Installing docker is a prerequisite. The instructions differ depending on the environment. Docker is comprised of two parts: the daemon server which runs on Linux and accepts commands, and the client which is a Go program capable of running on MacOS, all Unix variants and Windows.
Follow the Docker install instructions.
If deploying to a modern Linux-based environment, Docker is installed locally and provides Cockroach containerization directly on top of the host OS.
If deploying to a MacOS or Windows-based environment, the docker installation includes a virtual machine (VirtualBox) which runs a minimal Tiny Core Linux OS with Docker support, to provide Cockroach containerization on top of the Linux virtual machine.
There are development and deploy images available.
The development image is bulky, dynamically linked and contains a complete build toolchain.
It is well suited to hacking around and running the tests (including acceptance
tests and such). To build this image, run ./build-docker-dev.sh.
The deploy image is a downsized image containing a minimal environment for
running Cockroach. It is based on Debian Jessie and contains only the main
Cockroach binary as well as the resources required for starting the server
(certs, etc.). To build the image yourself, use ./build-docker-deploy.sh. The
script will build and run a development container. Inside of that container,
the binary will be built along with the individual tests. These created files
will be extracted from the image and saved in ./deploy/build. From those files,
we build our minimal container.
After the build is complete, the script will fire up the container, supplying
the test files via mounting ./deploy/build, running them one by one and
propagating failure.