# Running A Dedicated Docker Host in VirtualBox

## Creating the Host VM

1. Open a web browser and download the Turnkey Linux Core .ova Download
2. Launch VirtualBox
3. Select File > Import Appliance...
4. Click the Browse icon > Navigate to and select the downloaded .ova file
5. Click Next and then Import
6. Make sure the Turnkey Core VM is selected and click Start > Normal
7. Once the VM boots, enter a new root password
8. Select Skip on the TurnKey Backup and Migration screen
9. Select Skip on the System Notifications screen
10. Select Install on the Security Updates screen
11. Note the URLs and IP address for the VM > Press Enter to finish the installation

## Installing Updates and Docker

1. Press Enter to select Advanced Menu
2. Arrow down and select Quit > Press Enter > Select Yes to confirm > Press Enter
3. Run the following commands to install updates
   # update software repositories
   apt update
   # install available software updates
   apt upgrade -y
   # clean apt cache
   apt clean
   # reboot the container
   reboot now
4. Log back into the container
5. Run the following commands to install Docker
   # install prerequisitesapt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl gnupg2 software-properties-common -y
   # add docker gpg key
   curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/$(awk -F'=' '/^ID=/{ print $NF }' /etc/os-release)/gpg | apt-key add -
   # add docker apt repository
   add-apt-repository "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)] https://download.docker.com/linux/$(awk -F'=' '/^ID=/{ print $NF }' /etc/os-release) $(lsb_release -cs) stable"
   # update software repositories
   apt update
   # install docker
   apt install docker-ce docker-compose containerd.io -y
6. Welcome to your Docker host
7. At this point you can use docker run and docker-compose to run containers from the terminal

Documentation: https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/docker/

## Optionally Install Portainer (Recommended)

Portainer is an open source tool for managing container-based software applications in Kubernetes, Docker, Docker Swarm, Azure ACI and edge environments.
It can be used to set up and manage environments, deploy applications, monitor app performance and triage problems. It is used by software engineers, devops and infrastructure teams all over the world to simplify processes, reduce risk and streamline operations.

1. Run the following commands to start a Portainer container in Docker
   # create a working directory for portainer
   mkdir ~/docker/portainer_data -p
   # run the portainer container
   docker run -d -p 8000:8000 -p 9000:9000 --name=portainer --restart=unless-stopped -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock -v ~/docker/portainer_data:/data portainer/portainer-ce
   # output the ip docker host address
   ip addr
2. Open a web browser and navigate to http://DNSorIP:9000
3. Set an administrator username and password > Click Create user
4. Click the Docker - Manage the local Docker environment option > Click Connect
5. Welcome to Portainer, Docker container management from a web browser

Documentation: https://www.portainer.io/installation/