What is the difference between the docker, docker-latest, and the upstream packages?

Environment

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Atomic Host

Issue

• There are multiple packages for the docker container runtime available. What are the differences between them?
• I want to use a version of docker that is closer to the current upstream release, what are my options?

Resolution

There are several variants of the docker container runtime packages that can be installed onto a RHEL host.

• docker - The docker package is shipped and maintained by Red Hat. This is the version used in OpenShift Container Platform environments, and customers can expect a long support lifecycle for this package. It is available in the RHEL Extras repository.

• docker-latest - This version was also shipped by Red Hat, and it was typically kept a version ahead of the regular docker package. As of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5 it is deprecated and no longer supported. It was also available via the RHEL Extras repository. Note that while both docker and docker-latest could be installed on the same host at the same time, only one of the daemons could be running.

• docker-engine, docker-ce, and docker-ee - These are the upstream community versions of docker. They are not shipped nor maintained by Red Hat and are thus unsupported by Red Hat. They may still be installed on a RHEL host without issue, however customers will not be able to receive technical assistance for issues with these packages.

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