Just as we have to install a Linux virtual machine when installing Docker in OS X, we have to do the same in Windows in order to run Docker because of the Linux kernel features that Docker builds on. OS X has a native Docker client that directly communicates with the Docker daemon inside the virtual machine, but there isn't one available for Windows yet. There is a native Windows version of the Docker client coming, but it will not be available by the time this book is published.
There is a Windows installer that installs everything we need in order to run Docker. For this, go to https://github.com/boot2docker/windows-installer/releases/latest.
Now, let's take a look at how the installation should be done with the help of the following steps:
Click on the docker-install.exe button to download the
.exe
file, as shown in the following screenshot:When the download is complete, run the downloaded installer. Follow through the installation process, and you will get VirtualBox, msysGit, and boot2docker installed.
Go to your
Program Files
folder and click on the newly installed boot2docker to start using Docker. If you are prompted to enter a passphrase, just press Enter.Type
docker version
to verify that you can use the Docker command.