Using Redis in Docker containers

Redis is one of the most popular Docker images. The key-value store makes it possible to save data from Docker containers. If you want to take advantage of this feature, you can connect Redis and Docker in the terminal. Keep reading to find out how.

After installing Docker on a Linux server, people often ask themselves where they can save data from Docker containers. Redis is a NoSQL database that offers an ideal solution, thanks to its lightning-fast performance. Before you connect Redis and Docker, make sure that the following requirements are met:

• Docker is installed and running.
• You’re familiar with the basic commands and features of Docker.
• You have a cloud server running Linux.

The official Redis image is one of the top three most popular Docker images. It contains the command EXPOSE 6379 (the default Redis port) which makes it automatically available to any linked containers.

To run a Redis instance in a Docker container named my-redis-container, use the command:

To connect to a Redis instance from another Docker container, add --link [Redis container name or ID]:redis to that container’s docker run command.

For example, to launch a container named my-redis-application from the official CentOS 7 image and link it to the my-redis-container container, use the command:

To connect to a Redis instance from another Docker container with a command-line interface, link the container and specify the host and port with -h redis -p 6379.

For example:

This will connect you to the new container my-redis-cli with a redis-cli connection to the my-redis-container container. Use [Ctrl] + [P] and [Ctrl] + [Q] to exit this container and return to the command line.

If you wish to connect to a Docker container running Redis from a remote server, you can use Docker’s port forwarding to access the container with the host server’s IP address or domain name.

To use Docker’s port forwarding for Redis, add the flag -p [host port]:6379 to the docker run command.

For example, to set up port forwarding so that you can connect to the container using port 7001 (the standardized TCP/UDP port), the docker run command is:

You can then switch to another server and access the my-redis-container container with the command:

For example, if the host server running the Redis Docker container is IP address 192.168.0.1, you can access the Redis container from any server with the command:

If you have a custom redis.conf file where you’ve already configured Redis, you can load it at container launch by adding the -v flag to the docker run command:

Simply add the file path of your conf-file to the command. For example, to load the customized file with the path /data/myredis/redis.conf, the command is: