Document Research Database Installation Instructions (Docker)

There are two ways of installing the Document Research Database (DRDB):

• Option 1: Installation in a Docker container (very simple, recommended)

• Option 2: Installation on a server with manual configuration of Apache, Mysql, certificates, database creation, etc. etc.

This page describes the Docker approach.

Prerequisites

This project uses docker and docker-compose. Installation instructions can be found here.

Installation

For a test installation without SSL encryption, get the latest docker compose file, rename it and adapt the domain name used:

cd ~
mkdir doc-db-docker
cd doc-db-docker
wget https://codeberg.org/heurekus/Document-Research-Database/raw/branch/master/030-docker/docker-compose.yml.sample
mv docker-compose.yml.sample docker-compose.yml

# Edit docker-compose.yml:
#
# If the Docker container runs locally, leave DRDB_VIRTUAL_HOST set to 'localhost'
# Otherwise, set DRDB_VIRTUAL_HOST to either the IP address of the server or
# the domain name assigned to it.
#

# Download the images and then start the containers:
docker-compose up -d

• When run for the first time, it will take a few seconds for a demo database to be created.

• Once startup is complete, the installation can be reached on TCP port 8500.

• Finally, the database needs to be initialized by calling the following URL with localhost or the IP address of the server that runs the Docker container:

http://localhost:8500/drdb/index.php?content=bs_first_use_init

• At this point the installation is fully usable via the network and localy via:

 http://localhost:8500/

• Preconfigured username/password: admin/helloworld

• For details how to create a database with your own fields, etc. etc., have a look at the other entries in the 'installation section'.

Persistent data storage, backup and restore

• When the container is created with docker-compose for the first time, a volume directory is created in the doc-db-docker directory. Here, all configuration data and the database itself is stored.

• A backup can be made of the complete installation with all data by shutting down the container (docker-compose down) and then backing up the complete doc-db-docker directory. Use tar to preserve access permissions of the files.

• The database can be restored on the same or on another server by extracting the backup archive. If done on another server, run the docker build command as shown above to crate the drdb image again. If a 'volume' directory is present (as in this backup/restore scenario, the existing database and configuration will be used!

TLS/SSL encryption

• For a production deployment, it is strongly recommended to use TLS/SSL encryption between the browser and the web server (https).

• The web server in the container does NOT provide any SSL encryption for web requests.

• Adding TLS/SSL encryption is done by using a reverse-proxy in front of the container. A project that has been tested can be found here. Another option (but untested) might be the Traefik project.