Docker hosting in Europe

Updated 2026-10-30

Docker hosting on Wolkra means running your containers on your own KVM cloud servers in Frankfurt, with Docker CE and Compose ready in one click, private networks between hosts and unmetered traffic.

It suits teams who like containers but don't need, or don't want to pay for, a managed container platform.

Why plain servers work well for containers

Many apps are a Compose file: a web service, a worker, a database and a reverse proxy. A single cloud server runs that stack predictably, and you can read every part of it. When you need more, you add servers, not a new platform.

• Full control. Root access, any Docker version, any storage driver, any logging setup.
• Predictable cost. One price per server, billed hourly and capped monthly. No per-container or per-request fees.
• No lock-in. A Compose file that runs on your laptop runs on the server.

Starting out

1. Create a server with the Docker app. It installs Docker CE with the Compose plugin.
2. Attach a free firewall for SSH and the ports you publish.
3. Copy your compose.yaml and run docker compose up -d.
4. Put a reverse proxy such as Caddy in front for HTTPS. See reverse proxy with Caddy.

The Docker Compose deploy guide walks through each step.

Wolkra cloud firewalls filter traffic before it reaches the server. That matters with Docker, because ports that Docker publishes can slip past firewall rules that run on the server itself.

Picking plans for containers

• Standard (s): most web apps, APIs and small stacks.
• CPU-optimised (c): builds, image processing, busy APIs.
• Memory-optimised (m): databases, caches and JVM services.

Start small and resize as you learn how your stack behaves. Graphs for CPU, disk and network in the console show when it is time. See monitoring.

From one host to several

Private networking

Create a private network with your own IP ranges and attach every container host. Services talk to each other privately, and database hosts need no public IP. A NAT gateway gives private-only hosts outbound access to pull images and updates.

Load balancing

A load balancer spreads traffic across hosts at layer 4 or HTTP, with health checks. Targets can be servers, label selectors or IPs, and the load balancer reaches private-only servers over the network. Label your container hosts, and new hosts join the pool automatically.

Spreading across hosts

Placement groups keep your servers on different physical hosts, so one hardware failure does not take down every replica.

Orchestration

For coordination across servers you can use Docker Swarm, a lightweight Kubernetes distribution, or a self-hosted platform such as Coolify, which gives you a dashboard and Git-based deploys.

Data and backups

Containers are disposable, data is not.

• Keep volumes and bind mounts on a block storage volume from 10 GB to 10 TB. It grows online and moves between servers.
• Turn on daily server backups for 20% of the server price, with 7 restore points.
• Dump databases regularly and copy the dumps off the server. See our backup strategy guide.

Running CI and registries

Build images on a separate runner server so builds don't slow production. Hourly billing makes extra runners cheap on busy days. See CI runners. A self-hosted registry, or the one in the GitLab app, keeps images in Germany and close to your hosts.

Logs and monitoring

Set a log size limit in Docker so container logs cannot fill the disk, and ship important logs to a central place. The console graphs show CPU, disk and network per host.

Why Europe, why Frankfurt

• Data in Germany and the EU. Helpful for GDPR and for customers who ask where their data lives. See EU VPS and GDPR.
• Low latency across Europe from the centre of Europe.
• Unmetered traffic on ports up to 10 Gbit/s, shared, with fair use. See network.

Automate it

Use the REST API with project-scoped tokens to create servers from scripts, and cloud-init user data to install your stack on first boot. The Composer lets you draw hosts, network, load balancer and firewall on a canvas and see the monthly cost before applying.

Start hosting containers

Sign up, add balance by card or crypto, and create your first Docker server in Frankfurt.