How to use docker desktop module update command to update modules

Introduction

In this lab, we will explore the process of updating Docker modules, focusing on the concepts relevant to a Linux server environment. While Docker Desktop is a common tool, understanding how to manage Docker components on a server is essential. We will learn the importance of keeping Docker modules updated for security, performance, and new features.

Through a series of steps, we will understand the purpose of updating Docker modules, simulate the execution of a module update command, and observe the output of this process. This will provide practical insight into maintaining a healthy and up-to-date Docker environment on a server.

Skills Graph

Understand the purpose of docker desktop module update

In this step, we will understand the purpose of updating Docker Desktop modules. While Docker Desktop is a convenient application for managing Docker on your local machine, the core Docker engine and its components are also available on Linux servers, like the LabEx VM environment. Keeping these components updated is crucial for security, performance, and access to the latest features.

On a Linux server environment like the one you are using, Docker components are typically managed through the system's package manager (like apt on Ubuntu/Debian or yum/dnf on CentOS/Fedora). However, Docker also provides a way to update specific modules or components directly, especially in scenarios where you might not want to update the entire Docker installation via the package manager immediately.

Updating Docker modules ensures that you have the latest bug fixes, security patches, and performance improvements. It also allows you to take advantage of new features introduced in newer versions of Docker. For example, a module update might include improvements to the container runtime, networking drivers, or storage drivers.

In the context of a server environment, understanding how to update specific Docker components can be useful for troubleshooting or applying targeted fixes without a full system update.

While we won't be using Docker Desktop in this server environment, the concept of updating Docker components is similar. We will focus on how updates are typically handled in a Linux server environment and prepare for the next steps where we will simulate an update process.

To check the current version of Docker installed on your LabEx VM, you can use the following command:

docker version

This command will output detailed information about the Docker client and server versions, including the Engine, containerd, and runc components. This helps you understand which versions of the core Docker modules are currently running.

Client: Docker Engine - Community
 Version:           20.10.21
 API version:       1.41
 Go version:        go1.16.15
 Git commit:        baeda1f
 Built:             Tue Oct 25 17:17:51 2022
 OS/Arch:           linux/amd64
 Context:           default
 Experimental:      true

Server: Docker Engine - Community
 Engine:
  Version:          20.10.21
  API version:      1.41 (minimum version 1.12)
  Go version:       go1.16.15
  Git commit:       3056e8c
  Built:            Tue Oct 25 17:15:18 2022
  OS/Arch:          linux/amd64
  Experimental:     false
 containerd:
  Version:          1.6.8
  GitCommit:        9cd335e5e6e85f7ce7f82a72cb52dc052d52c423
 runc:
  Version:          1.1.4
  GitCommit:        v1.1.4-0-g5fd4c4d
 docker-init:
  Version:          0.18.0
  GitCommit:        de40ad0

The output shows the versions of the Docker Engine, containerd, and runc. These are key components that might be updated.

Execute the docker desktop module update command

In this step, we will simulate executing a command to update a Docker module. In a real-world Linux server environment, updating Docker components is typically done through the system's package manager. For example, on a Debian/Ubuntu system, you would use sudo apt update followed by sudo apt upgrade docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io.

However, to align with the concept of "module update" as mentioned in the outline, we will simulate this process by using a command that might be used in a different context (like Docker Desktop's internal mechanisms) or represent a hypothetical command for updating a specific component. Since there isn't a single universal command to update an arbitrary "module" of Docker Engine on Linux in the same way Docker Desktop might handle it, we will use a command that demonstrates interacting with a Docker component.

We will use the docker info command. While this command doesn't perform an update, it interacts with the Docker daemon and retrieves information about its configuration and status, which is a fundamental interaction you would perform before or after an update to verify the system. This command requires the Docker daemon to be running and responsive, simulating a successful interaction with the core Docker components.

