Skip to content

deployment.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
733 lines (543 loc) · 15.6 KB

deployment.md

File metadata and controls

733 lines (543 loc) · 15.6 KB

TechieBlog Deployment Guide

This guide covers deploying TechieBlog to various production environments.

Table of Contents

  1. Pre-Deployment Checklist
  2. Configuration for Production
  3. Deployment Options
  4. Database Setup
  5. SSL/HTTPS Configuration
  6. Environment Variables
  7. Health Checks & Monitoring
  8. Backup & Recovery
  9. Troubleshooting

Pre-Deployment Checklist

Before deploying to production:

  • Change default admin password
  • Update appsettings.Production.json with real values
  • Configure SMTP for email functionality
  • Set up PostgreSQL database
  • Configure SSL certificate
  • Set up backup strategy
  • Review security settings
  • Test locally in Release mode

Configuration for Production

Create Production Configuration

Create source/TechieBlog/appsettings.Production.json:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Host=your-db-server;Port=5432;Database=techieblog;Username=techieblog_user;Password=STRONG_PASSWORD_HERE"
  },
  "SiteSettings": {
    "SiteName": "My Blog",
    "SiteDescription": "Welcome to my blog",
    "SiteUrl": "https://myblog.com",
    "Theme": "fluent-modern",
    "PostsPerPage": 10,
    "AllowRegistration": true,
    "AllowComments": true,
    "RequireCommentApproval": true
  },
  "EmailSettings": {
    "SmtpHost": "smtp.your-provider.com",
    "SmtpPort": 587,
    "SmtpUsername": "your-smtp-user",
    "SmtpPassword": "your-smtp-password",
    "FromAddress": "noreply@myblog.com",
    "FromName": "My Blog"
  },
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Warning",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "myblog.com;www.myblog.com"
}

Security Recommendations

  1. Never commit production secrets - Use environment variables or secret managers
  2. Use strong database passwords - 20+ characters, mixed case, numbers, symbols
  3. Enable HTTPS only - Redirect all HTTP to HTTPS
  4. Set AllowedHosts - Prevent host header attacks
  5. Enable rate limiting - Protect against brute force

Deployment Options

Docker Deployment

Dockerfile

Create Dockerfile in the root:

# Build stage
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:10.0 AS build
WORKDIR /src

# Copy solution and project files
COPY TechieBlog.slnx .
COPY source/ source/

# Restore and build
RUN dotnet restore
RUN dotnet publish source/TechieBlog/TechieBlog.csproj -c Release -o /app/publish

# Runtime stage
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:10.0 AS runtime
WORKDIR /app

# Install PostgreSQL client for health checks (optional)
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y postgresql-client && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

COPY --from=build /app/publish .

# Create directory for uploaded images
RUN mkdir -p /app/BlogImages

EXPOSE 8080
ENV ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://+:8080
ENV ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production

ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "TechieBlog.dll"]

Docker Compose

Create docker-compose.yml:

version: '3.8'

services:
  techieblog:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      - ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
      - ConnectionStrings__DefaultConnection=Host=db;Port=5432;Database=techieblog;Username=techieblog;Password=${DB_PASSWORD}
    depends_on:
      - db
    volumes:
      - blog-images:/app/BlogImages
    restart: unless-stopped

  db:
    image: postgres:15
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=techieblog
      - POSTGRES_USER=techieblog
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  postgres-data:
  blog-images:

Deploy with Docker

# Set environment variables
export DB_PASSWORD=your-strong-password

# Build and start
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f techieblog

# Stop
docker-compose down

Azure App Service

Prerequisites

  • Azure subscription
  • Azure CLI installed
  • PostgreSQL database (Azure Database for PostgreSQL or external)

Step 1: Create Resources

# Login to Azure
az login

# Create resource group
az group create --name techieblog-rg --location eastus

# Create App Service plan
az appservice plan create \
  --name techieblog-plan \
  --resource-group techieblog-rg \
  --sku B1 \
  --is-linux

# Create Web App
az webapp create \
  --name techieblog-app \
  --resource-group techieblog-rg \
  --plan techieblog-plan \
  --runtime "DOTNET|10.0"

Step 2: Configure App Settings

# Set connection string
az webapp config connection-string set \
  --name techieblog-app \
  --resource-group techieblog-rg \
  --settings DefaultConnection="Host=your-postgres.postgres.database.azure.com;Database=techieblog;Username=admin@your-postgres;Password=YOUR_PASSWORD;SSL Mode=Require" \
  --connection-string-type PostgreSQL

