Docker on a Saudi Server: From Zero to Production

Why Docker on a Saudi Server?

Docker solves an old problem: "It works on my machine but not on the server." With Docker, your application runs the same way everywhere — on your local machine, on the staging server, and in production. Add a Saudi server with very low latency and you get an ideal environment for your applications.

Installing Docker

On Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04

# Remove old versions
sudo apt remove docker docker-engine docker.io containerd runc 2>/dev/null

# Install prerequisites
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ca-certificates curl gnupg -y

# Add Docker's official GPG key
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

# Add the repository
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(. /etc/os-release && echo $VERSION_CODENAME) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin -y

# Verify
sudo docker run hello-world

Run Docker Without sudo

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Log out and back in
newgrp docker

Core Concepts

Concept	Description
Image	A ready-made template containing the app and its dependencies
Container	A running instance of an Image
Dockerfile	Instructions file for building an Image
Volume	Persistent storage outside the container
Network	A network connecting containers to each other

Basic Commands

# Run a container
docker run -d --name my-nginx -p 80:80 nginx

# List running containers
docker ps

# List all containers (including stopped)
docker ps -a

# Stop a container
docker stop my-nginx

# Remove a container
docker rm my-nginx

# List local images
docker images

# Remove an image
docker rmi nginx

# Enter a container
docker exec -it my-nginx bash

# View container logs
docker logs my-nginx
docker logs -f my-nginx # follow in real-time

Building Your First Image

Dockerfile for a Laravel Application

# File: Dockerfile
FROM php:8.3-fpm

# Install dependencies
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
 git curl zip unzip libpng-dev libonig-dev libxml2-dev \
 libzip-dev libpq-dev \
 && docker-php-ext-install pdo pdo_mysql mbstring exif pcntl bcmath gd zip \
 && apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Install Composer
COPY --from=composer:latest /usr/bin/composer /usr/bin/composer

# Set working directory
WORKDIR /var/www/app

# Copy dependency files first (leverage cache)
COPY composer.json composer.lock ./
RUN composer install --no-dev --no-scripts --no-autoloader

# Copy remaining files
COPY . .

# Complete Composer install
RUN composer dump-autoload --optimize

# Set permissions
RUN chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/app/storage /var/www/app/bootstrap/cache

EXPOSE 9000
CMD ["php-fpm"]

Build and Run the Image

# Build the image
docker build -t my-laravel-app:1.0 .

# Run the container
docker run -d \
 --name laravel-app \
 -p 9000:9000 \
 -v $(pwd)/.env:/var/www/app/.env \
 my-laravel-app:1.0

Data Management with Volumes

Data inside a container is deleted when the container is removed. Use Volumes for persistent data:

# Create a Volume
docker volume create mysql-data

# Run MySQL with a Volume
docker run -d \
 --name mysql-db \
 -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=secret \
 -e MYSQL_DATABASE=app_db \
 -v mysql-data:/var/lib/mysql \
 -p 3306:3306 \
 mysql:8.0

# List Volumes
docker volume ls

# Inspect a Volume
docker volume inspect mysql-data

Networks

# Create a network
docker network create app-network

# Run containers on the same network
docker run -d --name db --network app-network mysql:8.0
docker run -d --name app --network app-network my-laravel-app:1.0

# Now the app container can reach db by name:
# DB_HOST=db (instead of IP)

The .dockerignore File

Exclude unnecessary files during build:

# File: .dockerignore
.git
.env
node_modules
vendor
storage/logs/*
storage/framework/cache/*
storage/framework/sessions/*
storage/framework/views/*
tests
docker-compose.yml
README.md

Performance Optimization on Saudi Servers

Speeding Up Image Pulls

# Configure local mirror (optional for large setups)
# File: /etc/docker/daemon.json
{
 "log-driver": "json-file",
 "log-opts": {
 "max-size": "10m",
 "max-file": "3"
 },
 "storage-driver": "overlay2"
}

Cleaning Unused Resources

# Remove stopped containers, unused images, and networks
docker system prune -a

# Show disk usage
docker system df

Security

# Do not run containers as root
USER www-data # in Dockerfile

# Limit resources
docker run -d --name app \
 --memory="512m" \
 --cpus="1.0" \
 my-laravel-app:1.0

# Never store secrets in the Image
# Use environment variables or Docker Secrets

Getting Started with CLOUD

CLOUD (cloud.net.sa) servers are Docker-ready from the first moment. KVM virtualization gives you full isolation and root access — install Docker and start building containers immediately. With fast SSD storage in Riyadh, building images and running containers happens at high speed.

Start with a cloud server from CLOUD at competitive pricing — pricing and plans and transform the way you deploy your applications entirely.

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Get Started

Ready to build your project? Configure your cloud server with the specs your app needs, or view plans and pricing.