Is Docker on Windows Servers "free"?

Question

I have been playing around with docker windows containers lately and I got to the point where I wanted to put some of the workload on a Windows Server.

But when I go to install Docker Desktop on Windows Server 2016 it fails saying it only works on Windows 10.

Digging more shows that for Windows Servers, you need Docker Enterprise. Which costs: "Contact Sales" (meaning not cheap). (This docker lab shows that you can install docker desktop on windows 10 but for windows server you need docker enterprise.)

Is Docker for Windows a product I can deploy to production using open source "free" licenses? And if so, where is that product and what is it called?

Jenniejennifer

Windows 2016+ comes with free Docker EE basic edition. It's separate from Docker Desktop. – Onset

Answer 1

Looks like it does take Docker Enterprise, but that Microsoft includes a license for that in Windows Server.

You can install it with these powershell commands:

Install-Module -Name DockerMsftProvider -Repository PSGallery -Force

Install-Package -Name docker -ProviderName DockerMsftProvider -Force

Start-Service docker  

https://blog.sixeyed.com/getting-started-with-docker-on-windows-server-2019/

If you have Symantec Antivirus, you will need to disable it before the Install-Package command will work (or you get a weird "dummy" folder error).

Jenniejennifer