golden_hex_docker

A Docker‑based deployment for a Django web application served behind Nginx, designed for simple, repeatable deployment on a single Linux host (such as an AWS EC2 instance).

This repository demonstrates a clean separation of concerns:

• Django runs as an application container
• Nginx runs as a reverse proxy container
• Docker Compose orchestrates the stack

The setup is intentionally minimal and well‑suited for infrastructure‑as‑code workflows using tools like Ansible.

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Architecture Overview

Client
  │
  ▼
Nginx (container)
  │  reverse proxy
  ▼
Django (container)

• Nginx listens on ports 80/443 and proxies traffic to Django
• Django runs the application server (e.g., Gunicorn)
• Both services run on the same Docker network

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Repository Structure

.
├── docker-compose.yaml
├── dockerfile_django
├── dockerfile_nginx
├── default.conf
├── requirements.txt
├── manage.py
├── <django_project_files>
└── README.md

Key Files

• docker-compose.yaml – Defines and orchestrates the Django and Nginx services
• dockerfile_django – Builds the Django application image
• dockerfile_nginx – Builds the Nginx reverse proxy image
• default.conf – Nginx site configuration
• requirements.txt – Python dependencies for Django

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Prerequisites

On the target host:

• Linux (Ubuntu or Amazon Linux recommended)
• Docker
• Docker Compose v2 (docker compose)

Verify installation:

docker --version
docker compose version

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Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root (not committed to git):

DJANGO_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
DJANGO_DEBUG=false
DJANGO_ALLOWED_HOSTS=*

Additional variables (database, email, etc.) can be added as needed.

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Build and Run

From the project root:

docker compose up -d --build

This will:

1. Build the Django image
2. Build the Nginx image
3. Start both containers in detached mode

Check running containers:

docker compose ps

View logs:

docker compose logs -f

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Application Access

Once running:

• Application is accessible via http:///
• Nginx proxies requests to the Django container

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Stopping the Stack

docker compose down

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Deployment Notes

AWS EC2

This project works well on a single EC2 instance. Typical flow:

1. Provision EC2
2. Install Docker and Compose
3. Clone this repository
4. Create .env
5. Run docker compose up -d

Automation with Ansible

This repository is designed to be easily automated:

• Ansible installs Docker and dependencies
• Ansible checks out this repo
• Ansible templates .env and Nginx config
• Ansible runs docker compose up -d

This allows repeatable, idempotent deployments.

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Production Considerations

For more robust environments, consider:

• Building images in CI and pulling from a registry (ECR/Docker Hub)
• Using AWS SSM Parameter Store or Ansible Vault for secrets
• Adding HTTPS via Let’s Encrypt or an ALB
• Using multiple instances behind a load balancer for zero downtime

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Goals of This Repository

• Demonstrate clean Docker‑based service separation
• Provide a foundation for infrastructure‑as‑code workflows
• Keep the setup understandable and extensible

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License

This project is provided as‑is for learning and experimentation.