Introduction

Container registries are the backbone of containerized application deployment. Choosing the right registry and implementing proper practices can mean the difference between smooth deployments and security nightmares.

Amazon ECR: AWS-Native Registry

# Create a repository
aws ecr create-repository \
 --repository-name my-app \
 --image-scanning-configuration scanOnPush=true

# Push an image
docker push 123456789012.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/my-app:latest

ECR Lifecycle Policies

{"rules":[{"rulePriority":1,"description":"Keep last 10 production images","selection":{"tagStatus":"tagged","tagPrefixList":["prod-"],"countType":"imageCountMoreThan","countNumber":10},"action":{"type":"expire"}}]}

Docker Hub

Docker Hub remains the most widely used registry, hosting millions of public images.

Rate Limits: Anonymous pulls limited to 100 per 6 hours; authenticated free users get 200.

Self-Hosted: Harbor

helm install harbor harbor/harbor \
 --set expose.type=ingress \
 --set expose.ingress.hosts.core=registry.example.com \
 --set trivy.enabled=true

Security Best Practices

1. Enable image scanning
2. Implement least-privilege access
3. Sign your images with Cosign
4. Use immutable tags
5. Scan base images regularly

Image Tagging Strategies

VERSION="1.2.3"
GIT_SHA=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)

docker build \
 -t my-app:${VERSION} \
 -t my-app:${VERSION}-${GIT_SHA} \
 -t my-app:${GIT_SHA} \
 .

Conclusion

Whether you choose ECR for AWS integration, Docker Hub for ubiquity, or Harbor for control, applying security best practices will keep your container infrastructure secure.

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Originally published at instadevops.com