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Running container applications between bootable images

    In this chapter, we want to test a docker application and make sure that all the settings and downloads done in one bootable filetree are going to be saved into writable folders and be available in the other image, in other words after reboot from the other image, everything is available exactly the same way.
    We are going to do this twice: first, to verify an existing bootable image installed in parallel and then create a new one.

    Downloading a docker container appliance

    Photon OS comes with docker package installed and configured, but we expect that the docker daemon is inactive (not started). Configuration file /usr/lib/systemd/system/docker.service is read-only (remember /usr is bound as read-only).

    root@sample-host-def [ ~ ]# systemctl status docker
    * docker.service - Docker Daemon
       Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/docker.service; disabled)
       Active: inactive (dead)
    
    root@sample-host-def [ ~ ]# cat /usr/lib/systemd/system/docker.service
    [Unit]
    Description=Docker Application Container Engine
    Documentation=https://docs.docker.com
    After=network-online.target
    Wants=network-online.target
    
    [Service]
    Type=notify
    # the default is not to use systemd for cgroups because the delegate issues still
    # exists and systemd currently does not support the cgroup feature set required
    # for containers run by docker
    ExecStart=/usr/bin/dockerd
    ExecReload=/bin/kill -s HUP $MAINPID
    # Having non-zero Limit*s causes performance problems due to accounting overhead
    # in the kernel. We recommend using cgroups to do container-local accounting.
    LimitNOFILE=infinity
    LimitNPROC=infinity
    LimitCORE=infinity
    # Uncomment TasksMax if your systemd version supports it.
    # Only systemd 226 and above support this version.
    #TasksMax=infinity
    TimeoutStartSec=0
    # set delegate yes so that systemd does not reset the cgroups of docker containers
    Delegate=yes
    # kill only the docker process, not all processes in the cgroup
    KillMode=process
    # restart the docker process if it exits prematurely
    Restart=on-failure
    StartLimitBurst=3
    StartLimitInterval=60s
    
    [Install]
    WantedBy=multi-user.target
    

    Now let’s enable docker daemon to start at boot time - this will create a symbolic link into writable folder /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants to its systemd configuration, as with all other systemd controlled services.

    root@sample-host-def [ ~ ]# systemctl enable docker
    Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/docker.service -> /lib/systemd/system/docker.service.
    
    root@sample-host-def [ ~ ]# ls -l /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants
    total 0
    lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 34 Sep 10 10:48 docker.service -> /lib/systemd/system/docker.service
    lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 36 Sep  4 04:59 iptables.service -> /lib/systemd/system/iptables.service
    lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 35 Sep  4 04:59 machines.target -> /lib/systemd/system/machines.target
    lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 36 Sep  4 04:59 remote-fs.target -> /lib/systemd/system/remote-fs.target
    lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 39 Sep  4 04:59 sshd-keygen.service -> /lib/systemd/system/sshd-keygen.service
    lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 32 Sep  4 04:59 sshd.service -> /lib/systemd/system/sshd.service
    lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 44 Sep  4 04:59 systemd-networkd.service -> /lib/systemd/system/systemd-networkd.service
    lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 44 Sep  4 04:59 systemd-resolved.service -> /lib/systemd/system/systemd-resolved.service
    

    To verify that the symbolic link points to a file in a read-only directory, try to make a change in this file using vim and save. you’ll get an error: “/usr/lib/systemd/system/docker.service” E166: Can’t open linked file for writing".

    Finally, let’s start the daemon, check again that is active.

    root@sample-host-def [ ~ ]# systemctl start docker
    
    root@sample-host-def [ ~ ]# systemctl status -l docker
    * docker.service - Docker Application Container Engine
       Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/docker.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
       Active: active (running) since Tue 2019-09-10 10:54:32 UTC; 14s ago
         Docs: https://docs.docker.com
     Main PID: 2553 (dockerd)
        Tasks: 35 (limit: 4711)
       Memory: 148.2M
       CGroup: /system.slice/docker.service
               |-2553 /usr/bin/dockerd
               `-2566 docker-containerd --config /var/run/docker/containerd/containerd.toml
    
