Is it possible to install docker on Sparc machines?

Question

I have a M5000 Sparc server which I have installed a solaris Os version 11.3 (SunOS RT5 5.11 11.3 sun4u sparc SUNW,SPARC-Enterprise) on it. Is it possible to install docker-ce on this machine? I have tested some workaround like using MobyProject (opensource docker) but non of them helped. What is the solution for dockerization on sparc systems?

Chub

Answer 1

There currently is not any support of Docker on Solaris. Oracle's container solution for Solaris has been Oracle Solaris Zones. There has been talk of supporting Docker on Solaris according to the Docker community forums, but there hasn't been any recent update on the actual timeline/roadmap. Please check out the Docker Community Forum thread

Cycling

Thanks, can I use Kubernetes on solaris as an alternative to docker? – Chub

Unfortunately I don't think you have any good options with Kubernetes either. – Cycling

You might want to check out Kansible github.com/fabric8io/kansible. It allows for orchestration of Unix/Solaris processes. It's not entirely the same but it does use Kubernetes under the covers. It may be easier though to move to a linux platform and use Docker and Kubernetes, – Cycling

Thanks for your complete response. Do you know the main reason why docker team has no plan to release a version to support Sparc machines? – Chub

This a bit of conjecture as I truly do not know the real reason. I suspect the reason is Oracle's decision last year to EOL Solaris/Sparc. They abandoned Solaris 12 and are moving to SPARC cloud oracle.com/us/products/servers-storage/servers/sparc/… . It's hard to read between all the lines but it looks like support for Solaris/Sparc will end in 2034 blogs.oracle.com/solaris/…. I don't think Docker wants to make a commitment to something that has a phase out plan. – Cycling