Deployment Guide

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for deploying our application. We'll cover prerequisites, setup, configuration, and verification.

Prerequisites

  • Required:

     A server instance with SSH access.

  • Required:

     Docker and Docker Compose installed on the server.

  • Required:

     Git installed for version control.

  • Required:

     Sufficient disk space and memory (minimum 2GB RAM, 20GB disk).

  • Recommended:

     A domain name pointing to your server's IP address.

  • Recommended:

     SSL certificate (e.g., Let's Encrypt) for secure communication.

Deployment Steps

Follow these steps carefully to ensure a successful deployment.

1. Clone the Repository

Connect to your server via SSH and clone the application repository.

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/your-application.git
cd your-application

2. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root of the cloned repository and populate it with your application's specific configuration. This file should not be committed to version control.

Here's an example of the required variables:

# Database Credentials
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=5432
DB_USER=app_user
DB_PASSWORD=secure_password
DB_NAME=app_database

# Application Settings
APP_ENV=production
APP_PORT=8080
SECRET_KEY=very_long_and_random_secret_key

# External Services (if applicable)
EXTERNAL_API_KEY=your_api_key

Important:

Replace placeholder values with your actual credentials and settings. Ensure the SECRET_KEY is strong and unique.

3. Build and Run with Docker Compose

Use Docker Compose to build the application images and start the services.

docker-compose up -d --build

The -d flag runs the containers in detached mode (in the background).

4. Apply Database Migrations (if applicable)

If your application uses a database and requires schema setup, run the migrations.

docker-compose exec app python manage.py migrate

Note:

The command docker-compose exec app ... assumes your application service is named app in your docker-compose.yml file. Adjust if necessary.

5. Verify Deployment

Check the status of your running containers and access the application via your server's IP address or configured domain name.

docker ps

You should see your application containers running. Open your web browser and navigate to http://your_server_ip_or_domain.

Common Issues & Solutions

Container Not Starting

Check the logs for the specific container that failed to start.

docker-compose logs <service_name>

Common causes include incorrect environment variables, port conflicts, or issues with the Dockerfile.

Database Connection Errors

Ensure the database credentials in your .env file are correct and that the database service is running and accessible.

Warning:

If you're using Docker for the database, ensure the database container is started before your application container.

Port Conflicts

If the application port (e.g., 8080) is already in use on the host machine, Docker Compose might report an error. You may need to change the host port mapping in docker-compose.yml or stop the conflicting process.