Docker vs Package install

[Klainn]

Howdy,

 

I've not used much of docker in the past, just here and there for testing things at work. My question is, my unraid setup runs Plex, Sickbeard, Sabnzbd, and Couchpotato as all phaze plugin installs. Is there a benefit one way or another to using docker containers for each of these apps vs the standard package installs? What might make one way better than the other, or does it matter at all?

 

Thanks for reading.

[BRiT]

Docker removes dependency hell. Dockers will not prevent the base unraid server from running. Plugins have opportunities to kill your base unraid server and otner plugins you run by what they install and overwrite. Plugins are more difficult to maintain. Dockers can even be run on other systems such as Windows. Dockers are the way forward.

[trurl]

Except for a very small number of plugins which enhance the webUI or do some other function that needs direct access to core functionality, dockers are always preferred.

 

Plugins can have incompatibilities with each other and with the core unRAID. Dockers live in their own independent code space so cannot affect each other or unRAID.

 

Dockers have a lot more to choose from by a lot more developers. You can even use dockers that weren't developed specifically for use on unRAID since they are independent as mentioned above.

 

There is really only one author still remaining for plugins of the type of applications you are talking about, and he is starting to use dockers. Probably only a matter of time before there won't be any support for this kind of plugin, and they are completely unnecessary since dockers are better suited for this.

 

As BRiT said, dockers are the way forward.

[Squid]

The only caveat (and its not much of one at that) is setting of the volume mappings for the app in question.  But it's not that hard and there's tons of help available here for it

[trurl]

The only caveat (and its not much of one at that) is setting of the volume mappings for the app in question.  But it's not that hard and there's tons of help available here for it

There is a bit of a learning curve for dockers, but I think there is also a bit of a learning curve for plugins since you still have people wondering why their plugin setup doesn't survive a reboot for example. Since plugins have been around longer many users have already been through that learning curve.

 

And dockerMan actually gives you a more consistent UI for setting things up than some random plugin page so once you have figured out dockers they are pretty easy. Of course whatever particular application the docker provides will have its own learning curve.

[Klainn]

Thanks for the replies. I reckon I'll convert all my apps to docker containers.

 

Thanks again.