At ArcGIS Enterprise 11.3, customers deploying ArcGIS Notebook Server with Windows containers now have a free, open-source container engine option: Docker Engine from binaries.
Behind the scenes, ArcGIS Notebook Server uses container engine technology to package and run ArcGIS Notebooks. You can think of “containers” as virtualized operating systems that provide a secure, isolated environment for each notebook author to write and run their Python code. These containers are managed and allocated by container engine software, the choice of which depends on your operating system (Windows or Linux).
Options for container engine software
If you are a Windows shop, there are now two options for container engine software:
Mirantis Container Runtime (MCR)
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- Available as a container engine option since ArcGIS Enterprise 11.1
- Requires a separate, third-party license and yearly subscription
- Support included with MCR subscription
- Requirements and steps for installation
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Docker Engine from binaries
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- General availability with ArcGIS Enterprise 11.3 (and as a beta feature in 11.2)
- Free and open source
- Support not included
- Requirements and steps for installation
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Important note for Docker installation
When installing Docker Engine from binaries, it is important to be aware that there are no automatic updates available. As a user, you will be responsible for manually updating to newer versions of Docker. Additionally, we recommend reviewing here the limitations of using Docker from binaries in production environments.
Although this page does direct you to using Docker Desktop, ArcGIS Notebook Server with Windows containers does not support the use of Docker Desktop on Windows as a container engine.
We hope that this new container engine option and this brief comparison is helpful for our Notebook Server customers who use Windows containers. Let us know if you have any questions in the ArcGIS Notebooks Community.
For more information and additional details on ArcGIS Notebook Server 11.3 enhancements, refer to the What’s New in ArcGIS Notebook Server documentation.
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