Summary
In this module, you learned how to start with Docker to run Business Central containers that you can use to develop and test your extensions.
Before you can start, you need to install and configure Docker. The installation is different on a Windows 10 and a Windows Server machine.
Microsoft provides Docker images of every version ever released of Business Central for every country/region and for every cumulative update. These images are hosted on the Microsoft Container Registry. Pre-releases can be found by using the Business Central Insider program. When you run an instance of an image, it will create a container. You can create multiple containers from the same image. The image will remain untouched.
You also learned about the basic Docker commands like docker pull to download an image and docker run to create and run a container. You don't need to use the docker run command each time you want to start the same container because it will overwrite the container. Instead, use the docker start and docker stop commands. You can use bind mounts to pass files from the host into the container. This approach is useful to upload and use your development license file within a container.
Instead of using the Docker commands, Microsoft released the BcContainerHelper. This set of scripts and cmdlets help make your container work simpler. The New-BcContainer cmdlet can be used to download an image and run a container, and it will even check on the image that is best suited for your machine.