Managed Docker Registry
Assistance-operated private registry for container images, Helm charts, and OCI artifacts
Managed Docker Registry is for teams that need a private, reliable place to store and distribute container images and OCI artifacts without maintaining registry infrastructure themselves. Assistance operates the registry platform while your engineering teams keep ownership of images, tags, releases, and deployment decisions.
Best-fit use cases#
| Use case | Why a managed registry fits |
|---|---|
| Private container images | Keep proprietary images out of public registries and under controlled access |
| CI/CD artifact flow | Push images from pipelines and pull them into Kubernetes, Docker, or deployment platforms |
| Environment promotion | Promote tested images from development to staging to production with clear tag rules |
| Image governance | Apply scanning, retention, access control, and audit logs consistently |
| Hybrid development | Run a registry close to on-premises CI runners and cloud deployment targets |
What Assistance operates#
| Area | Included managed service responsibility |
|---|---|
| Provisioning | Registry setup, storage backend, endpoint configuration, TLS, and secure baseline settings |
| Availability | Health monitoring, storage durability design, backup/snapshot approach where applicable, and runbooks |
| Access | User/team permissions, service accounts, robot tokens, image pull secret guidance, and rotation support |
| Security | Vulnerability scanning workflow, policy recommendations, audit logging options, and image signing guidance where scoped |
| Retention | Cleanup policies, tag retention rules, storage growth monitoring, and deletion safeguards |
| Integration | CI/CD push credentials, Kubernetes pull secrets, webhook patterns, and promotion workflow support |
| Support | Severity-based support for registry platform incidents and escalation for covered production registries |
Registry scanning does not replace image ownership
Assistance operates the registry and scanning workflow. Your teams own base image choices, Dockerfiles, package updates, vulnerability remediation, tags, releases, and whether an image is safe to deploy.
Ownership boundary#
| Responsibility | Assistance owns | Customer owns |
|---|---|---|
| Registry platform | Runtime, storage, TLS, monitoring, upgrades, retention controls, and platform incidents | Image build process and deployment decisions |
| Images and tags | Storage and access controls | Dockerfiles, base images, tag strategy, release promotion, rollback choices |
| Security findings | Scanner operation and reporting workflow where included | Remediation, exception approval, and application risk acceptance |
| Access | Registry roles, service accounts, token rotation procedure | Approving users, pipeline secret consumption, internal access reviews |
| Storage growth | Monitoring and retention policy implementation | Artifact lifecycle rules, legal/business retention requirements |
Deployment options#
| Option | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Assistance physical servers | Development teams, self-hosted runners, predictable internal image distribution, and flat-rate economics |
| Customer cloud account | Production pull paths that must stay inside your cloud/network/compliance boundary |
| Hybrid registry | Registry close to CI with replication or controlled promotion into cloud production registries |
| Migration engagement | Move from Docker Hub private repos, GitHub Container Registry, GitLab registry, Harbor, Nexus, or Artifactory |
Reliability and support model#
| Topic | Managed registry approach |
|---|---|
| Availability | Target availability scoped by deployment model, storage backend, replication needs, and support tier |
| Durability | Storage redundancy and backup/snapshot expectations defined during onboarding |
| Performance | Pull/push latency, storage, errors, and request volume monitored for covered registries |
| Security | Scanning and access review workflows included when selected; remediation remains image owner responsibility |
| Response | P1 response targets scoped in support agreement; 24/7 critical response available for covered production registries |
Onboarding#
1. Registry assessment#
We review current registries, repositories, image volume, pull patterns, CI/CD systems, Kubernetes clusters, access model, scanning expectations, and retention needs.
2. Managed design#
Assistance proposes endpoint naming, storage, access model, scanning workflow, retention policies, backup approach, integrations, and support tier.
3. Migration and integration#
We provision the registry, create initial projects/repos, configure CI/CD credentials, provide Kubernetes pull secret guidance, and support image migration or tag promotion.
4. Operate and govern#
After go-live, we monitor registry health, storage growth, scanning status, and access patterns. Retention and permissions are reviewed on the agreed cadence.
Supported capabilities#
- Docker and OCI image storage
- Helm charts and OCI artifacts where supported by the selected registry implementation
- Role-based access control and service accounts
- Vulnerability scanning workflow and reporting
- Webhooks or CI/CD integrations where scoped
- Retention and cleanup policies
- Migration from common registry platforms
Not included by default#
- Rebuilding or hardening every container image
- Owning vulnerability remediation or exception approval
- Managing application deployment rollouts
- Unlimited storage, retention, replication, or bandwidth outside the plan
- Guaranteeing public internet CDN performance unless scoped with that architecture
Related products#
- Managed Artifact Repositories — Package registries for Maven, npm, PyPI, NuGet, and more
- Managed Kubernetes — Cluster operations that consume registry images
- DevOps as a Service — CI/CD pipelines, build automation, and release workflows
- Managed Prometheus — Registry monitoring and alerting
Getting started#
Request a registry assessment. We will map image flows, CI/CD integration points, retention, access, scanning, and support requirements before proposing a managed registry design.
Request registry assessment →Frequently asked questions#
Can we use this with Kubernetes? Yes. We provide image pull secret guidance, service account patterns, and registry access models for Kubernetes clusters.
Do you scan images for vulnerabilities? Scanning workflows are available and can be included. Assistance operates scanning; your team owns remediation and risk acceptance.
Can you migrate from an existing registry? Yes. We support migration planning from Harbor, GitLab, GitHub Container Registry, Docker Hub, Nexus, Artifactory, and cloud-native registries.
Who owns tag naming and release promotion? Your engineering/release team owns tag strategy and promotion rules. We implement the registry controls and can advise on safer workflows.
What SLA applies? Availability and response targets are scoped by deployment model, storage design, replication, and support tier.