    Sep 10 10:54:31 photon-76718dd2fa33 dockerd[2553]: time="2019-09-10T10:54:31.421759662Z" level=info msg="pickfirstBalancer: HandleSubConnStateChange: 0xc420312f90, CONNECTING" module=grpc
    Sep 10 10:54:31 photon-76718dd2fa33 dockerd[2553]: time="2019-09-10T10:54:31.421935355Z" level=info msg="pickfirstBalancer: HandleSubConnStateChange: 0xc420312f90, READY" module=grpc
    Sep 10 10:54:31 photon-76718dd2fa33 dockerd[2553]: time="2019-09-10T10:54:31.421980614Z" level=info msg="Loading containers: start."
    Sep 10 10:54:31 photon-76718dd2fa33 dockerd[2553]: time="2019-09-10T10:54:31.886520281Z" level=info msg="Default bridge
    (docker0) is assigned with an IP address 172.17.0.0/16. Daemon option --bip can be used to set a preferred IP address"
    Sep 10 10:54:32 photon-76718dd2fa33 dockerd[2553]: time="2019-09-10T10:54:32.027763113Z" level=info msg="Loading containers: done."
    Sep 10 10:54:32 photon-76718dd2fa33 dockerd[2553]: time="2019-09-10T10:54:32.468277184Z" level=info msg="Docker daemon"
    commit=6d37f41 graphdriver(s)=overlay2 version=18.06.2-ce
    Sep 10 10:54:32 photon-76718dd2fa33 dockerd[2553]: time="2019-09-10T10:54:32.468441587Z" level=info msg="Daemon has completed initialization"
    Sep 10 10:54:32 photon-76718dd2fa33 dockerd[2553]: time="2019-09-10T10:54:32.684925824Z" level=warning msg="Could not register builder git source: failed to find git binary: exec: \"git\": executable file not found in $PATH"
    Sep 10 10:54:32 photon-76718dd2fa33 dockerd[2553]: time="2019-09-10T10:54:32.691070166Z" level=info msg="API listen on /var/run/docker.sock"
    Sep 10 10:54:32 photon-76718dd2fa33 systemd[1]: Started Docker Application Container Engine.
    

    We’ll ask docker to run Ubuntu Linux in a container. Since it’s not present locally, it’s going to be downloaded first from the official docker repository https://hub.docker.com/_/ubuntu/.

    root@sample-host-def [ ~ ]# docker ps -a
    CONTAINER ID        IMAGE            COMMAND      CREATED           STATUS              PORTS       NAMES
    
    root@sample-host-def [ ~ ]# docker run -it ubuntu
    Unable to find image 'ubuntu:latest' locally
    latest: Pulling from library/ubuntu
    35c102085707: Pull complete
    251f5509d51d: Pull complete
    8e829fe70a46: Pull complete
    6001e1789921: Pull complete
    Digest: sha256:d1d454df0f579c6be4d8161d227462d69e163a8ff9d20a847533989cf0c94d90
    Status: Downloaded newer image for ubuntu:latest
    

    When downloading is complete, it comes to Ubuntu root prompt with assigned host name 7029a64e7aa3, that is actually the Container ID. Let’s verify it’s indeed the expected OS.

    root@sample-host-def [ ~ ]# docker run -it ubuntu
    Unable to find image 'ubuntu:latest' locally
    latest: Pulling from library/ubuntu
    d3a1f33e8a5a: Pull complete
    c22013c84729: Pull complete
    d74508fb6632: Pull complete
    91e54dfb1179: Already exists
    library/ubuntu:latest: The image you are pulling has been verified. Important: image verification is a tech preview feature and should not be relied on to provide security.
    Digest: sha256:fde8a8814702c18bb1f39b3bd91a2f82a8e428b1b4e39d1963c5d14418da8fba
    Status: Downloaded newer image for ubuntu:latest
    
    root@7029a64e7aa3:/# cat /etc/os-release
    NAME="Ubuntu"
    VERSION="18.04.3 LTS (Bionic Beaver)"
    ID=ubuntu
    ID_LIKE=debian
    PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS"
    VERSION_ID="18.04"
    HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
    SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
    BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
    PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
    VERSION_CODENAME=bionic
    UBUNTU_CODENAME=bionic
    root@7029a64e7aa3:/#
    

    Now let’s write a file into Ubuntu home directory

    echo "Ubuntu file" >> /home/myfile
    root@7029a64e7aa3:/home# cat /home/myfile
    Ubuntu file
    

    We’ll exit back to the Photon prompt and if it’s stopped, we will re-start it.

    root@7029a64e7aa3:/# exit
    exit
    
    root@sample-host-def [ ~ ]# docker ps -a
    CONTAINER ID        IMAGE               COMMAND             CREATED             STATUS                       PORTS               NAMES
    7029a64e7aa3        ubuntu              "/bin/bash"         6 minutes ago       Exited (0) 11 seconds ago                        gifted_dijkstra
    
    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# docker start  7029a64e7aa3
    7029a64e7aa3
    
    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# docker ps -a
    CONTAINER ID        IMAGE               COMMAND             CREATED             STATUS                       PORTS               NAMES
    7029a64e7aa3        ubuntu              "/bin/bash"         7 minutes ago       Up 21 seconds                                    gifted_dijkstra
    

    Rebooting into an existing image

    Now let’s reboot the machine and select the other image. First, we’ll verify that the docker daemon is automaically started.

