Web Server and Proxy Configuration

This section outlines how to configure web servers and proxy servers within Docker Compose projects.

Web Server Deployment

Docker Compose simplifies the deployment of web servers like Nginx and Apache.

Example: Nginx web server

version: "3.9"
          services:
            web:
              image: nginx:latest
              ports:
                - "80:80"
              volumes:
                - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
          

• The image directive specifies the Nginx image.
• The ports directive maps the container’s port 80 to the host’s port 80.
• The volumes directive mounts a custom configuration file (nginx.conf) into the container.

Example: Apache web server

version: "3.9"
          services:
            web:
              image: httpd:latest
              ports:
                - "80:80"
              volumes:
                - ./apache.conf:/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
          

• The image directive specifies the Apache image.
• The ports directive maps the container’s port 80 to the host’s port 80.
• The volumes directive mounts a custom configuration file (apache.conf) into the container.

Reverse Proxy Configuration

Reverse proxies are essential for load balancing, security, and routing requests to different backend services.

Example: Nginx reverse proxy with load balancing

version: "3.9"
          services:
            proxy:
              image: nginx:latest
              ports:
                - "80:80"
              volumes:
                - ./proxy.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
            backend1:
              image: myapp:latest
              ports:
                - "8080:8080"
            backend2:
              image: myapp:latest
              ports:
                - "8081:8081"
          

• proxy.conf would define the upstream servers and the load balancing algorithm (e.g., round robin).

Example: Nginx reverse proxy with SSL/TLS

version: "3.9"
          services:
            proxy:
              image: nginx:latest
              ports:
                - "443:443"
              volumes:
                - ./ssl.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
              environment:
                - NGINX_SSL_CERTIFICATE=/etc/nginx/ssl/cert.pem
                - NGINX_SSL_CERTIFICATE_KEY=/etc/nginx/ssl/key.pem
            backend:
              image: myapp:latest
              ports:
                - "8080:8080"
          

• ssl.conf would configure the SSL/TLS certificate and key.

SSL/TLS Certificate Implementation

Docker Compose allows integrating SSL/TLS certificates for secure communication.

Example: Using a Let’s Encrypt certificate

version: "3.9"
          services:
            proxy:
              image: nginx:latest
              ports:
                - "443:443"
              volumes:
                - ./ssl.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
                - /var/run/letsencrypt:/var/run/letsencrypt
              command: ["/bin/bash", "-c", "certbot certonly --agree-tos --standalone -d example.com && nginx -g 'daemon off;'"]
            backend:
              image: myapp:latest
              ports:
                - "8080:8080"
          

• This example utilizes the certbot tool to automatically obtain and install a Let’s Encrypt certificate.

References:

• Docker Compose Documentation
• Nginx Documentation
• Apache Documentation
• Let’s Encrypt Documentation