Deploying a Django application can be streamlined using Docker, PostgreSQL, and Nginx. In this guide, we’ll walk through setting up a production-ready Django app on an Ubuntu server with Docker media volume for handling media files.

Prerequisites:

Before starting, ensure you have:

• An Ubuntu server (20.04 or later)
• SSH access
• Docker and Docker Compose installed
• PostgreSQL installed on the remote server
• Nginx installed on the remote server
• A Django project configured for PostgreSQL and Docker

Step 1: Set Up the Ubuntu Server

First, update the system packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install necessary dependencies:

sudo apt install -y curl git unzip

Ensure Docker is installed:

docker --version

If Docker is not installed, install it using:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Install Docker Compose:

sudo apt install docker-compose -y

 

Step 2: Install PostgreSQL on the Remote Server

Install PostgreSQL:

sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib -y

Start and enable PostgreSQL service:

sudo systemctl start postgresql
sudo systemctl enable postgresql

Create a database and user for Django:

sudo -u postgres psql

Inside the PostgreSQL shell, run:

CREATE DATABASE your_db_name;
CREATE USER your_db_user WITH PASSWORD 'your_db_password';
ALTER ROLE your_db_user SET client_encoding TO 'utf8';
ALTER ROLE your_db_user SET default_transaction_isolation TO 'read committed';
ALTER ROLE your_db_user SET timezone TO 'UTC';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE your_db_name TO your_db_user;
\q

Update PostgreSQL to accept external connections:

sudo nano /etc/postgresql/14/main/pg_hba.conf

Modify the following line:

host    all             all             0.0.0.0/0               md5

Then, update postgresql.conf:

sudo nano /etc/postgresql/14/main/postgresql.conf

Find and modify:

listen_addresses = '*'

Restart PostgreSQL:

sudo systemctl restart postgresql

 

Step 3: Configure Django to Use Remote PostgreSQL

Update settings.py in your Django project:

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
        'NAME': os.getenv('DB_NAME'),
        'USER': os.getenv('DB_USER'),
        'PASSWORD': os.getenv('DB_PASSWORD'),
        'HOST': 'your_remote_postgres_ip',
        'PORT': '5432',
    }
}

Run migrations:

docker-compose run --rm web python manage.py migrate

Step 4: Set Up Static and Media Files

Create a directory for media files:

mkdir -p ~/django-app/media

Modify docker-compose.yml:

  web:
    build: .
    container_name: django_app
    restart: always
    env_file: .env
    volumes:
      - ./media:/app/media
    networks:
      - django_network

Update settings.py:

MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'media')

Step 5: Install and Configure Nginx on the Remote Server

Install Nginx:

sudo apt install nginx -y

Start and enable Nginx:

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Create an Nginx configuration file for your Django project:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/django

Add the following configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;
    
    location /static/ {
        root /home/youruser/django-app;
    }
    
    location /media/ {
        root /home/youruser/django-app;
    }
    
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    }
}

Enable the configuration and restart Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/django /etc/nginx/sites-enabled
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 6: Deploy the Application

Build and start the Docker container for Django:

docker-compose up -d --build

Check running containers:

docker ps

Run Django collectstatic and create a superuser:

docker-compose exec web python manage.py collectstatic --noinput

docker-compose exec web python manage.py createsuperuser

Restart Nginx:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 7: Secure with SSL (Let’s Encrypt)

Install Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Obtain an SSL certificate:

sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

Set up auto-renewal:

sudo certbot renew --dry-run