Single-Host Networking

In the last chapter, we learned about the most important architectural patterns and best practices that are used when dealing with a distributed application architecture.

In this chapter, we will introduce the Docker container networking model and its single-host implementation in the form of the bridge network. This chapter also introduces the concept of software-defined networks and how they are used to secure containerized applications. Finally, it demonstrates how container ports can be opened to the public and thus make containerized components accessible to the outside world.

This chapter will contain the following topics:

• The container network model
• Network firewalling
• The bridge network
• The host network
• The null network
• Running in an existing network namespace
• Port management

After completing this module, you will be able to do the following:

• Draft the container networking model—along with all the essential components onto a whiteboard
• Create and delete a custom bridge network
• Run a container attached to a custom bridge network
• Inspect a bridge network
• Isolate containers from each other by running them on different bridge networks
• Publish a container port to a host port of your choice