Containers¶

Containers have become the standard unit of deployment in modern infrastructure automation. They provide isolation, portability, and consistency across environments—from developer laptops to production clusters. As an expert‑level PowerShell practitioner, you must understand how to automate container lifecycle operations, integrate with container registries, orchestrate containers at scale, and embed container workflows into CI/CD pipelines. This section focuses on Docker‑based automation and cloud‑native container platforms using PowerShell.

1. Understanding containers in automation¶

A container packages:

• An application
• Its runtime
• Its dependencies
• Its configuration

…into a single, immutable artifact. This makes containers ideal for:

• Repeatable deployments
• Microservices
• CI/CD pipelines
• Cloud‑native workloads
• Infrastructure‑as‑code workflows

PowerShell interacts with containers through:

• Docker CLI (local and remote engines)
• Azure PowerShell (Az.ContainerRegistry, Az.ContainerInstance, Az.AKS)
• AWS Tools for PowerShell (ECR, ECS, EKS)
• Kubernetes modules (kubectl via PowerShell, or PowerShell modules)

Your automation must treat containers as first‑class infrastructure resources.

2. Automating Docker with PowerShell¶

Docker remains the foundation of most container workflows. PowerShell can orchestrate Docker operations directly, making it easy to integrate container tasks into scripts and pipelines.

2.1 Building images¶

docker build -t webapp:1.0 .

This creates an immutable image that can be deployed anywhere Docker runs.

2.2 Running containers¶

docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name web01 webapp:1.0

PowerShell can wrap this in functions to standardize deployments across environments.

2.3 Managing containers¶

docker ps
docker stop web01
docker rm web01

These operations become building blocks for automation tasks such as blue‑green deployments or rolling updates.

2.4 Automating image tagging and versioning¶

$version = "1.0.$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMddHHmm)"
docker tag webapp:latest "registry.example.com/webapp:$version"

Versioning is essential for traceability and rollback.

3. Container registries¶

Registries store and distribute container images. PowerShell automates authentication, tagging, pushing, and pulling images.

3.1 Azure Container Registry (ACR)¶

Authenticate¶

Connect-AzAccount
$acr = Get-AzContainerRegistry -ResourceGroupName "ProdRG" -Name "ProdACR"
az acr login --name $acr.Name

Push an image¶

docker push prodacr.azurecr.io/webapp:1.0

3.2 AWS Elastic Container Registry (ECR)¶

Authenticate¶

(Get-ECRAuthorizationToken).AuthorizationData | ForEach-Object {
    docker login -u AWS -p $_.AuthorizationToken $_.ProxyEndpoint
}

Push an image¶

docker push <aws_account_id>.dkr.ecr.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com/webapp:1.0

Registries are the backbone of container distribution in enterprise environments.

4. Running containers in the cloud¶

Containers rarely run directly on VMs in modern environments. Instead, they run on managed container platforms.

4.1 Azure Container Instances (ACI)¶

ACI is ideal for lightweight, serverless container execution.

New-AzContainerGroup `
    -ResourceGroupName "ProdRG" `
    -Name "webapp-ci" `
    -Image "prodacr.azurecr.io/webapp:1.0" `
    -OsType Linux `
    -Cpu 1 -MemoryInGb 1

ACI is used for:

• Batch jobs
• Short‑lived workloads
• Event‑driven automation

4.2 Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)¶

PowerShell orchestrates AKS through:

• Az.AKS for cluster management
• kubectl for workload deployment

Deploying a container to AKS¶

kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml

AKS is used for large‑scale, orchestrated container workloads.

4.3 AWS ECS (Elastic Container Service)¶

ECS automates container scheduling and scaling.

Run a task¶

Start-ECSTask `
    -Cluster "ProdCluster" `
    -TaskDefinition "webapp:1"

4.4 AWS EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service)¶

EKS uses Kubernetes, so PowerShell interacts through kubectl or AWS PowerShell modules.

5. Designing container automation workflows¶

Expert‑level container automation requires more than running containers. You must design workflows that are:

• Immutable — containers are never patched; they are rebuilt
• Versioned — every image has a traceable tag
• Registry‑driven — images flow through dev → test → prod
• Orchestrated — AKS/EKS/ECS handle scaling and scheduling
• Secure — no secrets in images, use vaults and identity providers
• Policy‑compliant — enforce image scanning, signing, and RBAC

A typical enterprise workflow:

1. Build image
2. Scan image for vulnerabilities
3. Tag and push to registry
4. Deploy to dev cluster
5. Run automated tests
6. Promote to staging
7. Deploy to production via GitOps or CI/CD

PowerShell acts as the orchestration layer that ties these steps together.

6. Security considerations for containers¶

Containers introduce unique security requirements:

• Never store secrets in images
• Use managed identities or IAM roles
• Scan images for vulnerabilities
• Enforce signed images (ACR, ECR, Notary)
• Restrict registry access
• Use network policies in Kubernetes
• Apply least‑privilege permissions

PowerShell scripts must integrate these controls into automation pipelines.

7. Summary¶

Containers are a core component of modern infrastructure automation. As an expert PowerShell practitioner, you must be able to:

• Build, run, and manage Docker containers
• Automate image tagging, versioning, and distribution
• Work with Azure Container Registry and AWS ECR
• Deploy containers to ACI, AKS, ECS, and EKS
• Integrate container workflows into CI/CD pipelines
• Enforce security, identity, and governance standards

Mastering container automation allows you to deliver consistent, scalable, cloud‑native infrastructure across any environment.