# Understand Engine plugins You can extend the capabilities of the Docker Engine by loading third-party plugins. This page explains the types of plugins and provides links to several volume and network plugins for Docker. ## Types of plugins Plugins extend Docker's functionality. They come in specific types. For example, a [volume plugin](plugins_volume.md) might enable Docker volumes to persist across multiple Docker hosts and a [network plugin](plugins_network.md) might provide network plumbing. Currently Docker supports volume and network driver plugins. In the future it will support additional plugin types. ## Installing a plugin Follow the instructions in the plugin's documentation. ## Finding a plugin The following plugins exist: * The [Blockbridge plugin](https://github.com/blockbridge/blockbridge-docker-volume) is a volume plugin that provides access to an extensible set of container-based persistent storage options. It supports single and multi-host Docker environments with features that include tenant isolation, automated provisioning, encryption, secure deletion, snapshots and QoS. * The [Convoy plugin](https://github.com/rancher/convoy) is a volume plugin for a variety of storage back-ends including device mapper and NFS. It's a simple standalone executable written in Go and provides the framework to support vendor-specific extensions such as snapshots, backups and restore. * The [Flocker plugin](https://clusterhq.com/docker-plugin/) is a volume plugin which provides multi-host portable volumes for Docker, enabling you to run databases and other stateful containers and move them around across a cluster of machines. * The [GlusterFS plugin](https://github.com/calavera/docker-volume-glusterfs) is another volume plugin that provides multi-host volumes management for Docker using GlusterFS. * The [IPFS Volume Plugin](http://github.com/vdemeester/docker-volume-ipfs) is an open source volume plugin that allows using an [ipfs](https://ipfs.io/) filesystem as a volume. * The [Keywhiz plugin](https://github.com/calavera/docker-volume-keywhiz) is a plugin that provides credentials and secret management using Keywhiz as a central repository. * The [Netshare plugin](https://github.com/gondor/docker-volume-netshare) is a volume plugin that provides volume management for NFS 3/4, AWS EFS and CIFS file systems. * The [OpenStorage Plugin](https://github.com/libopenstorage/openstorage) is a cluster aware volume plugin that provides volume management for file and block storage solutions. It implements a vendor neutral specification for implementing extensions such as CoS, encryption, and snapshots. It has example drivers based on FUSE, NFS, NBD and EBS to name a few. * The [Quobyte Volume Plugin](https://github.com/quobyte/docker-volume) connects Docker to [Quobyte](http://www.quobyte.com/containers)'s data center file system, a general-purpose scalable and fault-tolerant storage platform. * The [REX-Ray plugin](https://github.com/emccode/rexray) is a volume plugin which is written in Go and provides advanced storage functionality for many platforms including VirtualBox, EC2, Google Compute Engine, OpenStack, and EMC. * The [Contiv Volume Plugin](https://github.com/contiv/volplugin) is an open source volume plugin that provides multi-tenant, persistent, distributed storage with intent based consumption using ceph underneath. * The [Contiv Networking](https://github.com/contiv/netplugin) is an open source libnetwork plugin to provide infrastructure and security policies for a multi-tenant micro services deployment, while providing an integration to physical network for non-container workload. Contiv Networking implements the remote driver and IPAM APIs available in Docker 1.9 onwards. * The [Weave Network Plugin](http://docs.weave.works/weave/latest_release/plugin.html) creates a virtual network that connects your Docker containers - across multiple hosts or clouds and enables automatic discovery of applications. Weave networks are resilient, partition tolerant, secure and work in partially connected networks, and other adverse environments - all configured with delightful simplicity. * The [Kuryr Network Plugin](https://github.com/openstack/kuryr) is developed as part of the OpenStack Kuryr project and implements the Docker networking (libnetwork) remote driver API by utilizing Neutron, the OpenStack networking service. It includes an IPAM driver as well. ## Troubleshooting a plugin If you are having problems with Docker after loading a plugin, ask the authors of the plugin for help. The Docker team may not be able to assist you. ## Writing a plugin If you are interested in writing a plugin for Docker, or seeing how they work under the hood, see the [docker plugins reference](plugin_api.md).