Traditional .NET web applications that rely on a SQL Server database can be migrated to Docker with minimal effort and without having to rewrite any application code. At this stage in my NerdDinner migration, I have an application Docker image and a database Docker image that I can reliably and repeatably deploy and maintain. I also have some beneficial side-effects.
Encapsulating the database definition in a Visual Studio project may be a new departure, but it adds quality assurance to database scripts and brings the schema into the code base, so it can be source-controlled and managed alongside the rest of the system. Dacpacs, PowerShell scripts, and Dockerfiles provide a new common ground for different functions of IT. Development, operations, and database administration teams can work together on the same artifacts, using the same language.
Docker is an enabler for DevOps transitions, but whether or not DevOps is on your road map, Docker provides the...