    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# systemctl status docker
    * docker.service - Docker Application Container Engine
       Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/docker.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
       Active: active (running) since Tue 2019-09-10 10:54:32 UTC; 13min ago
         Docs: https://docs.docker.com
     Main PID: 2553 (dockerd)
        Tasks: 55 (limit: 4711)
       Memory: 261.3M
       CGroup: /system.slice/docker.service
               |-2553 /usr/bin/dockerd
       ...
    

    Next, is the Ubuntu OS container still there?

    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# docker ps -a
    CONTAINER ID        IMAGE               COMMAND             CREATED             STATUS                       PORTS               NAMES
    7029a64e7aa3        ubuntu              "/bin/bash"         9 minutes ago       Up 2 minutes                                     gifted_dijkstra
    

    It is, so let’s start it, attach and verify that our file is persisted, then add another line to it and save, exit.

    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# docker start -i  7029a64e7aa3
    root@7029a64e7aa3:/# cat /home/myfile
    Ubuntu file
    root@7029a64e7aa3:/# echo "booted into existing image" >> /home/myfile
    root@7029a64e7aa3:/# exit
    exit
    

    Reboot into a newly created image

    Let’s upgrade and replace the .0 image by a .3 build that contains git and also perl_YAML (because it is a dependency of git).

    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# rpm-ostree status
      TIMESTAMP (UTC)         VERSION               ID             OSNAME     REFSPEC
    * 2015-09-04 00:36:37     3.0_tp2_minimal.2     092e21d292     photon     photon:photon/tp2/x86_64/minimal
      2015-08-20 22:27:43     3.0_tp2_minimal       2940e10c4d     photon     photon:photon/tp2/x86_64/minimal
    
    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# rpm-ostree upgrade
    Updating from: photon:photon/tp2/x86_64/minimal
    
    43 metadata, 209 content objects fetched; 19992 KiB transferred in 0 seconds
    Copying /etc changes: 5 modified, 0 removed, 19 added
    Transaction complete; bootconfig swap: yes deployment count change: 0
    Freed objects: 16.2 MB
    Added:
      git-2.1.2-1.ph3tp2.x86_64
      perl-YAML-1.14-1.ph3tp2.noarch
    Upgrade prepared for next boot; run "systemctl reboot" to start a reboot
    
    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# rpm-ostree status
      TIMESTAMP (UTC)         VERSION               ID             OSNAME     REFSPEC
      2015-09-06 18:12:08     3.0_tp2_minimal.3     d16aebd803     photon     photon:photon/tp2/x86_64/minimal
    * 2015-09-04 00:36:37     3.0_tp2_minimal.2     092e21d292     photon     photon:photon/tp2/x86_64/minimal
    

    After reboot from 3.0_tp2_minimal.3 build, let’s check that the 3-way /etc merge succeeded as expected. The docker.service slink is still there, and docker demon restarted at boot.

    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# ls -l /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/docker.service
    lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 38 Sep  6 12:50 /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/docker.service -> /usr/lib/systemd/system/docker.service
    
    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# systemctl status docker
    * docker.service - Docker Daemon
       Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/docker.service; enabled)
       Active: active (running) since Sun 2015-09-06 12:56:33 UTC; 1min 27s ago
     Main PID: 292 (docker)
       CGroup: /system.slice/docker.service
               `-292 /bin/docker -d -s overlay
       ...
    

    Let’s revisit the Ubuntu container. Is the container still there? is myfile persisted?

    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# docker ps -a
    CONTAINER ID        IMAGE               COMMAND             CREATED             STATUS                    PORTS               NAMES
    7029a64e7aa3        ubuntu              "/bin/bash"         5 days ago          Exited (0) 5 days ago                         gifted_dijkstra
    55825c961f95        ubuntu              "/bin/bash"         5 days ago          Exited (127) 5 days ago                       distracted_shannon
    
    root@photon-host-cus1 [ ~ ]# docker start 57dcac5d0490
    
    root@57dcac5d0490:/# cat /home/myfile
    Ubuntu file
    booted into existing image
    root@57dcac5d0490:/# echo "booted into new image" >> /home/myfile