Docker Tips: Using Docker ConfigLuc JuggeryBlockedUnblockFollowFollowingNov 21, 2017Photo by Alejandro Escamilla on UnsplashTL;DRWhat about using a Docker config instead of creating an image with an embedded configuration ?Embedding Configuration in an Image?We often see Dockerfiles like the following one, where a new image is created only to add a configuration to a base image.
$ cat DockerfileFROM nginx:1.
13.
6COPY nginx.
conf /etc/nginx/nginx.
confIn this example, the local nginx.
conf configuration file is copied over to the NGINX image’s filesystem in order to overwrite the default configuration file, the one shipped in /etc/nginx/nginx.
conf.
One of the main drawbacks of this approach is that the image needs to be rebuilt if the configuration changes.
Docker Config Enters in the PictureConfigs are available for services since Docker 17.
06.
Where secrets exist to store sensitive information, config allows to store non-sensitive information, such as configuration files, outside a service’s image.
As for the other Docker primitives (container, image, volume), config has its own set of commands in the CLI.
$ docker config –helpUsage: docker config COMMANDManage Docker configsOptions:Commands: create Create a configuration file from a file or STDIN as content inspect Display detailed information on one or more config files ls List configs rm Remove one or more configuration filesRun ‘docker config COMMAND — help’ for more information on a command.
Create a ConfigComing back to the previous example, instead of copying the NGINX configuration file in an image, we will create a Docker config.
In this example, the nginx.
conf file contains the following content.
It basically defines a web server that listens on port 8000 and forwards all the HTTP requests arriving on the /api endpoint to the upstream API server.
Using the Docker CLI, we can create a config from this configuration file, we name this config proxy.
$ docker config create proxy nginx.
confmdcfnxud53ve6jgcgjkhflg0sWe can then inspect the config as we would do with any other Docker primitives:$ docker config inspect proxy[ { "ID": "x06uaozphg9kbnf8g4az4mucn", "Version": { "Index": 2723 }, "CreatedAt": "2017–11–21T07:49:09.
553666064Z", "UpdatedAt": "2017–11–21T07:49:09.
553666064Z", "Spec": { "Name": "proxy, "Labels": {}, "Data": "dXNlciB3d3ctZGF0YTsKd29y.
ogIgICAgIH0KICAgIH0KfQo=" } }]The data are only Base64 encoded and can be easily decoded.
Per definition, the data within a config is not confidential and thus not encrypted.
Use a ConfigNow that we have created the proxy config, we will see how we can use it in services.
To do so, we will consider two approaches — using the command line and using a Docker stack.
In both cases, we define two services:API: a simple HTTP server listening on port 80 and sending back a suggestion of a city to visit each time it receives a Get request.
A proxy using the config created above and sending all traffic targeting the /api endpoint to the upstream API service.
We’ll test this setup by sending a HTTP Get request on the /api endpoint on the port 8000 of the proxy and making sure we get a response coming from the API.
Using the command lineWe start by creating an overlay network.
We will use this so both services, API and proxy, can communicate together.
$ docker network create –driver overlay frontThen we create the api service.
$ docker service create –name api –network front lucj/apiThe last step is to create the proxy service.
$ docker service create –name proxy –name proxy –network front –config src=proxy,target=/etc/nginx/nginx.
conf –port 8000:8000 nginx:1.
13.
6Once everything is in place, let’s send an HTTP request on localhost, port 8000 (the port published on the host by the proxy service)$ curl localhost:8000/api{“msg”:”c249837f1f58 suggests to visit Emosiba”}The request hits the proxy service which forwards it to the API.
In other words, the NGINX configuration file provided as a Docker config was correctly taken into account.
Using a Docker Compose fileOf course, using a Compose file to define the application and deploy it as a Docker stack is more convenient.
We then create a stack.
yml file with the following content.
Note: as the config is created prior to running the application, it is defined as external in this file.
The application can then be run with the following command:$ docker stack deploy -c stack.
yml testCreating service test_proxyCreating service test_apiLet’s send an HTTP Get request to the /api endpoint of the proxy service.
$ curl localhost:8000/api{“msg”:”f462d568c0b0 suggests to visit Onitufdu”}As before, the request is forwarded to the API service.
Service UpdateWhen the content of a configuration needs to be modified, it’s a common pattern to create a new config (using docker config create), and then to update the service order to remove the access to the previous config, and to add the access to the new one.
The service commands are–config-rm and — config-add.
Let’s create a new config from the nginx-v2.
conf file.
$ docker config create proxy-v2 nginx-v2.
confxtd1s1g6b5zukjhvup5vi4jzdWe can then update the service with the following command.
In doing so, we remove the config named proxy and add the one named proxy-v2.
$ docker service update –config-rm proxy –config-add src=proxy-v2,target=/etc/nginx/nginx.
conf proxyNote: by default, when a config is attached to a service, it is available in the /config_name file.
We then need to explicitly define the location using the target option.
SummaryConfig is a pretty neat thing which helps to decouple the application from its configuration.
Do you use config in your application?.. More details