When using Docker, what does 'orchestration' refer to?

Orchestration in the context of Docker refers to the automated management of containerized applications, ensuring not only that they are deployed effectively but also that they can be scaled, monitored, and managed as needed. This involves coordinating multiple containers across different hosts and handling tasks such as load balancing, service discovery, and maintaining desired state configurations.

By using orchestration tools like Kubernetes or Docker Swarm, developers and system administrators can streamline workflows, reduce manual intervention, and improve the resilience and reliability of applications. Through orchestration, it's possible to automatically scale applications in response to demand, roll out updates with zero downtime, and manage containerized applications in clustered environments efficiently.

The focus on container management and the capabilities of orchestration tools clearly distinguish this concept from the creation of Docker images, configuring networking, or deploying single containers, which do not encompass the full scope of automated application management that orchestration provides.