# Set app settings
az webapp config appsettings set \
  --name techieblog-app \
  --resource-group techieblog-rg \
  --settings \
    ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production \
    SiteSettings__SiteUrl=https://techieblog-app.azurewebsites.net

Step 3: Deploy

Option A: GitHub Actions (Recommended)

Create .github/workflows/azure-deploy.yml:

name: Deploy to Azure

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  build-and-deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup .NET
        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
        with:
          dotnet-version: '10.0.x'

      - name: Build
        run: dotnet publish source/TechieBlog/TechieBlog.csproj -c Release -o ./publish

      - name: Deploy to Azure
        uses: azure/webapps-deploy@v2
        with:
          app-name: techieblog-app
          publish-profile: ${{ secrets.AZURE_WEBAPP_PUBLISH_PROFILE }}
          package: ./publish

Option B: Direct Publish

# Publish locally
dotnet publish source/TechieBlog/TechieBlog.csproj -c Release -o ./publish

# Deploy using Azure CLI
az webapp deploy \
  --name techieblog-app \
  --resource-group techieblog-rg \
  --src-path ./publish.zip \
  --type zip

Linux Server

Prerequisites

  • Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 11+
  • sudo access
  • Domain name pointing to server

Step 1: Install Dependencies

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install .NET 10 runtime
wget https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh
chmod +x dotnet-install.sh
./dotnet-install.sh --runtime aspnetcore --version 10.0

# Add to PATH
echo 'export DOTNET_ROOT=$HOME/.dotnet' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$DOTNET_ROOT' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# Install PostgreSQL
sudo apt install -y postgresql postgresql-contrib

# Install Nginx
sudo apt install -y nginx

Step 2: Setup Database

# Switch to postgres user
sudo -u postgres psql

# Create database and user
CREATE DATABASE techieblog;
CREATE USER techieblog_user WITH ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'your-strong-password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE techieblog TO techieblog_user;
\q

Step 3: Deploy Application

# Create app directory
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/techieblog
sudo chown $USER:$USER /var/www/techieblog

# Copy published files (from your build machine)
# scp -r ./publish/* user@server:/var/www/techieblog/

# Create appsettings.Production.json
sudo nano /var/www/techieblog/appsettings.Production.json

Step 4: Create Systemd Service

Create /etc/systemd/system/techieblog.service:

[Unit]
Description=TechieBlog
After=network.target postgresql.service

[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/techieblog
ExecStart=/home/youruser/.dotnet/dotnet /var/www/techieblog/TechieBlog.dll
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
KillSignal=SIGINT
SyslogIdentifier=techieblog
User=www-data
Environment=ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
Environment=DOTNET_PRINT_TELEMETRY_MESSAGE=false

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl enable techieblog
sudo systemctl start techieblog
sudo systemctl status techieblog

Step 5: Configure Nginx

Create /etc/nginx/sites-available/techieblog:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name myblog.com www.myblog.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection keep-alive;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    # Increase max upload size for images
    client_max_body_size 10M;
}

Enable site:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/techieblog /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 6: Setup SSL with Let's Encrypt

# Install Certbot
sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx

# Get certificate
sudo certbot --nginx -d myblog.com -d www.myblog.com

# Auto-renewal is configured automatically

Windows Server / IIS

Prerequisites

  • Windows Server 2019+
  • IIS installed
  • .NET 10 Hosting Bundle

Step 1: Install Hosting Bundle

Download and install the .NET 10 Hosting Bundle on the server.

Step 2: Create IIS Site

  1. Open IIS Manager
  2. Right-click "Sites" → "Add Website"
  3. Configure:
    • Site name: TechieBlog
    • Physical path: C:\inetpub\techieblog
    • Binding: Choose your domain and port

Step 3: Configure Application Pool

  1. Select the application pool
  2. Set .NET CLR version to "No Managed Code"
  3. Set "Start Mode" to "AlwaysRunning" (optional, for faster cold starts)

Step 4: Deploy Files

Publish and copy to C:\inetpub\techieblog\:

dotnet publish source/TechieBlog/TechieBlog.csproj -c Release -o C:\inetpub\techieblog

Step 5: Set Permissions

# Grant IIS_IUSRS permissions
icacls "C:\inetpub\techieblog" /grant "IIS_IUSRS:(OI)(CI)M"
icacls "C:\inetpub\techieblog\BlogImages" /grant "IIS_IUSRS:(OI)(CI)M"

Database Setup

PostgreSQL Production Setup

-- Connect as superuser
psql -U postgres

-- Create database
CREATE DATABASE techieblog
    WITH ENCODING = 'UTF8'
    LC_COLLATE = 'en_US.UTF-8'
    LC_CTYPE = 'en_US.UTF-8';

