Are we allowed to create a Windows based docker for use in Unraid?

[Unqualified Spectator]

The reason I want a Win based docker is to run the Windows specific version of Universal Media Server. I know Sparklyballs made a UMS docker but it is based on Linux and is very far behind the version in Windows. Everything in it is rather primitive, compared to the current Windows based variant.

 

Is this forbidden? Too resource intensive? Just a bad idea? I've never built a Docker before, so please discuss challenges.

 

Thanks in advance.

[ashman70]

I think the difference is that UMS is open source, its more than likely nothing in Windows is open source and copyrighted by Microsoft.

[Unqualified Spectator]

The UI is vastly different. Way more informative, and much more intuitive to use as a Windows app. Just sayin' - I think Subjunk, the developer of UMS is a windows guy, but don't quote me on that. It's written in Java, and I thought Java was java - write once, run anywhere.  Maybe I need to do some more research on UMS - I don't know if it utilizes a web frontend and therein may lie the issues.

 

Sparklyballs was right when he said UMS was from the dark ages - from the Linux version viewpoint, it is. When you look at the UMS website, there's no mention that there is any difference in the UI or app based on OS - having both versions, I can confirm there is. That may not be the only difference.

 

UMS is hard to setup on Windows and I expect it is no less challenging on Linux. I'd give it a shot but my Linux Fu is pathetic, tho I do have a Mint 17 test box and an Ubuntu Werewolf in my house. I thought I would have a better chance under Windows and Docker provides the hosting environment for the APP, so no foul on using Windows as the base unless there is a penalty in Unraid which would be quite possible. It may also be that the difference also manifests itself in driver differences between the platforms.  That's where your non open source stuff lives - Windows is mostly proprietary and Linux is mostly open source - to the point that anything not deemed open source is frowned upon in Linux land.

[lionelhutz]

You need to use a VM for Windows. Its not really that hard to install a Windows VM.

 

[itimpi]

You need to use a VM for Windows. Its not really that hard to install a Windows VM.

Just to emphasize this point, Docker can only be used to run Linux apps.  If you need a different OS then you need a VM.

[Unqualified Spectator]

Didn't realize that - Docker is available for Windows. I thought that was the whole point - dockerized apps are OS agnostic and run close to bare metal performance - I thought that also meant cross platform. My bad.

 

I would rather avoid the VM path, if possible. Not worthwhile to setup and manage all that unless I was going to run several apps, not to mention that the beauty of running a windows docker shed the requirement to implement a full OS install. A VM would require it, although I could spend quite some time ripping out unnecessary components of Win7 to streamline it and I would end up with just what was necessary to run the app.

 

I appreciate and value your responses. Thanks very much for pointing out my misunderstanding of the Docker technology.

[itimpi]

Didn't realize that - Docker is available for Windows. I thought that was the whole point - dockerized apps are OS agnostic and run close to bare metal performance - I thought that also meant cross platform. My bad.

Docker does not really run natively on Windows.  Instead what it does is use VirtualBox to run a Linux VM, and then the docker applications within that VM.

[Unqualified Spectator]

 

Docker does not really run natively on Windows.  Instead what it does is use VirtualBox to run a Linux VM, and then the docker applications within that VM.

 

Ah...Yuk! No thanks. Too many jiggers and protuberances for me. I stand thoroughly dissuaded.

 

Thanks for the info.

[lionelhutz]

You keep talking Dockers running on Windows, not a Windows Docker.

 

I'm not sure how you'd create a really small minimalistic Windows base OS for a Docker even if it was possible.  Dockers run closer to the equivalent of Dos with some application packages installed.

[Unqualified Spectator]

Not exactly - but you are exactly right - there's a huge difference in a Windows Docker and a Linux Docker, although they are both hosted apps in a contained executional memory space. 

 

First - I haven't built ANY dockerized anything, so, although I can write software, I am the noobiest noob that even noobed on Docker. Second, I only knew there was a 'windows' docker - not that it was a non-native app running in a vm whilst cavorting in Windows. Third, I was mistaken to think that if you could build a "windows app docker" - that it would run under Linux as a docker, like a cross platform app. That was a bridge too far.

 

Once I got that - it let the air out of the plan. I had a Windows app, that I could (maybe) run in something like Tiny 7 with minimal dependencies (You have to install 2-3 other pieces of software to provide all the .dlls that UMS needed before you installed UMS itself or UMS would install but portions of it would be disabled...it's been 2-3 years since I installed it so I don't remember all the fancy footwork to get all the support modules to be enabled - I just remember it was painful. Once I got it working, now I just update UMS and it just works.)

 

People create minimalistic versions of OSes all the time...usually to run special software or to get the footprint of Windows down - increasing space for our stuff or to fit on a really small drive - one example would be "Tiny7" - Win 7 that weighs in at 699MB (and not strictly legal, though persistent folks can get it registered...it will still fail WGA because so much stuff is stripped out of it) 

 

Since this is a JAVA app - it could work in a DOS like environment, but I suspect it really needs all those nifty Windows (proprietary drivers, etc) gadgets to work like it does in Windows - and that's why the one written for Linux is so very different.

 

I do really appreciate you guys taking the time to explain it to me. The Docker concept is a cool one - but this idea to use it to port over an app for the UI is just bad. Maybe SubJunk will get someone on his development team who can upgrade the Linux app to work more like the Windows app - problem solved.

[Paul_Ber]

What about embedded Windows VM, wouldn't that be leaner?

 

Sent from my XT1563 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Unqualified Spectator]

It is possible, just expensive. A little less so after discovering a means to obtain Win 7, 8 or 10 for $20 - $30 bucks online this weekend, but the point was to avoid the license and maintenance of a VM en toto. Especially since all the other software is open source. I also would like to see if UMS would run ok on XP. That might be another avenue in the VM arena.