How to Solve Jump Machine Resource Issues with a Containerized Solution

Jump Machine Containerization Solution Overview

During development and testing, teams often face issues such as scarce jump machine allocation, resource contention, lack of Windows resources for Linux‑based tools, and difficulty simulating user load.

What Is a Container?

A container abstracts the application layer, allowing multiple isolated instances to run on a single host while sharing the operating system kernel.

Solution Approach

Three solution ideas were evaluated; the second—custom desktop image creation with automated container management—proved most feasible due to independent resources and simple operations.

Custom Desktop Image Creation

Steps to build a Windows‑like desktop image with common office software:

Prepare the host OS and network (already done).

Install Docker and enable it to start on boot.

Pull a base image that supports VNC, RDP, and XFCE.

Remote‑login to the container and install required office applications.

Debug the image.

Image Debugging and Management

Use Portainer for visual container management:

docker pull portainer/portainer

docker run -d --name docker-admin -p 9000:9000 -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock portainer/portainer

Access the UI via http://IP:9000.

Run the custom desktop container with appropriate ports and options:

docker run -d --name test3 -p 5903:5903 -p 6903:6903 -p 7903:7903 --shm-size=256m -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro --restart="on-failure" soff/ubuntu-xfce-vnc

Connect via VNC, noVNC, or RDP as needed.

Commit the Final Image

docker commit -a "author" test3 myimages-xfce:v1

This creates a reusable image myimages-xfce:v1 for future deployments.

Automated Container Start/Stop Flow

Applications invoke scripts on the host to create or delete containers from the custom image, enabling automated provisioning and cleanup. Users access the containers via VNC or RDP.

The container image service resolves jump machine resource allocation problems and improves workflow efficiency.

Reference Materials

Various online tutorials and blog posts were consulted for Docker image building, VNC/RDP configuration, and container management.