In this chapter you've learned what an image registry does and how to work with it using Docker. I covered repository names and image tagging to identify application versions or platform variations, and how to run and use a local registry server – by running one in a container.

Using a private registry is something you're likely to do quite early in your Docker journey. As you start to Dockerize existing applications and experiment with new software stacks, it may be useful to push and pull images across the fast local network – or use the cloud if local storage space is an issue. As you use Docker more and progress to production implementation, you may have a roadmap to upgrade to DTR for a supported registry with rich security features.

Now that you have a good understanding of how to share images and use images which have been shared by other people, you can look at bringing tried and trusted software components into our own applications with a container-first solution design.