Yes, Docker can be used for databases. Docker allows you to package and distribute software across different platforms. Docker can be used to containerize and isolate database processes. This means you can have a version of your database running in a Docker container, which could be ideal for development and testing environments.
Typically, popular database systems like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB have official prebuilt Docker images that can be used directly.
But it is important to understand that Docker storage is ephemeral, which means it doesn’t persist when the container is destroyed. Therefore, for database usage, you need to consider and set up a persistent data storage mechanism such as Docker volumes. These Docker volumes allow data to be saved and persist beyond the life of a single Docker container.
However, for production environments, running databases in Docker is debatable due to concerns about data durability and performance.
Many recommend using Docker for development and testing but relying on more traditional deployment methods for production databases.
