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In this lesson we’ll cover the modern Docker landscape and prepare to install Docker Engine on Linux. Before installing anything, it’s helpful to understand how Docker is packaged today and how that differs from historical editions. Historically, Docker was distributed in two editions: Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE). CE was the free set of Docker products; EE was a commercial, supported platform that bundled enterprise features such as image management, image security, and a universal control plane.
A slide titled "Past Editions" comparing Community Edition (a free set of Docker products) with Enterprise Edition (a certified, supported container platform offering image management, image security, and a universal control plane). A presenter in a KodeKloud t-shirt stands to the right of the slide.
Those enterprise features required a paid license. In November 2019 Docker sold its Enterprise Edition to Mirantis, which now offers that product as the Mirantis Container Runtime. So references you find to Docker EE or comparisons of Docker CE vs EE are historical — you won’t find those exact product names on the current Docker site. Today the typical components you will encounter are:
Docker Engine (the dockerd daemon + the docker CLI) is free and open-source. This is the component we install on Linux and the one used in the demos that follow.
Docker also offers subscription tiers around these products and services:
If you work for a company, check your organization’s Docker Desktop licensing requirements. Docker Desktop used for commercial work may require a paid subscription depending on company size and policy.
Why this matters for the course
  • All demos use Docker Engine features available in the free/open-source engine.
  • For Linux users, we’ll install Docker Engine directly on the host.
  • macOS and Windows users have two practical options to follow Linux-based demos.
Options for macOS and Windows users
  • Create a Linux VM (for example, using VirtualBox or another hypervisor) and install Docker Engine inside it — this mirrors running Docker on a Linux host.
  • Install Docker Desktop for Mac or Docker Desktop for Windows. Docker Desktop bundles Docker Engine and provides a native experience.
If you prefer Docker Desktop, follow the official Docker Desktop installation instructions for your OS, then continue with this lesson: Additional references Next step Now we’ll move to the demo and install Docker Engine on a Linux system, then run a few basic containers to verify the installation. If you’re on macOS or Windows, choose either the Linux VM route or Docker Desktop and then follow along with the same commands.

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