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Docker acquired SocketPlane, an early-stage software-defined networking (SDN) startup, in March 2015. The goal was to bring networking expertise into Docker and help develop open APIs for connecting applications that ran across multiple containers and hosts. The deal was reported as a team-and-expertise acquisition; its financial terms were not disclosed.
What Docker acquired
SocketPlane was a young startup developing networking technology for Docker containers. Data Center Dynamics described it as a four-month-old company founded in December 2014, with six employees, and reported that it had not announced an actual product by the time of the acquisition. Network World also reported a six-person team and said its members had joined Docker.
Those details point to an early-stage technology and talent acquisition, not a purchase of a widely released networking product. Contemporary coverage characterized the transaction as an acqui-hire; neither report disclosed a price. (Network World, March 5, 2015; Data Center Dynamics, March 5, 2015)
What SocketPlane was building
SocketPlane was working on Docker-native SDN intended to address performance, availability, and scale in large container-based cloud deployments. Data Center Dynamics described its approach as using Open vSwitch to provide networking abstraction at the socket layer. Network World reported that the startup applied DevOps tools, programmable agility, policy-driven automation, and network virtualization to reduce the complexity of network configuration.
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The distinction between development work and a shipped product matters: the acquisition-era account says SocketPlane had not announced a product. Its significance lay in its technical work and the expertise Docker was bringing in, rather than an established standalone offering.
Why networking mattered to Docker
As applications spread across multiple containers and hosts, networking became a central part of making those distributed applications work. Docker said it wanted a dedicated team to support progress on open, modular networking and a partner ecosystem in which different providers could build capabilities against shared APIs.
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Network World reported that SocketPlane had participated in initial work on Docker’s open networking API. The team was expected to work with partners on APIs for developers, network administrators, and system administrators. Docker described its approach as “batteries included, but swappable”: provide a common foundation while leaving room for alternative implementations and partner-built capabilities. (Network World; Data Center Dynamics)
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- Acquisition: Docker acquired SocketPlane in March 2015, according to contemporaneous reports.
- Team: Six employees, as reported by Network World and Data Center Dynamics; Network World said they had transitioned to Docker.
- Price: Not disclosed in either report.
- Product stage: Data Center Dynamics said SocketPlane had not yet announced an actual product.
- Later code lineage: The available reporting does not establish whether a specific current Docker networking component directly descends from SocketPlane’s work.
Accordingly, it is accurate to say Docker bought networking expertise and development work aimed at container networking APIs. The contemporary sources do not support treating SocketPlane as a mature product acquisition or attributing a particular present-day Docker feature directly to it.
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