Production Installation

System requirements and preparation for production deployment.

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• CPU: 2 cores
• Memory: 4GB RAM (8GB for building)
• Storage: 20GB SSD
• OS: Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, or similar)
• Docker: 20.10+
• Docker Compose: 2.0+

Recommended

• CPU: 4+ cores
• Memory: 8GB+ RAM
• Storage: 50GB+ SSD
• Network: Stable internet connection for geocoding services
• Domain: Registered domain name with DNS control
• SSL: Port 80 and 443 available for Let’s Encrypt

Server Preparation

1. Install Docker

# Ubuntu/Debian
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Log out and back in for group changes to take effect

2. Install Docker Compose

# Download latest Docker Compose
sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
 
# Verify installation
docker-compose --version

3. Configure Firewall

# Allow SSH (if using)
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
 
# Allow HTTP and HTTPS
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
 
# Enable firewall
sudo ufw enable

4. System Optimization

# Increase file limits
echo "fs.file-max = 100000" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf
echo "* soft nofile 65536" | sudo tee -a /etc/security/limits.conf
echo "* hard nofile 65536" | sudo tee -a /etc/security/limits.conf
 
# Apply changes
sudo sysctl -p

DNS Configuration

Before deploying, configure your domain:

1. A Record: Point your domain to your server’s IP

   Type: A
   Name: @ (or subdomain)
   Value: YOUR_SERVER_IP
   TTL: 300

2. WWW Record (optional):

   Type: CNAME
   Name: www
   Value: your-domain.com
   TTL: 300

3. Verify DNS:

   # Check DNS propagation
   dig your-domain.com
   nslookup your-domain.com

Required Services

TimeTiles requires these services (all included in Docker deployment):

1. PostgreSQL 17+ with PostGIS 3.5+
2. Nginx for reverse proxy and SSL
3. Certbot for Let’s Encrypt certificates

Optional Services

Consider these for enhanced functionality:

• Geocoding API Keys:
  • Google Maps (most accurate)
  • OpenCage (good alternative)
  • Nominatim/OpenStreetMap (free, no key needed, automatic fallback)
• SMTP Server: For email notifications
• Monitoring service: For uptime alerts

Pre-deployment Checklist

Before proceeding to deployment:

• Server meets minimum requirements
• Docker and Docker Compose installed
• Firewall configured (ports 80, 443 open)
• Domain DNS configured and propagated
• SSH access configured (if remote)
• Backup strategy planned
• Monitoring approach decided

Next Steps

Once prerequisites are met:

1. Configure your environment variables
2. Deploy TimeTiles with Docker
3. Setup maintenance procedures