren't sure where to begin, see [Get Started with Docker](../get-started/index.md),
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which guides you through a brief end-to-end tutorial on Docker.
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## Why should I use it?
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Docker Machine enables you to provision multiple remote Docker hosts on various
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flavors of Linux.
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Additionally, Machine allows you to run Docker on older Mac or Windows systems,
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as described in the previous topic.
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Docker Machine has these two broad use cases.
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* **I have an older desktop system and want to run Docker on Mac or Windows**
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{: .white-bg}
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If you work primarily on an older Mac or Windows laptop or desktop that doesn't meet the requirements for the new [Docker Desktop for Mac](../docker-for-mac/index.md) and [Docker Desktop for Windows](../docker-for-windows/index.md) apps, then you need Docker Machine to run Docker Engine locally.
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* **I want to provision Docker hosts on remote systems**
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{: .white-bg}
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Docker Engine runs natively on Linux systems. If you have a Linux box as your
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primary system, and want to run `docker` commands, all you need to do is
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download and install Docker Engine. However, if you want an efficient way to
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provision multiple Docker hosts on a network, in the cloud or even locally,
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you need Docker Machine.
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Whether your primary system is Mac, Windows, or Linux, you can install Docker
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Machine on it and use `docker-machine` commands to provision and manage large
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numbers of Docker hosts. It automatically creates hosts, installs Docker
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Engine on them, then configures the `docker` clients. Each managed host
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("**_machine_**") is the combination of a Docker host and a configured client.
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## What's the difference between Docker Engine and Docker Machine?
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When people say "Docker" they typically mean **Docker Engine**, the
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client-server application made up of the Docker daemon, a REST API that
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specifies interfaces for interacting with the daemon, and a command line
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interface (CLI) client that talks to the daemon (through the REST API wrapper).
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Docker Engine accepts `docker` commands from the CLI, such as
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`docker run <image>`, `docker ps` to list running containers, `docker image ls`
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to list images, and so on.
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**Docker Machine** is a tool for provisioning and managing your Dockerized hosts
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(hosts with Docker Engine on them). Typically, you install Docker Machine on
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your local system. Docker Machine has its own command line client
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`docker-machine` and the Docker Engine client, `docker`. You can use Machine to
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install Docker Engine on one or more virtual systems. These virtual systems can
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be local (as when you use Machine to install and run Docker Engine in VirtualBox
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on Mac or Windows) or remote (as when you use Machine to provision Dockerized
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hosts on cloud providers). The Dockerized hosts themselves can be thought of,
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and are sometimes referred to as, managed "**_machines_**".
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{: .white-bg}
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## Where to go next
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- [Install Docker Machine](install-machine.md)
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- Create and run a Docker host on your [local system using VirtualBox](get-started.md)
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- Provision multiple Docker hosts [on your cloud provider](get-started-cloud.md)
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- [Getting started with swarm mode](../engine/swarm/swarm-tutorial/index.md)
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- [Understand Machine concepts](concepts.md)
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- [Docker Machine driver reference](drivers/index.md)
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- [Docker Machine subcommand reference](reference/index.md)
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- [Migrate from Boot2Docker to Docker Machine](migrate-to-machine.md)
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