How hard is it to move Docker containers to another system? - eviltoast

Or another container type if there’s a better one?

My server was originally connected to my TV to run Kodi and play some games while serving files, so it’s running Xubuntu. While it works well for the most part, I want to set it up properly, and be able to move the services to a new system when the time comes.

I was thinking that Docker, or another container system, would probably be best, because as well as hopefully being able to be moved, installing new software shouldn’t affect anything else.

Am I on the right track? Can containers be moved to another system without needing to be set up again?

I’m running the *arr suite two Java Minecraft servers Plex media server Two copies of qBittorent NZBGet Ombi Mylar Codex and probably some others that I’ve forgotten.

While I’m at it, is there a best OS to base everything on? Preferably free. The server is a 4th generation i5 with 32GB RAM, and currently about 10TB of HDD space, with a small SSD for boot, and a Quadro graphics card for transcoding.

Thanks in advance :)

  • burndown@sh.itjust.works
    21·
    1 year ago

    Docker is helpful, but won’t be perfect since there’s no built-in migration. You’ll have to move any mounted directories like config and data and stuff. Docker is designed to be able spin up and down constantly, so it doesn’t really hold any persistent data in the image itself.

    Also, I know you want free, but have you considered unraid? If you really need free you can try truenas or freenas or whatever, but a user friendly linux distro isn’t usually going to be too much overhead. I’d highly recommend unraid as a good option for users who need an easier way to work with all of their containers but don’t want to go as far as setting up a kubernetes cluster or something.

    • Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Thanks for replying, sorry about the delay in replying back :)

      That’s a shame about Docker. I haven’t used it properly yet, and was under the impression that it works like a virtual machine, so could be moved or cloned to another system.

      I’ve just had a look at Unraid, and while it does look good, it’s not right for me for now. My drives are full of media and I can’t afford a spare for now (the media is replaceable if anything goes wrong)

        • burndown@sh.itjust.works
          3·
          1 year ago

          What he said ^. There’s no automation, you just have to make sure you catch everything is all. I may have made it sound more difficult than I intended, sorry about that!

          • Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
            2·
            1 year ago

            No worries, I managed to misunderstand, and explain myself badly in the same post, so I’m certainly not going to give anyone else grief for it :D

            Apart from my home directory, most of my data is on separate drives to the OS, and ideally would be staying like that. If I can just transfer the container and config, I’d be happy :)