Docker docs said:
Version 3.10 or higher of the Linux kernel is requirement.
In my company, our Linux kernel version is 2.6.18 and we want to use docker to resolve some problems. Must we upgrade the OS? We are not sure whether the upgrade will bring other problems.
RHEL 6 / Centos 6 / Fedora 12 is capable of running older versions of Docker on the 2.6 kernel. This is due to RedHat back porting a lot of kernel feature/fixes to make it possible. Docker 1.7.1 was the last available release and it's available via EPEL. You have to use the devicemapper storage driver and using an lvm-direct thin pool is recommended.
For any official version of Docker past v1.7 you will need a 3.10+ kernel.
Upgrading kernel would be yes, if docker solving problem and saving some roi(VM), helping in longer terms. It will be a design decision for yours organization. Docker/CONTAINERS/MICRO-SERVICE based approach/Architecture really scales well and favorable.
Upgraded systems(Stable version) are always preferred.
Before attempting to install Docker, be sure your host machine meets the prerequisites: