Docker Desktop in Win11 can't connect to Docker Engine running on remote Ubuntu 24.01 LTS

Docker Desktop
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I have a home server setup, being admin on both computers in my private network. One computer acts as my server, running Ubuntu 24.01LTS with latest updates. And the docker engine with latest updates was well. Docker works fine using the CLI on my server. The other computer is a Windows 11 latest updates laptop in the same network where I have installed docker desktop for Windows,.
I can ping both computers, I can connect using putty from my Laptop to the Ubuntu server. I can use the Windows PowerShell and if I use docker ps -a command it tells me the running containers on the server!
When I start Docker Desktop for windows it refuses to connect to my remote docker on the Ubuntu server, instead it starts but tells me that the engine is not running.
I assume he is talking about the local docker engine on the Windows laptop.

I have configured docker on Ubuntu to be able to allow remote access. (daemon.json file)

I am not interested in the WSL environment on Windows, I am also not interested in docker on Windows. Both could be, although I haven’t touched it, uninstalled.

I checked “all” forums, docs, helps, even AI! No luck.
I have configured and installed and uninstalled and rebooted as often as it was necessary.,
I cannot access the diagnostics within docker desktop as no engine is running.

I have configured all firewalls, even switched off firewalls just to see if it is them. (UFW on Ubuntu, defender on windows). As said, connecting to the laptop is not a problem. Ports are open, i.e. 2375.

After running Docker desktop for a few minutes, I get this “Unexpected error” “running engine: Waiting for the Docker API: context deadline exceeded” Is this related?

In the docker desktop for windows, I have set the docker engine config file including HOST=“tcp://my-ip-of-ubuntu:2375”. Although I assume this is the config file for the docker engine on my local Windows, right?

Is this enough information to help me? Let me know if I need to provide more.

Thanks in advance for any help.

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Dear All,

I am still struggling. Is this a very difficult problem to solve. Anybody else having this issue?
I am happy to provide more info.

Kind regards
Mike

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I’m not sure what this was supposed to be. The engine config is a json. If you added the above line to the json the engine will not start. Then you can find the engine locally i the “.docker/daemon.json” file. You cans top Docker Desktop and fix the json. Then start Docker Desktop again.

But you can’t configre a daemon to connect to another daemon. The daemon json is only for where the docker daemon should listen.

Also there is no way to configure Docker Desktop’s graphical interface to manage a remote Docker. Docker DEsktop is a virtual machine which you can manage using its on GUI. It is not general GUI that could optionally manage any Docker. The docker command can connect to a remote daemon, the GUI will not. If you need a GUI for a remote Docker, you can try Portainer. It can also be installed as a Docker Desktop extension. If it works as a usual Portainer, you could configure that to show a remote Docker but use it only for playing with Docker or browsing existing containers.