Docker Captain Take 5 – Aurélie Vache – Docker Blog

Docker Captains are select members of the community that are both experts in their field and are passionate about sharing their Docker knowledge with others. “Docker Captains Take 5” is a regular blog series where we get a closer look at our Captains and ask them the same broad set of questions ranging from what their best Docker tip is to whether they prefer cats or dogs (personally, we like whales and turtles over here). Today, we’re interviewing Aurélie Vache who has been a Docker Captain since 2021. She is a DevRel at OVHcloud and is based in Toulouse, France.

How/when did you first discover Docker?

I’ve been a developer (with Ops & Data sensibility) for over 15 years. I’m a former Java / JEE Developer, Ops, then Web, Full-Stack and Lead Developer.

Four years ago I was a cloud developer working on connected and autonomous vehicles projects. I discovered the magical world of cloud technologies: managed services with cloud providers, containers, orchestrator, observability, monitoring, infrastructure as code, CI/CD and real DevOps approach & culture. I fell in love with these technologies.

It was not easy to understand all the new concepts, but it was very interesting and enriching.

It was also the moment I discovered Docker. And since thenI have used Docker daily.

What is your favorite Docker command?

$ docker system prune -a

This command helped me in the past to save Jenkins agents :-D.

What is your top tip for working with Docker that others may not know?

I don’t know if it’s a “top tip” but I think it’s useful to know that containers have an exit status code and they can give us explanations about why the container has failed.

If you are interested, you can find my sketchnote about it here:

What’s the coolest Docker demo you have done/seen?

It was when a coworker showed me how he packaged his app into a Docker image, pushed it to a Docker registry, and ran it in a container, so easily. He could deploy an application anywhere, without having to install tools, dependencies, face version conflicts, and he could deploy his application in multiple environments without having to install x environments manually.

It was so magical and powerful.

What have you worked on in the past six months that you’re particularly proud of?

I have helped evangelize and democratize Docker, as well as Kubernetes and the world of containers and the cloud in general, across multiple companies. I also presented several talks entitled “Docker, Kubernetes, Istio: Tips, tricks & tools” across France.

I also created a new way to teach cloud technologies, such as Docker, through a series of sketchnotes: “Understanding Docker | Kubernetes | Istio” in a visual way. 

All technical books are written in the same way. Personally I understand more when I see diagrams, schemas, and illustrations rather than a ton of words. I have found this is helpful for other people too :-).

What do you anticipate will be Docker’s biggest announcement this year?

Honestly I don’t know. I like to be surprised ^^.

What are some personal goals for the next year with respect to the Docker community?

I plan to create a new series of videos about Docker, always in a visual way, in my YouTube channel, in order to continue to try to share and spread my knowledge in an easy way for people.

What talk would you most love to see at DockerCon 2022?

As usual, I like to be surprised, so I don’t have any expectations.

Rapid fire questions…

What new skill have you mastered during the pandemic?

During the pandemic I created a new way to explain complex and abstract concepts in a more simple and visual way, in sketchnotes, titled “Understanding xx in a visual way”. I sketched every evening and week-end, published them on Twitter and dev.to. And finally, I’ve published 3 books about Kubernetes, Istio and Docker. I love to try to explain abstract complex concepts with simple illustrations and words.

Cats or Dogs?

As a child, I would have answered dog, but now I would answer cat. For a few days now I’ve had a kitten named “Sushi”! 🙂

Salty, sour or sweet?

salty

Beach or mountains?

mountain

Your most often used emoji?

^^ or 😀