Docker Build Cloud: What is it?

What is the Docker Build Cloud announced?

Docker Build Cloud introduces a streamlined approach to software development by harnessing cloud-based compute resources and shared caching. This technology enables faster builds and enhances team collaboration.

The advantage of building in the cloud lies in its access to more powerful compute resources compared to a typical developer's local machine. This not only accelerates build times but also ensures greater consistency across development teams, regardless of individual hardware disparities.

Shared caching further optimizes build processes. Once a team member completes a build, the cached results become immediately available to other team members. This shared resource prevents redundant builds, thereby accelerating the development cycle and eliminating idle waiting times for individual build completions.

The synergy of cloud-based building and shared cache substantially boosts developer efficiency. It allows developers to focus on parallel coding tasks while builds are processed, and they receive build results more rapidly for integration into their ongoing projects.

For instance, a technology firm specializing in enterprise collaboration software witnessed a significant reduction in build times with Docker Build Cloud, dropping from an average of 15-20 minutes to under 2 minutes.

Regarding multi-architecture builds, Docker Build Cloud presents a seamless solution. Developers previously faced the challenge of preparing applications for different chipsets, such as Intel (AMD64) and Apple Silicon/AWS Graviton (Arm64). This often required multiple native builders or the use of slow emulators. Docker Build Cloud eliminates these complexities by offering native multi-architecture build support, thus avoiding the need for multiple builders and circumventing the inefficiencies of emulation.

An example of this efficiency is seen in an e-commerce customer who simplified their Continuous Integration (CI) toolchain with Docker Build Cloud. Previously relying on a combination of GitHub Actions, GitLab runners, and a custom GitLab runner for ARM architecture, they were able to streamline their process and accelerate their pipelines thanks to Docker Build Cloud's dual AMD and ARM builders. This reduced their system complexity and enhanced their overall build efficiency.

Read the official post here:

https://www.docker.com/blog/introducing-docker-build-cloud/