Docker is a virtualization tool that can create operating systems in the form of tiny containers. It is like multiple OS on a single host. Developers usually complain saying working in my box while facing deployment problems. Docker removes those situations by defining an OS environment in the form of images. A Docker image has all the information about a given OS at a given time. It allows us to replicate that environment any number of times.

It was available for Linux initially but is now available for macOS X and Windows. For downloading and installing Docker, visit https://docs.docker.com/engine/installation/. For Windows and Mac, the binaries are available on the Docker website and can be easily installed. After installing, verify the Docker installation with the following command:

docker -v
Docker version 17.09.0-ce, build afdb6d4

It will give the version number; always choose the latest Docker. Now that Docker is ready, let us run a few commands to install Kong. The upcoming section requires some knowledge of Docker. Please go through the wonderful articles on the web explaining the fundamentals of Docker if not confident enough.

Our final goal is to create three containers:

• Kong database
• Go container
• Kong application

When these three containers run, it sets the stage for setting up a web service behind an API gateway.