I'm still using Docker Swarm in production, and it's great! You write Compose files (which are succinct compared with k8s), with an optional smattering of just a few extra functions (such as for configs and secrets). You can easily specify how many replicas you want, constrain them to certain nodes with labels, use health checks for auto restarts etc.

If you can write Compose files, you can do Docker Swarm - it's so wonderfully simple!

I am increasingly nervous about Swarm support staying in Docker though, and plan to at least look into Nomad for my next project.

Your sentiment is precisely why I prefer Docker Swarm. I have heard good things about Nomad. I'm not sure if it's as simple, though.

I believe that Swarm and the other enterprise-oriented pieces all went to Mirantis. Docker, the company, is now specifically oriented to developers.

This is correct. I really think the play by Mirantis is to let Docker Swarm die while maintaining contracts and selling those existing contracts on K8s moving forward. I found Docker UCP very troubling to work with.

I really love Docker Swarm, way way way simpler and easier to work with. So far having a 3 manager with 6 workers works flawlessly with not a single issue.

I've started with 1 Manager/Worker only and grow from there to 3 managers/workers and later kept the 3 managers and added worker nodes to the cluster.

It made me get into Docker even though for whatever reason I hate anything Docker related.

Didn’t they drop Swarm ~1 year ago when they sold their enterprise offering? I thought they decided to instead focus on k8s.

All of this becomes so confusing.

Now there's something called Swarm mode built directly into the main Docker engine. I think that was the "replacement" of the classic Docker Swarm.

That migration was way before the acquisition. The Mirantis deprecation is about Swarm Mode.

All of this is so confusing…

So, who owns the "Docker Engine" ? Mirantis or Docker Inc?

Mirantis

While it has way more bells and whistles than swarm, check out nomad if you haven't :)

Yep! Such a fantastic alternative to k8s for most cluster needs.