docker-sync-wsl-native

This is a proof-of-concept attempt to improve docker performance in Windows and utilize a native Linux file-system, i.e. files mapped in containers should have real file-system attributes such as owner id, read, write and execute bits.

This project will install a simple laravel 5.5 project utilizing docker-sync, file system performance and modifications such as chmod are expected to work as if we are using a *nix based host. Including docker-sync should result in performance superior to Docker for Mac assuming the use of only osxfs. Loading http://localhost:8000/ once the project is installed is between 4-8x (without opcache) quicker than a CIFS or SSHFS volume mount in my tests.

Prerequisites

As of 2018-03-20 at least Windows Insider Preview Build 17093 is required. I've previously experimented with sshfs and do not recommend that approach. I am running Insider Preview Build 17120 without issue, YMMV.

1. Install the Windows Subsystem for Linux. I'm using Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS (Xenial Xerus).

2. Create the file /etc/wsl.conf using a wsl terminal:

   sudo nano /etc/wsl.conf

   [automount]
   enabled = true
   root = /
   options = "umask=2,fmask=113,metadata"
   mountFsTab = true
   

3. Follow the docker sync on Windows instructions from step #3 Launch and update.

4. Follow the instructions in optional enhancements if you think they'll be of use to you. This guide has not been tested without them.

Running the project

1. Clone the repository, create containers and start the inbuilt server:

   # clone the repository
   git clone https://github.com/andrewmackrodt/docker-sync-wsl-native.git
   
   # change into the project directory
   cd docker-sync-wsl-native
   
   # configure the project, dependencies and install
   ./app configure
   ./app make
   ./app install
   
   # start the php inbuilt server
   ./app start

2. You can now navigate to http://localhost:8000/, I see page load times of ~110ms running on an Intel Core i7 3770k @ 4Ghz. Keep in mind that this is using only the PHP in-built server which is not designed with performance in mind.

3. Additionally, you can test how opcache affects performance (2x speed up on my machine). From your WSL shell execute these commands:

   # open a shell to the running app container
   ./app exec
   
   # install the opcache extension
   sudo docker-php-ext-install opcache
   
   # kill the inbuilt server, supervisor should automatically restart it
   sudo pkill php

Optional enhancements

This section intends to offer advice about improving your development experience in Windows. Advice here is optional but highly recommended.

ConEmu

I use this as my default shell and have created a task bar jump list item and explorer context menu entry for it. As a daily bash user on Mac OS and Linux I find this a must have enhancement. With the above configuration you will even have mouse support when running programs like htop.

1. Install ConEmu "an advanced console window where you can run any shell of your choice".

2. Copy %ConEmuBaseDir%\wsl to %LocalAppData\wslbridge%, e.g. I copied C:\Program Files\ConEmu\ConEmu\wsl to C:\Users\Andrew\AppData\Local\wslbridge.

3. Make the file wslbridge-backend executable from a WSL shell:

   This step is required due to the fmask attribute in /etc/wsl.conf. This is a problem for this particular file because it is in a system directory and we cannot set the executable bit even if we were the root user.

   cd /c/Users/Andrew/AppData/Local/wslbridge
   chmod a+x wslbridge-backend

4. Append the following to /etc/fstab.conf using a wsl terminal:

   sudo nano /etc/fstab

   This is a continuation of the previous step; the wslbridge executable expects the wslbridge-backend file to exist in /mnt/c, however, we still want the drive to be accessible from /c. The mount order is important for current working directory resolution to put you into /c/* and not /mnt/c/*.

   C:       /mnt/c      drvfs   rw,noatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,umask=2,fmask=113,metadata   0 0
   /mnt/c   /c          none    defaults,bind                                             0 0
   

5. Open ConEmu and create a Task called Bash::WSL:

   Replace /cygdrive/c with /cygdrive/d if your %LocalAppData% directory is on drive D:.

   Parameters:
       /icon %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\lxss\bash.ico
   
   Commands:
       set "PATH=%ConEmuBaseDirShort%\wsl;%PATH%" & %ConEmuBaseDirShort%\conemu-cyg-64.exe /cygdrive/c/Users/%Username%/AppData/Local/wslbridge/wslbridge.exe -cur_console:pn -t /bin/bash -l
   

Use WSL as the default terminal in PhpStorm

Update your PhpStorm configuration via File -> Settings:

Appearance & Behaviour -> System Settings -> Synchronization
   [ off ] Use "safe write" (save changes to a temporary file first)

Tools -> Terminal -> Application Settings
   Shell path: C:\Windows\System32\wsl.exe