Docker is a popular container tool used to create single or more containers on a Windows operating system. Containers are faster and easy to create than traditional virtual machines. Docker was first created for Linux operating systems but later ported to the Linux operating systems. Docker provides OS-level virtualization. Docker supports Windows operating system officially where Windows and Linux containers can be easily created and used. In this tutorial, we examine how to install docker on Windows operating system. Following Docker installation instructions can be used for Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server operating system versions.
Advantages of Using Docker On Windows
There are a lot of advantages of using Docker on Windows. Below we list some of them.
- Portability
- Performance
- Agility
- Isolation
- Scalability
- Security
- Compability
Download Docker Installer
Docker provides Windows installers officially via the following link.
https://docs.docker.com/desktop/windows/install/
There are some requirements in order to install Docker. The operating system should be Windows 10 or Windows 11 or related Windows Server versions. Also, the operating system should be 64-bit and have at least 4GB Ram. Docker can be used with the WSL 2 backend or Hyper-V backend.
Install Docker Desktop Tool
After downloading the Docker installer click on the installer to start the installation. After clicking the installer we will see the following screen in order to make the installation with Administrator privileges.
First, the docker tries to download some files but most of the installation files are downloaded with the installer.
In the following step, some configuration about the installation is set. We use Install required Windows components for WSL 2 and Add shortcut to desktop .
During the installation packages are unpacked like below. The installed docker desktop version is 4.5.1 as we can see.
After the installation is complete the following screen is displayed. In order to use docker, the Windows should be restarted after installation.
After starting the Docker Desktop we will see the following Service Agreement .
Check Docker Version
The installation also installs the docker command. By using the docker command the version of the docker can be listed. The --version option is used to check the docker version.
> docker --version
> docker-compose --version