Sign in Subscribe

Docker Basics Tutorial

Marco Lenzo

• 2 min read

These exercises are designed to complement the Docker Basics lab you should have completed earlier, offering additional hands-on practice to reinforce your understanding of key Docker concepts. By working through these tasks, you’ll gain deeper insights into:

  • Running and managing containers with real-world examples like MySQL and Nginx.
  • Configuring ports, volumes, and environment variables for container customization and data persistence.
  • Lifecycle management of containers, including starting, stopping, and cleaning up resources.

These exercises aim to challenge you while reinforcing the skills you’ve learned, helping you build a solid foundation for working with Docker and preparing for more advanced containerization topics like Kubernetes.

Each task is self-contained with clear objectives and step-by-step instructions to guide you through the setup, testing, and cleanup processes. Take your time, experiment, and explore the flexibility that Docker offers.

Create a MySQL Container

Objective

Set up and manage a MySQL container using Docker while applying key concepts like publishing ports, volume mounting, and environment variables configuration.

Requirements

  • Use the official MySQL image on Docker Hub
  • Use the 8.0.40 tag
  • Publish the container's port 3306 to the host on port 33306
  • Set the MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD environment variable to mypassword
  • Create a ~/k8scourse/1.2/mysql directory and mount it to /var/lib/mysql
  • Name the container custom-mysql
  • Launch the container in detached mode (-d)

Test

  • Follow the logs
  • Install a mysql client and try to access the container
sudo apt update
sudo apt install mysql-client
mysql -h 127.0.0.1 -P 33306 -u root -p
  • When prompted, enter the password you set as the MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD environment variable

Lifecycle Management / Cleanup

  • Bring the container to the foreground
  • Stop the container from the shell (CTRL + C)
  • Restart the container
  • Stop and remove the container
  • Remove the mysql:8.0.40 image

Deploy a Nginx Web Server

Objective

Set up and manage an Nginx web server using Docker while learning about port publishing, static file hosting, and container naming.

Requirements

  • Use the official Nginx image on Docker Hub
  • Use the sha256:fb197595ebe76b9c0c14ab68159fd3c08bd067ec62300583543f0ebda353b5be index digest
  • Publish the container's port 80 to the host on port 8090
  • Create a directory ~/k8scourse/1.2/nginx/html on your host machine.
  • Add a simple index.html file in that directory with a message like: "Welcome to Nginx served by Docker!"
  • Mount the ~/k8scourse/1.2/nginx/html directory to /usr/share/nginx/html inside the container.
  • Name the container custom-nginx-2
  • Launch the container in detached mode (-d)

Test

  • Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost:8090 to confirm the server is running and serving your custom index.html file
  • Check the container logs to observe Nginx access logs

Lifecycle Management / Cleanup

  • Stop and restart the container.
  • Remove the container.
  • Remove unused Docker resources.