Supercourse: Docker,Kubernetes, Argo Container Platform 2025

Docker for Mac/Windows is the recommended way of setting up the environment. It gives a appearance of running a native application and sits in the system toolbar.  However, remember this will launch docker by default every time you start your system and keep running in the background. If you do not desire so, choose docker toolbox. 

This is the introduction to the sample, muti tier, micro services based application that we would use throughout this training. This is a official application created by Docker itself and contains combination of technologies such as python, node.js, redis, postgres, java/dot net. 

What You Will Learn in this Section

• Understand the evolving container development tools landscape and how it impacts modern DevOps workflows.

• Learn the difference between Docker, runc, and containerd, and how they work together (or separately).

• Discover whether and how runc can replace Docker in a containerized setup.

• Get a clear understanding of how containerd works as a high-performance container runtime.

• Explore Podman as a Docker alternative and learn how to run containers without a daemon.

• Learn to run rootless containers with Podman for improved security and developer experience.

• Use Buildah to build container images as a non-root user, aligning with container security best practices.

• Learn how to build container images from scratch — starting with just a binary and dependencies.

• Discover how to create custom base images with Buildah, giving you more control over your image layers.

• Practice building multi-stage container images with Buildah to optimize for size and security.

In this lesson, we explore the modern container development landscape beyond Docker. You'll get a high-level overview of essential tools like runc, containerd, Podman, Buildah, and Skopeo, and understand how each fits into the container ecosystem. This sets the foundation for the rest of the course by showing how container tools have evolved and become more modular.

Ever wondered what powers Docker under the hood? In this lesson, we demystify runc, the lightweight runtime responsible for actually running containers. You'll learn how runc fits into the container stack and whether it's feasible to use it directly instead of Docker. We’ll also discuss its limitations and where it fits in real-world workflows.

Docker has transitioned to using containerd as its core runtime – but what is containerd exactly? This lesson breaks down containerd’s architecture and its role in managing container lifecycles. You'll learn about its components and how it serves as the bridge between high-level tools like Docker or Podman and low-level runtimes like runc.

Security-conscious environments prefer running containers as non-root users. In this lesson, you’ll learn how Podman enables rootless containers, why it's safer, and how to set it up on your system. We’ll run a few containers as a regular user and explore the benefits of this approach in development and production.

Buildah is a powerful image-building tool that doesn’t require root privileges or a daemon. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use Buildah to build container images as a non-root user. We’ll explore how Buildah works with container registries, and how it offers more control compared to Docker’s build process.

This lesson shows you how to create your own custom base images using Buildah. You'll learn the steps to craft lightweight and purpose-built images from the ground up, giving you complete control over what's included — a great step toward optimizing performance and security.

Multi-stage builds help reduce image size and improve security. In this lesson, you'll learn how to perform multi-stage builds using Buildah. We'll walk through a practical example where we separate build and runtime environments, producing efficient images ideal for production deployment.

Podman is gaining popularity as a drop-in Docker replacement. In this session, you’ll get a hands-on introduction to Podman, understand how it differs from Docker, and learn how it runs containers without requiring a background daemon. We’ll also touch on compatibility with existing Docker commands and scripts.