Windows Server 2016上Azure VM ScaleSet的Docker Unix容器支持异常问题

Hey there, let's break down why you're having trouble pulling Unix/Linux containers on your setup. Looking at your docker info output, there are a few key clues that point to the root causes here:

Key Observations from Your Docker Info #

• You’re running Docker EE 17.10.0-ee-preview-3—this is an early preview version where Linux Containers on Windows (LCOW) was still in its infancy, with limited stability and compatibility.
• The storage driver lists both windowsfilter (for Windows containers) and lcow (for Linux containers), but LCOW likely isn’t properly enabled or set as the active driver.

Step-by-Step Fixes #

1. Enable Experimental Mode & Set LCOW as Default Storage Driver #

Early Docker EE preview versions don’t enable LCOW out of the box. Here’s how to configure it:

• Create or edit the Docker daemon config file at C:\ProgramData\docker\config\daemon.json (create the config folder if it doesn’t exist). Add these lines:

  {
    "experimental": true,
    "storage-driver": "lcow"
  }
  

• Restart the Docker service to apply changes:

  Restart-Service docker
  

• Re-run docker info to confirm—you should see Storage Driver: lcow listed as the active driver, not just an optional one.

2. Upgrade Your Docker Version #

Docker 17.10 is a very old preview release, and most LCOW compatibility bugs were fixed in later stable Docker EE versions. For Windows Server 2016, install the latest supported Docker EE stable release to get reliable Linux container support.

3. Account for Windows Server 2016’s LCOW Limitations #

Windows Server 2016 uses kernel version 14393, which has significant restrictions for LCOW compared to newer Windows Server versions (2019/2022). Even with proper Docker configuration, some Linux containers might fail to pull or run due to kernel-level constraints. If your workload allows, upgrading your VM ScaleSet to Windows Server 2019 or later will drastically improve Linux container compatibility.

4. Test with a Lightweight Linux Container #

After making changes, verify LCOW is working with a simple test:

docker run --rm -it alpine ls

If this runs successfully and shows the Alpine Linux filesystem, your Linux container support is functional. If you get an error about unsupported container types, double-check that experimental mode is enabled and the Docker service was restarted.

5. Apply Changes to Your VM ScaleSet #

Since you’re using a VM ScaleSet, one-off changes to a single instance won’t apply to new or existing instances automatically:

• Use a custom script extension to automate Docker installation and daemon configuration during instance provisioning.
• Update the ScaleSet’s image or extension settings to roll out your fixes to all running instances.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Poul K. Sørensen