IReNE

IReNE is an extension and continuation of the IReN web application. Consists of 8 microservices:

1. Reverse Proxy - service responsible for redirecting traffic to the corresponding services, filtering HTTPS traffic to HTTP, load balancing and more.
2. Database - service that holds the information to be used by the services.
3. SearchSpace UI - service that holds the user interface for visualization of documents present in the database.
4. SearchSpace Server - api service responsible for returning the information to the search space user interface.
5. TellSpace UI - service that holds the user interface for the generation and editing of documents.
6. TellSpace Server - api service that is responsible for updating the edited information on the tellspace user interface and updating records in the database.
7. Admin UI - server that holds the user interface for administrative operations.
8. Admin Server - api service responsible of performint the operations given by the admin user interface.

The management system for the services is docker-compose. Please review the documentation for any trouble regarding container management. (Docker Compose Documentation)[https://docs.docker.com/compose/]

Deployment System Specifications and dependencies

1. Operating System: CentOS Linux 8 (Core)
2. Architecture: x86_64
3. CPU(s): 4
4. RAM: 8GB
5. Python: 3.8.0
6. Node: v12.6.0
7. Docker: 19.03.8
8. Docker Compose: 1.25.5

Setup: Directory Structure

Download each of the services into a common directory and create two new directories with names ssl-certs and logs. Also, copy the contents of the files nginx.conf, interface_setup.sh, init-mongo.js and docker-compose.yml:

/IReNE-Database/
/IReNE-admin-server/
/IReNE-admin-ui/
/IReNE-searchspace-server/
/IReNE-searchspace-ui/
/IReNE-tellspace-server/
/IReNE-tellspace-ui/
/logs/
/ssl-certs/
docker-compose.yml
init-mongo.js
interface_setup.js
nginx.conf

Follow the instructions on each of the repositories to setup the services.

Setup: SSL Certificates

For the system to run securely, one must provide a pair of files: certificate file and key file. Create a folder named ssl-certs and follow the instructions in the tutorial (HERE)[https://www.humankode.com/ssl/create-a-selfsigned-certificate-for-nginx-in-5-minutes] to create a self signed cerificates.

On a production scale event, please use a certificate file provided by a valid certificate authority.

Setup: Database credentials

Access the init-mongo.js file and configure the file by setting the names of the database user, password and database name to use. Once the database is runnig, follow the instructions on the repository IReNE-Database to populate and set predefined data.

Setup: Docker Compose File

The docker-compose.yml file is the main controller of the services. Please follow the instrucctions presented in the file and make sure that all files are mapped correctly.

Note: The database SHOULD NOT expose port 27017 of the deployment system unless testing is being performed. To avoid exposing the database, simply comment the "ports" section of the "irene-db" service.

Setup: System Firewall

CentOS by default, has its firewall blocking all ports. Firewall security is divided into many zones but the ones that we are interested are public and trusted zones.

First ensure that in the public firewall zone has ports 80 and 443 enabled. To list the port in the public zone write the following command:

  sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --list-ports
  
  Example response:
  
  80/tcp 443/tcp

If the system doesn't have the ports added to the zone, write the following commands.:

  sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-port=80/tcp
  sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-port=443/tcp
  sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Ensure that the docker bridge, docker0, is part of the trusted zone of the firewall. Otherwise, when building the containers, the system will deny traffic via de docker0 interface and containers will not be built. To verify run the following:

  sudo firewall-cmd --zone=trusted --list-interfaces

Note: If the docker0 interface is not part of the listed interfaces add it with the follwing command

  sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=trusted --add-interface=docker0

Then reload the firewall with sudo firewall-cmd --reload.

Running Compose

Ensure that all contianers have their respective Dockerfile placed in their directories. Run docker-compose up -d to start all containers. If the service container has not been built, docker-compose will build and then run the containers.

When you run docker-compose on a docker-compose.yml file, an internal network is created for the containers and it is added as an interface bridge to the deployment system. To identify this new interface, run ifconfig and spot the interface that starts with br-XXXXXXX.

Copy the interface name and run the following command to add it to the trusted interfaces of the firewall:

  sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=trusted --add-interface=<your-br-interface>

Example: sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=trusted --add-interface=br-123456789

Then reload the firewall with sudo firewall --reload.

Removing unwanted interfaces

Run the follwing to list the interfaces:

  sudo firewall-cmd --zone=trusted --list-interfaces

Select one of the interfaces and run:

  sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=trusted --remove-interface=<your-br-interface>

Then reload the firewall with sudo firewall --reload.

For more infor on troubleshooting firewall please refer to: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/199966/how-to-configure-centos-7-firewalld-to-allow-docker-containers-free-access-to-th

Scaling up services

In the event that you wish to scale up the number of services, docker-compose allows the scaling of services to any concievable number. To do this, run the following:

docker-compose up -d --scale <my-service-1>=<nbr> --scale <my-service-2>=<nbr>

Example: docker-compose up -d --scale tellspace-server=5

Nginx will automatically load balance the requests to the available services using a Round Robin algorithm.

Updating Services

If a particular needs to be updated, navigate to said service folder and update it using git controls. After changes have been applied, navigate to the main directory of the services. Once you have reach the main directory, run the following to stop and remove the container with the service to be updated:

docker-compose stop <service-to-be-updated>
docker-compose rm <service-to-be-updated>

Once the container has been removed, the service image must be rebuilt using docker-compose build <service-to-be-updated>. Finally, when the image has been rebuilt, simply create a new container instance as such:

docker-compose up -d <service-to-be-updated> 

The service should be updated.

Running Admin Terminal Interface

On the root directory of the virtual machine, run the application with the following commands:

cd adminterminal
source ./venv/bin/activate
python main.py