Relocating the Docker root directory

If the space in the file system where the Docker root directory is located is not adequate and cannot be increased, you must relocate the directory.

Procedure

To relocate the Docker root directory, complete the following steps as root or a user with sudo all authority:

  1. Stop the Docker services:
    sudo systemctl stop docker
    sudo systemctl stop docker.socket
    sudo systemctl stop containerd
  2. Create the necessary directory structure into which to move Docker root by running the following command. This directory structure must reside on a file system with at least 50 GB free disk space. Significantly more disk space might be required depending on your daily ingestion volumes and data retention policy.
    sudo mkdir -p /new_dir_structure
  3. Move Docker root to the new directory structure:
    sudo mv /var/lib/docker /new_dir_structure
  4. Edit the file /etc/docker/daemon.json. If the file does not exist, create the file by running the following command:
    sudo vim /etc/docker/daemon.json
    Add the following information to this file:
    {
      "data-root": "/new_dir_structure/docker"
    }
  5. After the /etc/docker/daemon.json file is saved and closed, restart the Docker services:
    sudo systemctl start docker
    After you run the command, all Docker services through dependency management will restart.
  6. Validate the new Docker root location:
    docker info -f '{{ .DockerRootDir}}'