Is it possible to create a docker image of a commercial software with an installer as you would normally install into your host computer so that you can run the software without installing and you can run multiple versions without conflict (without uninstalling and reinstalling?
1 Answer
Yes, this is possible; Elton Stoneman's guide on how to do this is the starting point we used to get this going and keep the image size down (by cleaning up after installers so as to not leave useless files in the image). You prepare a dockerfile with the appropriate steps, build the image and then launch your container(s) as usual; the specifics of this will depend upon what you are installing and what software/features it has as dependencies (eg. VC++ runtimes, etc).
However, there are caveats to this:
- To my knowledge, not every Windows application is a good fit for being run in Docker. Unlike on Linux (via X) I'm not aware of a way on Windows you could allow a GUI's window(s) to present on the host desktop when it is running inside a container, and the Windows base Docker images have RDP disabled/removed. If you're talking about web apps or network services that can run headless, then this is less of a concern, otherwise you might be better served by virtual machines.
- Take note of license conditions -- while you may technically be able to run multiple versions, and multiple executing instances, of a program you containerise in this way, you might not legally be permitted to do so by the software licence in effect. Older EULAs may not be "Docker-aware" specifically but may still contain legal language along the lines of "one physical copy on one physical machine" or similar. (In our case we got separate agreements or transitioned to free/open alternative software with suitable conditions.)