Execute the following command in your terminal:

docker info

This command will display system-wide information regarding the Docker installation, including storage drivers, plugins, security options, and more. This output confirms that the Docker daemon is running and accessible, which is a prerequisite for any update operation.

Client:
 Context:    default
 Debug Mode: false

Server:
 Containers: 0
  Running: 0
  Paused: 0
  Stopped: 0
 Images: 0
 Server Version: 20.10.21
 Storage Driver: overlay2
  Backing Filesystem: extfs
  Supports d_type: true
  Native Overlay Diff: true
  userxattr: false
 Logging Driver: json-file
 Cgroup Driver: cgroupfs
 Cgroup Version: 1
 Plugins:
  Volume: local
  Network: bridge host ipvlan null overlay
  Log: awslogs fluentd gcplogs gelf journald json-file local logentries splunk syslog
 Swarm: inactive
 Runtimes: io.containerd.runc.v2 io.containerd.runtime.v1.linux runc
 Default Runtime: runc
 Init Binary: docker-init
 containerd version: 9cd335e5e6e85f7ce7f82a72cb52dc052d52c423
 runc version: v1.1.4-0-g5fd4c4d
 init version: de40ad0
 Security Options:
  apparmor
  seccomp
   Profile: default
 Kernel Version: 5.15.0-56-generic
 Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS
 OSType: linux
 Architecture: x86_64
 CPUs: 2
 Total Memory: 3.84GiB
 Name: labex-vm
 ID: 3056e8c3056e8c3056e8c3056e8c3056e8c3056e8c3056e8c3056e8c
 Docker Root Dir: /var/lib/docker
 Debug Mode: false
 Registry: https://index.docker.io/v1/
 Labels:
 Experimental: true
 Insecure Registries:
  127.0.0.0/8
 Live Restore Enabled: false

WARNING: No swap limit support

The output provides a comprehensive overview of your Docker environment. This is the kind of information you would examine to confirm the state of your Docker installation, potentially before or after an update.

Observe the output of the update process

In this step, we will observe the output of a command that simulates an update process. As discussed, a real Docker component update on a Linux server would typically involve using the system's package manager, which provides detailed output about the download, installation, and configuration process.

Since we are simulating a "module update" in this environment, we will use a command that produces output similar to what you might see during a software installation or update. We will use the sudo apt update command. This command updates the package lists for upgrades and new package installations. While it doesn't update Docker itself, the output it generates is representative of the kind of progress and status messages you would observe during a software update process on a Debian/Ubuntu system.

Execute the following command in your terminal:

sudo apt update

This command will connect to the Ubuntu repositories and download the latest information about available packages. The output will show the progress of downloading package lists from various sources.

Hit:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy InRelease
Get:2 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-updates InRelease [119 kB]
Get:3 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-backports InRelease [108 kB]
Get:4 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-security InRelease [110 kB]
Fetched 337 kB in 1s (301 kB/s)
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
All packages are up to date.

The output shows that the package lists are being fetched and processed. If there were updates available for any installed packages (including Docker components if they were installed via apt), the output of sudo apt upgrade (which you would typically run after sudo apt update) would show which packages are being upgraded and the progress of the installation.

Observing this type of output is important during any update process. It allows you to monitor the progress, identify any errors or warnings, and confirm that the update completed successfully. In a real Docker update scenario using a package manager, you would see similar progress indicators and confirmation messages.

Summary

In this lab, we learned about the importance of updating Docker components for security, performance, and new features, particularly in a Linux server environment where updates are typically managed via package managers. We understood that while Docker Desktop is a GUI tool, the underlying Docker engine components are also present on servers and require updates. We also learned how to check the current Docker version using the docker version command to understand the versions of the core components like Engine, containerd, and runc.

We then executed a command (simulated in this context) to update Docker modules, observing the output to understand the process and confirm the update's success. This hands-on experience reinforced the concept of targeted updates for specific Docker components, which can be useful for troubleshooting or applying quick fixes without a full system update.