Highlights
- Standardized environments: CARIAD’s development setups with Docker, cutting down compatibility issues and fragmentation.
- Boosted efficiency: Docker Desktop with WSL2 improved security and streamlined operations, reducing maintenance time
- Knowledge sharing: CARIAD’s whitepaper, Using Docker Desktop in Large-Scale Enterprises, provides in-depth guidance for Enterprise usage with Docker
Introduction
Leading Innovation in Automotive Software
CARIAD is the automotive software company of the Volkswagen Group, bundling the Group’s tech and software competencies. The company transforms automotive mobility by developing the leading tech stack to make the automotive experience safer, more sustainable, and more comfortable. The brands benefiting from CARIAD’s software solutions are all Volkswagen Group brands.
CARIAD’s software platform provides constant and efficient updates, cutting-edge vehicle functions like driver assistance systems, an innovative infotainment platform, and other software functions, creating a vast digital ecosystem within and around the VW Group vehicles. The digital platforms suit any car model, from entry-level to top-end. Applications are customized to the emerging needs of the brand, the model, and in the end, the end-user’s individual mobility behavior.
Due to the various complex development tasks, CARIAD chose to partner with Docker to create a safe and compliant containerized development environment ensuring compatibility across diverse hardware platforms. By adopting advanced technological solutions, CARIAD addresses the dynamic challenges of automotive software development to streamline development processes and boost development efficiency and innovation.
Challenges
Steering through fragmentation and technical debt
CARIAD’s history is one of rapid expansion. Developers from different automotive and tech companies were engaged in one software powerhouse to develop Volkswagen’s leading tech stack. Accumulating operational fragmentation, the software specialist faced growing complexity as it integrated disparate systems, each with its own technological stacks and development methodologies.
The unique aspect of CARIAD’s use case lies in its deployment of Unix-based software within its vehicles, utilizing Linux devices or embedded Linux distributions. However, its development process necessitates the use of Windows technology, driven by contractual obligations, compliance mandates, and technical constraints, particularly for testing purposes where software is exclusive to Windows. This requirement is not unique to CARIAD and is a common scenario faced by developer teams across various industries operating within intricate corporate environments.
Additionally, with around 6,000 developers, engineers, and business team members working in software competence centers across the United States, Germany, Estonia, China, and India, CARIAD has a strong need of knowledge transfer. Some developers need to familiarize themselves with containers and learn about this technology.
A team of cloud-native savvy developers who act as internal evangelists for Docker and containers are keen to address this. They work with various teams, demonstrating container technologies and how their development tools can be smartly containerized. This approach ultimately saves time by eliminating the need for developers to use separate devices, allowing them to work in diverse developer environments directly on their machines.
The initial situation CARIAD faced:
- Standardization and integration: CARIAD’s diverse systems, each designed for specific legacy operations, provided a rich variety of technologies. Emphasizing standardization and compatibility helped facilitate the seamless integration of new software solutions across the extensive portfolio.
- Development environments: With developers working in varied setups, CARIAD identified an opportunity to enhance the development process. Streamlining these environments aimed to reduce risks and ensure smooth transitions from development to production.
- Operational efficiency: The initial integration of systems revealed opportunities to enhance operational workflows. By aiming for a cohesive structure, CARIAD focused on minimizing redundant efforts and improving responsiveness to market and regulatory demands, ensuring that operations were both efficient and agile.
- Scalability: CARIAD’s extensive portfolio demonstrated the company’s robust capabilities. Addressing the unique requirements of each new integration or system upgrade enabled the company to explore opportunities for leveraging economies of scale and achieving efficient solution scaling.
CARIAD’s decision to adopt Docker and containerization technology aimed to create a standardized, scalable, efficient development and operational framework while enhancing overall productivity and innovation.
Solution
Shifting gears, CARIAD’s drive to accelerate software delivery
CARIAD embraced a strategic initiative to streamline its development and operational frameworks. The company chose Docker containerization for its robust capability to encapsulate software in a fully portable and consistent environment, ensuring that applications perform uniformly across diverse computing landscapes. By adopting Docker CARIAD unified its development environments, facilitating a smoother integration of acquired technologies and significantly reducing the prevalence of compatibility issues.
