What is required for the Datadog agent to access the Docker daemon?

For the Datadog agent to access the Docker daemon, it is necessary to add the Agent user to the Docker group. This configuration allows the Agent to communicate with the Docker daemon socket, which is typically restricted to users in the Docker group by default. By adding the Agent user to this group, it gains the necessary permissions to interact with Docker containers, collect metrics, and send data to Datadog.

This setup is crucial because the Docker daemon controls various operations involving the containers, and without proper access, the Datadog agent would not be able to monitor or report on container performance and health metrics effectively.

In contrast, adding the Agent user to the root group may provide broader access than necessary, while updating the Docker configuration file is not typically required just for access permissions. Installing Docker directly on the agent machine is unrelated to permission management and is not a requirement for the agent to be able to access the Docker daemon.