Docker fails to launch on Apple Silicon

[0xTim]

Fails to launch on Apple Silicon (unsurprisingly given it's so new). Can't see a similar issue so raising here to track.

• I have tried with the latest version of my channel (Stable or Edge)
• I have uploaded Diagnostics
• Diagnostics ID: Unable to capture diagnostics

Expected behavior

Docker for Mac installs successfully

Actual behavior

Information

Appreciate that it probably isn't expected to work until the fixes to the engine are in, but thought it would be worth having an issue to track anyway.

• macOS Version: 11.0

[stephen-turner]

Thanks. We're working closely on this with Apple. This is expected right now (and indeed there's nothing we can do about it yet) as the new chips don't have virtualisation support yet.

[codercotton]

Are you able to release anything now that today's Big Sur update has the Virtualization Framework available?

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization

[stephen-turner]

Not yet. The OS has the virtualisation functions, but the Apple chips don't have virtualisation support yet.

[kobaltz]

I don't know too much about the A12Z, but when I run sysctl, it does show VMX listed in the features. I wonder if this means that the A12Z does have some sort of virtualization support, but perhaps it's just not accessible yet?

➜  ~ sysctl -a | grep machdep.cpu.features

machdep.cpu.features: FPU VME DE PSE TSC MSR PAE MCE CX8 APIC SEP MTRR PGE MCA
 CMOV PAT PSE36 CLFSH DS ACPI MMX FXSR SSE SSE2 SS HTT TM PBE SSE3
 PCLMULQDQ DTSE64 MON DSCPL VMX EST TM2 SSSE3 CX16 TPR PDCM SSE4.1 SSE4.2
 AES SEGLIM64

[TC72]

This page says Hypervisor.framework is not supported on the DTK

https://twtext.com/article/1279716564187729927

[gongzhang]

I'm interested in how Docker will be implemented on Apple Silicon. Will it support x86 images? Or just support arm images?

[stephen-turner]

ARM images by default, though you should be able to run x86 images using qemu just like you can run ARM images on x86 machines today.

[julianschiavo]

Was wondering if a fix would be expected to be available on current hardware (the Developer Transition Kit) or if it will not be available until new hardware is shipping from Apple?

(Basically, will the DTK ever support Docker?)

[stephen-turner]

The DTK will never support Docker. Virtualisation needs new hardware not just new OS.

[julianschiavo]

The DTK will never support Docker. Virtualisation needs new hardware not just new OS.

Ahh okay, thanks

[joekendal]

what? did Apple tell us this 😱

[saagarjha]

Apple promised this for their consumer hardware, not the DTK. Future chips will support virtualization and presumably Docker will be able to use that.

[Lutzifer]

@saagarjha Just out of interest: Is there any publicly available source for the promise on hardware virtualization support that you can give? have been looking for one some time ago but did not find one.

[saagarjha]

I'm not quite sure what you mean? Apple has shown off that Apple silicon will do virtualization, and there is documentation for it already so developers can get an idea of what'll be shipping later. It's just that they weren't able to put the feature in the A12Z chip that powers the DTK, which they reused from iPad without modification. Presumably they figured this particular thing was not one of the hardware features specific to macOS they needed to ship early but keep disabled on iOS.

[Lutzifer]

@saagarjha thx, that link helped a lot.