AI engineering glossary · MLOps, LLMOps cloud
What is container layer?
Container layer: Each instruction in a Dockerfile that changes files creates a layer, a stored set of file differences stacked on the layers below. Layers are cached and shared between images, so ordering instructions so that rarely changing steps come first speeds up rebuilds.
Container layer: an example
Copying requirements.txt and installing packages before copying source code means editing a Python file reuses the cached install layer instead of reinstalling everything.
Related terms
- Docker image
- Dockerfile
- Build cache
- Multi-stage build
More MLOps, LLMOps cloud terms
- Container runtime
- Continuous delivery
- Continuous training
- Data versioning
- Dependency pinning
- Deployment pipeline
- Disaster recovery
- Distributed tracing
Where you learn it
Container layer is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.