Software container specialist Docker Inc. on Wednesday pushed out a new version of its enterprise service, adding more sophisticated policy controls and automation features, together with support for IBM Corp.’s mainframes.

Docker Enterprise Edition 17.06 is basically the complete package of tools that organizations need to get Docker’s container platform up and running. Containers allow applications to run on multiple computer systems without modification. Because Docker implementations can be quite complex, the new Docker edition is aimed at organizations that lack the skills and expertise to do so by themselves.

With the support for mainframes, customers can now use that platform to run and control containerized applications without needing to change any code, said Docker engineer Vivek Saraswat in a blog post. Docker Enterprise Edition allows users to orchestrate their container clusters seamlessly on IBM mainframes, as well as servers running Linux and Windows. As such, users can now consolidate application portfolios spanning all three environments.

The new policy controls meanwhile, give admins the option to customize role-based access controls that define the physical and logistical boundaries of different users and teams that share Docker environments. This means that information technology departments can consolidate different teams within the same infrastructure while ensuring no disruption to workflows, Docker said.

As for the new automation features, these are focused on container image management. This eliminates the potential for human error when applications are being moved from testing to production, thereby beefing up security, Docker said.

Lastly, a second automation update adds support for something called immutable repositories, which prevents the override of image tags that have been shifted into production. Image tags are used to identify the content inside a container that’s up and running, and are often shared across multiple containers while new apps are being developed and tested.

Docker said Docker Enterprise 17.06 is available immediately.

Image: Docker