Table of Contents
Docker in a VPS
You can run Docker Engine in a VPS on vpsAdminOS without special platform configuration. The VPS shares the Linux kernel with its physical node, but you manage Docker and its containers normally from inside your VPS.
Installation
Follow the current instructions for your distribution. Do not copy old repository setup commands from third-party guides: signing keys, repository names and supported releases change.
The Docker Engine installation overview lists all installation methods. Packages provided by a distribution may use different names or follow a different release cycle; follow that distribution's documentation when you use them.
After installation, start the service as described by your distribution. On a distribution with systemd, this is usually:
systemctl enable --now docker
Verifying the installation
First check the daemon and the system information it sees:
docker info
docker run --rm hello-world
You can also verify network connectivity from a container:
docker run --rm alpine ping -c 3 vpsfree.cz
If a command fails, inspect the service and its recent log entries:
systemctl status docker --no-pager journalctl -u docker -n 100 --no-pager
Use docker logs NAME_OR_ID to view the output of a particular container.
Access and security
Run the commands above as root or through sudo. Membership in the
docker group effectively grants root privileges inside the VPS. Add only
trusted users to it; see Docker's
post-installation documentation
for details.
A container port is not reachable externally until you publish it with
–publish/-p or Compose. For example, -p 8080:80 usually listens on
all VPS addresses, while -p 127.0.0.1:8080:80 exposes the port locally
only. Publish only the ports you actually need.
Docker creates its own packet-filtering rules for published ports, and a published port can bypass rules configured with UFW or firewalld. Read Docker's firewall documentation before deployment and test the service from another machine. See Firewall for the basics.
VPS container limitations
Docker containers use the kernel provided by vpsAdminOS. You cannot load your own kernel modules or replace the VPS kernel. Most common images work without changes. If you encounter a permission error or a missing kernel feature, send support the VPS ID, image name and the exact command that reproduces the problem.
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