This move not only promised to enhance operational efficiency but also positioned CARIAD to leverage continuous integration and deployment in a scalable manner.
Embracing container technologies
The best way to streamline development environments was to expand the use of containerization technology. This strategic move leveraged containerization’s prowess in encapsulating and managing software code, ensuring consistent execution across diverse computing environments. By embracing containers, CARIAD aimed to eradicate the prevalent “it works on my machine” predicament, enhancing deployment reliability and consistency.
Integration of Docker Desktop’s system architecture
Docker Desktop was implemented into CARIAD’s workflow, incorporating a hybrid system architecture that significantly enhances the security and efficiency of their containerization environment. The system utilizes the local and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2) components, allowing CARIAD to seamlessly manage a diverse development stack across Windows and Linux platforms.
Docker Desktop’s architecture integrates these components effectively. It deploys a Linux container engine within a highly optimized WSL2 virtual machine while maintaining local processes that manage Windows containers directly on the host.
This setup ensures that Docker-managed containers can operate efficiently and securely, aligning with CARIAD’s compliance requirements and reducing the overhead of managing multiple development environments.
For a detailed account of the methodologies and technologies employed, CARIAD’s white paper, Using Docker Desktop in Large-scale Enterprises, offers an in-depth look at their containerization strategy and the benefits realized.
Key benefits
Enhanced Developer Efficiency
Containers allow developers to execute consistent testing and deployment procedures, significantly reducing discrepancies across different stages of development.
Streamlined Operations
The adoption of an automation pipeline facilitated by containers minimized the need for manual setups and maintenance, freeing up developer time for more critical tasks.
Reduced Time for Maintenance
By transitioning to containerized environments, CARIAD could maintain different product lines more efficiently, easing the burden of managing dependencies and updates.
Enhanced security and compliance
CARIAD uses Docker Business features like SSO, Registry Access Management, and Image Access Management to ensure continuous compliance with IT security and IP protection.
Outcomes
Speeding towards the future, revving up results through software integration
The strategic implementation of Docker at CARIAD transformed the company’s software delivery and operational processes. Docker technology not only streamlined the development lifecycle but supported the acceleration of innovation at CARIAD.
Much information or expertise is needed to get Docker and WSL2 up and running. Different domains of technical knowledge are required to work with these specialized containers. The development team needs to know about networking issues and kernel commands from Linux and Windows. A single person cannot do it; a team of experts is needed to address the broad technical landscape around these solutions.
Not only is CARAID helping its automotive customers, but it is also helping others in the Docker community and enterprise customers across industries. After becoming experts in Docker and WSL2, CARIAD published a whitepaper to share the knowledge they had acquired and make it available to other developers and companies facing the same challenges. This whitepaper details how the developer workstation is configured, the developers’ permissions on these workstations, and the company’s distinct characteristics.
The partnership of Docker and CARIAD improved deployment speed, product quality, and overall market responsiveness by fostering a more cohesive and efficient developer environment.
Transforming software delivery
The shift to containerization technology marked a pivotal transformation in CARIAD’s operational framework. It allowed for a more integrated approach to software development and management, aligning with their strategic goals of innovation and efficiency. The technical team at CARIAD noted significant improvements in development speed and efficiency.
The change in development process contributes to CARIAD’s mission to create leading digital technology within the VW Group, influencing broader adoption across the organization. Their success story with container technology has set a benchmark within the Volkswagen Group, promoting a culture of technological innovation.
Conclusion
CARIAD’s journey with containerization technology addressed the immediate challenges of system fragmentation and established a scalable and efficient framework for future software development. This case study exemplifies how embracing innovative technologies can significantly enhance productivity and operational efficiency, setting new standards in the automotive industry and beyond. As CARIAD continues to explore and integrate new technological advancements, its innovative approach paves the way to become a competitive advantage for the Volkswagen Group.