<blockquote>
  <p>Are they indeed runnable in containers and this makes sense?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>According to this <a href="https://github.com/docker/labs/blob/master/windows/windows-containers/README.md" rel="nofollow noreferrer">documentation</a> it is possible to run windows in docker. Yes it could make sense as this would be comparable to the positive effects of running linux in docker. <a href="https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/#getting-started-with-windows-containers" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Note that</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Disclaimer: This lab is still in work, and is based off of the blog,
  but you can test and leverage the example walkthroughs now, if you
  want to start experimenting. Please check back as the lab evolves.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Whether it makes sense: From a Linux perspective it does not as a Windows container will be significantly larger than a Linux one at the moment. From a Windows perspective it does not make sense as well as Windows itself is not as lightweight at the moment as Linux. Imagine that one runs 50 war files on a dedicated Windows server at the moment. If one would use Windows Docker containers for that purpose then a dedicated server should be used as a base image, each war file should be run in a separate container. This means that the number of required resource would grow exponentially. I assume that the creators of the native Windows Docker container take this into account and that this issue will be solved in the future.</p>

<hr>

<blockquote>
  <p>Are there other Windows native containerization scenarios?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>What is the definition of a microservice? One could also argue that running SQLServer and IIS are microservices if one compares it with running IIS and SQLServer and other Windows services on a Windows server instead of separately. If one compares it with running Linux in docker then one could use a windows server as a base image by defining <code>FROM windows</code> in a dockerfile and run tomcat in a Windows container instead of running it on a dedicated server.  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-10T12:31:30.997Z
2017-12-10T12:31:30.997Z
030
<p>AFAIK, typically Windows enterprise stack components are quite monolitic services, like Windows IIS and MS SQL Server. Still, there are "Windows containers".</p>

<ul>
<li>Are they indeed runnable in containers and this makes sense?</li>
<li>Are there other Windows native containerization scenarios?</li>
</ul>

<p>In <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/quick-start/quick-start-windows-server" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this example</a> Microsoft refers to a ".NET-nanoserver" image. The <a href="https://hub.docker.com/r/microsoft/dotnet-samples/~/dockerfile/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">base image</a> is there a ".NET runtime" - I consider this is something else than an OS base image.</p>

<docker><windows><dotnet>
Docker's value and scenarios in native Windows environment
Ta Mu
# Docker's value and scenarios in native Windows environment

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-18)

AFAIK, typically Windows enterprise stack components are quite monolitic services, like Windows IIS and MS SQL Server. Still, there are "Windows containers".

* Are they indeed runnable in containers and this makes sense?
* Are there other Windows native containerization scenarios?

In [this example](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/quick-start/quick-start-windows-server) Microsoft refers to a ".NET-nanoserver" image. The [base image](https://hub.docker.com/r/microsoft/dotnet-samples/~/dockerfile/) is there a ".NET runtime" - I consider this is something else than an OS base image.

**Tags:** docker, windows, dotnet


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-12-10. Score: 2

> Are they indeed runnable in containers and this makes sense?

According to this [documentation](https://github.com/docker/labs/blob/master/windows/windows-containers/README.md) it is possible to run windows in docker. Yes it could make sense as this would be comparable to the positive effects of running linux in docker. [Note that](https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/#getting-started-with-windows-containers):

> Disclaimer: This lab is still in work, and is based off of the blog,
> but you can test and leverage the example walkthroughs now, if you
> want to start experimenting. Please check back as the lab evolves.

Whether it makes sense: From a Linux perspective it does not as a Windows container will be significantly larger than a Linux one at the moment. From a Windows perspective it does not make sense as well as Windows itself is not as lightweight at the moment as Linux. Imagine that one runs 50 war files on a dedicated Windows server at the moment. If one would use Windows Docker containers for that purpose then a dedicated server should be used as a base image, each war file should be run in a separate container. This means that the number of required resource would grow exponentially. I assume that the creators of the native Windows Docker container take this into account and that this issue will be solved in the future.

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> Are there other Windows native containerization scenarios?

What is the definition of a microservice? One could also argue that running SQLServer and IIS are microservices if one compares it with running IIS and SQLServer and other Windows services on a Windows server instead of separately. If one compares it with running Linux in docker then one could use a windows server as a base image by defining `FROM windows` in a dockerfile and run tomcat in a Windows container instead of running it on a dedicated server.


---

