Docker and Microsoft partner to bring container applications across platforms

Editor’s note – Oct. 16, 2014 –The press release below was updated to clarify that the orchestration of containers on Azure is planned to be integrated in a future Docker release.

SAN FRANCISCO and REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 15, 2014 — Microsoft Corp. and Docker Inc., the company behind the fast-growing Docker open platform for distributed applications, on Wednesday announced a strategic partnership to provide Docker with support for new container technologies that will be delivered in a future release of Windows Server. Developers and organizations that want to create container applications using Docker will be able to use either Windows Server or Linux with the same growing Docker ecosystem of users, applications and tools.

Today’s business climate requires higher levels of innovation than before, and distributed applications that support open portability are at the forefront of this demand. Docker is addressing this need, driving developer productivity and agility through a containerization approach that moves application code changes from development to production in minutes, enabling real-time change.

“The strength of Windows Server in the enterprise makes its inclusion into the Docker project a watershed event for the Docker community and ecosystem,” said Solomon Hykes, chief technology officer, founder and chief maintainer of Docker. “Creating a common approach and user interface for containerization and distributed applications will catalyze a new wave of applications that will be transformative across all organizations.”

“We recognize the importance of providing flexibility to our customers as they look to innovate in this mobile-first, cloud-first world,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of Cloud & Enterprise at Microsoft. “To deliver this flexibility, we are already providing first-class support for Docker and Linux on our rapidly growing cloud platform, Microsoft Azure. Our partnership with Docker further deepens our commitment to help create an open platform powered by choice, bringing together Windows Server and Linux to drive application innovation.”

Together, Microsoft and Docker will enable developers to create new, compelling business scenarios that allow Microsoft’s server and cloud platform customers to benefit from the best work of the Docker open source community. Key components of the partnership include the following:

• Docker Engine, the open source runtime that builds, runs and orchestrates containers, will work with the next release of Windows Server. In addition, Docker Engine images for Windows Server will be available in the community-driven Docker Hub, where more than 45,000 Docker applications are currently shared across developer communities. This will help drive greater developer agility by making available some of the best images for Windows Server and Linux.
• Docker Hub will also be integrated into Microsoft Azure directly through the Azure Management Portal and Azure Gallery. This will allow Microsoft’s vast ecosystem of ISVs and cloud developers to have access to some of the best work of Docker’s community to drive rapid innovation on both Windows Server and Linux.
• Microsoft has also announced its contribution to Docker’s open orchestration APIs, ensuring portability for multicontainer applications. For the first time, developers will be able to directly work with a preconfigured Docker Engine in Azure to create a multicontainer Dockerized application. This new joint capability will be demonstrated at Docker’s Global Hack Day.
• The Docker Engine for Windows Server will be developed under the aegis of the Docker open source project, where Microsoft plans to participate as an active community member.

“The power of Azure and Windows Server leveraging the Docker platform redefines what enterprises should expect and demand from their cloud,” said Ben Golub, CEO of Docker. “Together, we will provide a framework for building multiplatform distributed applications that can be created with exceptional velocity and deployed and scaled globally.”

Microsoft Open Technologies Inc. (MS Open Tech) has made the Docker Engine for Linux available to Microsoft Azure customers since June 2014. Engineers from Docker and MS Open Tech continue to work together to orchestrate containers on Azure, which is planned to be integrated in a future Docker release. Wednesday’s partnership further solidifies this collaboration to provide even greater flexibility and choice to the Windows Server and Linux communities.

Additional Content:

Microsoft Azure blog post

Microsoft Open Technologies blog post

Docker blog post

About Docker Inc.

Docker, Inc. is the company behind the Docker open source platform, and is the chief sponsor of the Docker ecosystem. Docker is an open platform for developers and system administrators to build, ship, run and orchestrate distributed applications. With Docker, IT organizations shrink application delivery from months to minutes, frictionlessly move workloads between data centers and the cloud, and improve infrastructure efficiency by 50 percent or more. Inspired by an active community and by transparent, open source innovation, Docker has been downloaded 35+ million times and is used by thousands of the world’s most innovative organizations, including eBay, Baidu, Yelp, Spotify, Yandex, and Cambridge HealthCare. Docker’s rapid adoption has catalyzed an active ecosystem, resulting in more than 45,000 Dockerized applications and integration partnerships with AWS, Cloud Foundry, Google, IBM, Microsoft, OpenStack, Rackspace, Red Hat and VMware.

Docker, Inc. is venture backed by AME Cloud Ventures (Yahoo! Founder Jerry Yang), Benchmark (Peter Fenton), Greylock Partners (Jerry Chen), Insight Venture Partners (Jerry Murdock), Sequoia Capital (Bill Coughran), SV Angel (Ron Conway), Trinity Ventures (Dan Scholnick), Y Combinator.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

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