This project has been created as part of the 42 curriculum by moait-la.

Inception

Description

Inception is a system administration and DevOps project that aims to introduce containerization using Docker and Docker Compose.

The goal of the project is to build a small, secure, and isolated infrastructure composed of multiple services running in separate Docker containers, all orchestrated using Docker Compose and executed inside a virtual machine with Linux operation system setup on it.

This infrastructure includes:

• An NGINX web server acting as a reverse proxy secured with TLSv1.2 / TLSv1.3
• A WordPress application running with PHP-FPM
• A MariaDB database
• Persistent Docker volumes for database and website data
• A dedicated Docker network for internal communication

All services are built from scratch using custom Dockerfiles, without relying on prebuilt images except Debian base images, and follow Docker best practices.

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Project Architecture

The infrastructure is composed of the following services:

• NGINX

  • Acts as the only public entry point
  • Listens on port 443
  • Handles HTTPS using TLSv1.2 or TLSv1.3
  • Proxies requests to WordPress

• WordPress

  • Runs with PHP-FPM only (no NGINX)
  • Connects to MariaDB using environment variables
  • Website files are stored in a persistent volume

• MariaDB

  • Runs independently without NGINX
  • Stores WordPress database data in a persistent volume
  • Uses secure credentials via environment variables and Docker secrets

• Docker Network

  • Allows containers to communicate internally

• Docker Volumes

  • One volume for WordPress database
  • One volume for WordPress website files
  • Stored on the host at /home/moait-la/data

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Instructions

Prerequisites

• Linux os
• Docker
• Docker Compose
• Make

Setup

1. Clone the repository :

   git clone [repo url]
   cd inception

2. Configure .env inside /srcs : The project is configured using a .env file located in srcs/. Values are not included for security.

  # MariaDB
  WP_DB_NAME=
  WP_DB_USER_NAME=
  WP_DB_PASSWORD=
  WP_DB_HOST=

  # WordPress
  WP_URL=
  WP_TITLE=

  # WordPress admin
  WP_ADMIN= 
  WP_ADMIN_PASS=
  WP_ADMIN_EMAIL=

  # WordPress user
  WP_USR=
  WP_USR_EMAIL=
  WP_USR_ROLE=
  WP_USR_PASS=

4. Configure local DNS :

   sudo vim /etc/hosts
   127.0.0.1 moait-la.42.fr
   

Build And Run

This project is fully managed using Makefile

make 
make up        # Start containers
make down      # Stop containers
make clean     # Remove containers
make fclean    # Remove containers and images and volumes
make re        # Rebuild everything

Comparisions

Virtual Machines vs Docker

• Virtual machines run a full operating system on top of a hypervisor. They use more resources and take longer to start but provide strong isolation.

• Docker uses containerization at the OS level and shares the host kernel. Containers are lightweight start fast and use resources more efficiently. This makes Docker a better choice for running multiple services.

Secrets vs Environment Variables

• Environment variables are stored in a .env file and passed to containers at runtime. They are fine for general configuration but not ideal for sensitive data.

• Docker secrets are designed for sensitive information like passwords and keys.
  They are not stored in images and are mounted securely inside the container.
  While they were not used in this project they are the preferred solution for production environments.

Docker Network vs Host Network

• Docker networks isolate containers and allow them to communicate using service names. They provide better security and controlled access between services.

• With host networking containers share the host network directly. This removes isolation and is less secure which is why it is forbidden in this project.

Docker Volumes vs Bind Mounts

• Docker Volumes are managed by Docker and are independent from the host filesystem structure. They are more reliable for data persistence and easier to manage.

• Bind mounts map a host directory directly into a container. They are useful during development but less portable.

• This project uses Docker volumes to persist WordPress and MariaDB data in /home/moait-la/data

Resources

Most of my resources were the official documentation for each service: Docker, WordPress with PHP-FPM, MariaDB, and NGINX. I also relied on online research, reading Medium articles and Reddit posts, which helped me understand confusing concepts and see how others solved similar problems. YouTube was another valuable resource, with many channels providing tutorials and explanations that guided me through understanding new concepts.

AI Usage
And of course there was AI too it was my helper throughout the project I use AI as an assistant not as a replacement I dont rely on it heavily and try my best to solve problems on my own most of the time I used it to understand confusing concepts or troubleshoot errors that were hard to figure out even when I used AI I always made sure I knew exactly what I was doing.