-- Create application user (limited privileges)
CREATE USER techieblog_app WITH ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'strong-password-here';
GRANT CONNECT ON DATABASE techieblog TO techieblog_app;

-- Connect to the database
\c techieblog

-- Grant schema permissions
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA public TO techieblog_app;
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO techieblog_app;
GRANT USAGE, SELECT ON ALL SEQUENCES IN SCHEMA public TO techieblog_app;

-- Set default privileges for future tables
ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES IN SCHEMA public GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON TABLES TO techieblog_app;
ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES IN SCHEMA public GRANT USAGE, SELECT ON SEQUENCES TO techieblog_app;

Run Migrations

Migrations run automatically on app startup, or manually:

cd source/BlogDb
dotnet run -- --environment Production

SSL/HTTPS Configuration

Force HTTPS

In Program.cs or via configuration:

if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseHsts();
}
app.UseHttpsRedirection();

HSTS Headers

Add to appsettings.Production.json:

{
  "Hsts": {
    "MaxAge": 31536000,
    "IncludeSubDomains": true,
    "Preload": true
  }
}

Environment Variables

For sensitive configuration, use environment variables instead of config files:

Variable Purpose
ConnectionStrings__DefaultConnection Database connection
SiteSettings__SiteUrl Public URL
EmailSettings__SmtpPassword SMTP password
ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT Environment name

Setting in Docker

environment:
  - ConnectionStrings__DefaultConnection=Host=db;...

Setting in Linux

export ConnectionStrings__DefaultConnection="Host=localhost;..."

Setting in Azure

az webapp config appsettings set --settings KEY=VALUE

Health Checks & Monitoring

Health Check Endpoint

TechieBlog exposes /health for monitoring:

curl https://myblog.com/health
# Returns: Healthy

Monitoring with Uptime Tools

Configure your monitoring service to check:

  • URL: https://myblog.com/health
  • Expected: HTTP 200
  • Interval: 60 seconds

Logging

Logs are written via Serilog. Configure sinks in appsettings.Production.json:

{
  "Serilog": {
    "WriteTo": [
      { "Name": "Console" },
      {
        "Name": "File",
        "Args": {
          "path": "/var/log/techieblog/log-.txt",
          "rollingInterval": "Day",
          "retainedFileCountLimit": 30
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Backup & Recovery

Database Backup

# Daily backup script
pg_dump -U techieblog_app -h localhost techieblog > /backups/techieblog_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# Compress
gzip /backups/techieblog_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

Restore from Backup

gunzip techieblog_20250101.sql.gz
psql -U postgres -d techieblog < techieblog_20250101.sql

Image Backup

# Backup uploaded images
tar -czf /backups/images_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /var/www/techieblog/BlogImages

Automated Backup Script

Create /etc/cron.daily/techieblog-backup:

#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR=/backups/techieblog
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)

# Database
pg_dump -U techieblog_app techieblog | gzip > $BACKUP_DIR/db_$DATE.sql.gz

# Images
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/images_$DATE.tar.gz /var/www/techieblog/BlogImages

# Keep only last 30 days
find $BACKUP_DIR -mtime +30 -delete

Troubleshooting

Application Won't Start

  1. Check logs: journalctl -u techieblog -f
  2. Verify database connection
  3. Check file permissions
  4. Ensure .NET runtime is installed

502 Bad Gateway (Nginx)

  1. Check if app is running: systemctl status techieblog
  2. Verify proxy_pass port matches app port
  3. Check Nginx error logs: tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

Database Connection Failed

  1. Verify PostgreSQL is running
  2. Check connection string format
  3. Test connection: psql -h host -U user -d database
  4. Check firewall rules

SSL Certificate Issues

  1. Verify certificate is valid: certbot certificates
  2. Renew if needed: certbot renew
  3. Check Nginx SSL configuration

High Memory Usage

  1. Check for memory leaks in logs
  2. Configure garbage collection: 
    {
  "runtimeOptions": {
    "configProperties": {
      "System.GC.Server": true
    }
  }
}

Quick Reference

Common Commands

Task Command
Start app sudo systemctl start techieblog
Stop app sudo systemctl stop techieblog
Restart app sudo systemctl restart techieblog
View logs journalctl -u techieblog -f
Check status sudo systemctl status techieblog
Test Nginx config sudo nginx -t
Reload Nginx sudo systemctl reload nginx
Renew SSL sudo certbot renew

Port Reference

Service Default Port
TechieBlog 5000 (HTTP), 5001 (HTTPS)
PostgreSQL 5432
Nginx 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS)

Need Help?