Docker vs Kubernetes: A Comparison of Commands

 

This document provides a side-by-side comparison of common commands for Docker and Kubernetes, two widely used containerization and orchestration platforms.

Building and Managing Containers:

Task	Docker Command	Kubernetes Command
Building an image	docker build -t <image-name> .	N/A (Kubernetes relies on Docker images)
Pushing an image to a registry	docker push <image-name>	N/A (Handled by container registry, not Kubernetes)
Pulling an image from a registry	docker pull <image-name>	kubectl apply -f <image-name> (using YAML)
Listing images	docker images	N/A (Kubernetes doesn't manage local images)
Removing an image	docker rmi <image-id>	N/A (Images are managed by Docker)

Running and Managing Containers:

Task	Docker Command	Kubernetes Command
Running a container	docker run -d --name <name> <image>	kubectl run <name> --image=<image>
Stopping a container	docker stop <container-id>	kubectl delete pod <name> (or scale down)
Restarting a container	docker restart <container-id>	N/A (Recreate the pod with a new image version)
Listing running containers	docker ps	kubectl get pods
Inspecting a container	docker inspect <container-id>	N/A (Use kubectl describe pod <name>)
Executing a command in a container	docker exec -it <container-id> <command>	kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- <command>
Removing a container	docker rm <container-id>	kubectl delete pod <name>
Viewing container logs	docker logs <container-id>	kubectl logs <pod-name>

Networking and Services:

Task	Docker Command	Kubernetes Command
Exposing a port in a container	-p <host-port>:<container-port>	Defined in YAML or kubectl expose command
Creating a network	docker network create <name>	N/A (Kubernetes manages networking)
Creating a service (LoadBalancer)	N/A (Handled by orchestration)	kubectl expose deployment <name> --type=LoadBalancer --port=<port>
Creating a service (NodePort)	N/A (Handled by orchestration)	kubectl expose deployment <name> --type=NodePort --port=<port>
Creating a service (ClusterIP)	N/A (Handled by orchestration)	kubectl expose deployment <name> --type=ClusterIP --port=<port>

Volumes and Storage:

Task	Docker Command	Kubernetes Command
Creating a volume	docker volume create <name>	kubectl apply -f <volume-definition.yaml>
Attaching a volume to a container	docker run -v <volume-name>:/path ...	Defined in YAML or kubectl attach command
Creating a persistent volume (PV)	N/A (Handled by Kubernetes)	kubectl apply -f <persistent-volume.yaml>
Creating a persistent volume claim (PVC)	N/A (Handled by Kubernetes)	kubectl apply -f <persistent-volume-claim.yaml>

Configuration and Secrets:

Task	Docker Command	Kubernetes Command
Setting environment variables	-e <key=value>	Defined in YAML or kubectl create configmap
Creating a secret	docker secret create <name> <file>	kubectl create secret generic <name> --from-file=<path>
Using environment variables from file	docker run --env-file=<file> ...	Defined in YAML or kubectl create secret generic

Miscellaneous:

Task	Docker Command	Kubernetes Command
Creating a namespace	N/A (Handled by Kubernetes)	kubectl create namespace <name>
Switching between contexts	docker context use <context>	kubectl config use-context <context>
Scaling deployments	N/A (Handled by orchestration)	kubectl scale deployment <name> --replicas=<count>

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This comparison provides a quick reference for common commands used in Docker and Kubernetes. It's important to note that Docker focuses on containerization, while Kubernetes is an orchestration platform for managing containerized applications at scale. As a result, some tasks are handled differently or not applicable in one platform versus the other.