Introduction to Docker Orchestration

Docker by itself is about packaging one process. Orchestration is about describing how multiple services run together: API, database, queues, dashboards, and supporting tools.

From single container to Compose

I usually start with a simple Dockerfile for the app. Once that is healthy, I introducedocker-compose.yml to describe the full stack: app, Postgres, Redis, and any sidecars. Networks and volumes are declared there, so local development becomes docker compose upinstead of a README full of shell commands.

Thinking in environments

I try to make dev and production as similar as possible. That means using the same images and environment variables, with only a few overrides for scaling. Once that is true, most bugs I see in production have already appeared in a local or staging Docker environment first.