I want to set up a small web server running several web apps, like OpenProject and GitLab, as well as OpenLDAP for user management. In order to encapsulate the single applications, docker should be applied.
Now I have read about several possibilies on how to allow the apps to talk to each other by using their hostnames (e.g. web app to slapd). Most solutions use DNS servers, either running on the docker host like here, or in a separate docker container.
However reading the docker user guide, I also found that custom docker networks also allow name resolution inbetween the containers in the network.
Naturally I would prefer the second approach using docker networks, since it requires less tools and thus configuration. However I'm a little bit confused in what way now docker networks and custom DNS servers are different. Are there any details I overlook?
Added minor clarification in last paragraph.
dnsmasq
is a cinch.