This project has been created as part of the 42 curriculum by fmorenil.

Inception

Description

Inception is a system administration project designed to deepen knowledge of Docker and virtualization. The goal is to configure a small infrastructure with multiple services under specific rules using Docker Compose. The infrastructure includes:

• NGINX: Web server with TLSv1.2/TLSv1.3 (port 443).
• WordPress + PHP-FPM: Content management system.
• MariaDB: Database management system.

Each service runs in its own Docker container with custom images built from Dockerfiles. Data persists using Docker volumes, and services communicate through a dedicated Docker network.

Instructions

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose installed.
• Root or sudo access to create directories on the host system.
• A .env file in srcs/ with the required credentials.

Setup

1. Create the .env file in srcs/ with the following variables:

MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=your_root_password
MYSQL_DATABASE=wordpress
MYSQL_USER=your_user
MYSQL_PASSWORD=your_password
WORDPRESS_DB_HOST=mariadb
WORDPRESS_DB_NAME=wordpress
WORDPRESS_DB_USER=your_user
WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD=your_password
WORDPRESS_TITLE=My Site
WORDPRESS_ADMIN_USER=admin
WORDPRESS_ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin_password
WORDPRESS_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com
WORDPRESS_USER=user
WORDPRESS_USER_EMAIL=user@example.com
WORDPRESS_USER_PASSWORD=user_password
DOMAIN_NAME=fmorenil.42.fr

2. Set up the local domain by adding this line to /etc/hosts:

127.0.0.1    fmorenil.42.fr

3. Build and run the project:

make

Available Commands

• make or make all: Build and start all containers.
• make down: Stop and remove containers.
• make start: Start stopped containers.
• make stop: Stop running containers.
• make logs: Show real-time logs.
• make clean: Remove containers, networks, and images.
• make fclean: Full cleanup, including data volumes.
• make re: Rebuild everything from scratch.

Access

• WordPress: https://fmorenil.42.fr
• Admin Panel: https://fmorenil.42.fr/wp-admin

Resources

Documentation

• Docker Documentation
• Docker Compose Documentation
• WordPress Documentation
• MariaDB Documentation
• NGINX Documentation
• PHP-FPM Documentation

AI Usage

AI tools (GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT) were used for:

• Researching Docker best practices.
• Debugging Bash scripts and Dockerfiles.
• Optimizing NGINX and PHP-FPM configurations.
• Generating WP-CLI and MariaDB commands.

All generated code was reviewed and adapted to the project’s needs.

Project Description

Docker Usage

• Service isolation: Each service runs in its own container (MariaDB, WordPress, NGINX).
• Custom images: Built from Debian Bookworm.
• Orchestration: Managed with Docker Compose.
• Persistence: Data stored in Docker volumes.
• Auto-restart: Containers restart on failure.

Design Choices

1. Base Image: Debian Bookworm for stability.
2. Service Separation: Each service in its own container for isolation.
3. Initialization Scripts: Automates setup for WordPress and MariaDB.
4. Self-Signed SSL Certificates: Automatically generated for local development.

Comparisons

Virtual Machines vs Docker

Aspect	Virtual Machines	Docker
Isolation	Full OS isolation	Process-level
Size	GBs (full OS)	MBs (app + deps)
Startup Time	Minutes	Seconds
Resource Usage	High	Low
Portability	Limited	High
Usage in Project	❌	✅

Secrets vs Environment Variables

Aspect	Secrets	Environment Variables
Security	Encrypted at rest	Visible in logs
Access	Mounted files	Directly accessible
Rotation	Easier	Manual
Management	Docker Swarm	Simple
Usage in Project	❌	✅

Docker Network vs Host Network

Aspect	Docker Network	Host Network
Isolation	✅ Private network	❌ Shared with host
DNS Resolution	✅ Service names	❌ Requires IPs
Security	✅ Port filtering	⚠️ All ports exposed
Portability	✅ Consistent	⚠️ Host-dependent
Usage in Project	✅	❌

Docker Volumes vs Bind Mounts

Aspect	Docker Volumes	Bind Mounts
Management	✅ Docker-managed	⚠️ User-managed
Portability	✅ Host-independent	❌ Host-dependent
Performance	✅ Optimized	Variable
Backup	✅ Docker commands	Manual
Usage in Project	✅	❌