Docker compose/swarm for multiple remote ROS containers

asked 2020-08-01 00:01:09 -0600

mugetsu
195 ●38 ●44 ●55

updated 2020-08-01 00:01:33 -0600

Hi,

Does anyone have any experience running ROS on remote docker containers? Currently I have a separate docker image on each remote host that I launch separately. It works fine, but I have heard a little about the magic from Docker compose and swarm and it seemed neater than my hacked tool, which just sends SSH cmds to different hosts.

I see compose combines multiple container launches into one, but does it work for different hosts? Swarm sounds like it would fit the bill, but I haven't been able to find any example on how to do it with ROS.

Appreciate any tips

answered 2020-08-12 16:17:18 -0600

ruffsl
1094 ●19 ●44 ●40

updated 2020-08-12 16:17:27 -0600

I'd recommend just going through any docker orchestration tutorial, e.g. docker swarm/stacks or even kubernetes if your feeling bold, as starting processes from cluster of docker hosts isn't very ros specific.

https://docs.docker.com/get-started/s...

One catch may be on how you expose the container to each other via the software define networking bridged across the docker hosts. The simplest avenue would be to ensure any ros related containers on any host are all interfaced to the same virtual network, as port forwarding is of little use with ros.

https://docs.docker.com/network/overlay/

Note that the software defined network layer may have side effects on your QoS settings, given the transport layer would be wrapped by whatever abstraction swarm or kubernetes is configured to use in securing the virtual network traffic between docker hosts in the cluster.

(Old post, back from 2016)
https://www.percona.com/blog/2016/08/...

https://docs.docker.com/network/overl...
https://www.metricfire.com/blog/under...