[HTCondor-users] Condor and Docker on Windows

[Craig Parker <craig.parker@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

Thanks for the informative (and sometimes slightly over my head) discussions and insights on this forum.  We run a HTCondor pool of approximately 1000 Windows 10 PCs, with a central manager running RHEL7, and Iâve recently been spending some time investigating the possibility of using Docker on our Windows nodes, in order to leverage the kind of âbuild once, run anywhereâ benefits that Docker can provide.

Iâve run into some obstacles though with the Windows implementation of Docker, mostly the following two issues:

1.  Docker on Windows needs a user logged in at the machine in order to launch, and 

2.  Docker on Windows provides a GUI interface in the system tray that seems to be non-hidable.

Issue 1 obviously would kill Docker dead for HTCondor use here, as the whole point of HTCondor for us is that nobody else is logged in at execute time.  Issue 2 doesnât work for my environment either, because our Win10 machines are very restricted for student use, and IT Security wouldnât be happy with anybody fiddling about with Docker via a handy system tray utility.  Theyâre barely happy with Docker at all, but thatâs another discussion.

Couple of questions: are my findings above correct, or do I have Docker wrong in this situation?  And does anybody here have any experience in running HTCondor with Docker on Windows clients?

Many thanks, Craig

Craig Parker
Client Technology Manager
Information Technology Services
Victoria University of Wellington
Kelburn Parade
Wellington 6140

New Zealand

027 564 6052