User Documentation (USER_DOC)

1. Services Overview

This Docker Infrastructure stack provides a secure, containerized web infrastructure.

• NGINX: The entry point (Gateway). Access via https://local.dev.
• WordPress: A blogging platform running on PHP 8.2.
• MariaDB: The database storing WordPress content.
• Redis: Caching service to speed up WordPress.
• FTP Server: Access to WordPress files (themes, plugins, uploads).
• Adminer: Web interface to manage the MariaDB database.
• Static Website: A bonus site showcasing the project documentation.

2. Start and Stop the Project

All commands must be run from the root of the repository using make.

• Start:

  make

  This builds images and starts containers in the background.

• Stop:

  make down

  This stops and removes the containers and network.

• Restart:

  make re

3. Accessing Services

Add the following line to your /etc/hosts file to resolve the domain:

127.0.0.1 local.dev

• Main Website: https://local.dev
• WordPress Admin: https://local.dev/wp-admin
• Adminer (DB Admin): https://local.dev/adminer
• Static Website: https://local.dev/website

Note: You will see a security warning because we use a self-signed certificate. You can safely accept it for this local environment.

4. Configuration & Credentials

The project separates non-sensitive configuration from sensitive credentials for better security.

Configuration (.env)

Non-sensitive environment variables (e.g., Domain Name, Database Host) are defined in the .env file located in srcs/.

Secrets (secrets/)

Sensitive information (passwords, API keys) is NOT stored in .env. Instead, it is managed via Docker Secrets. Each secret is stored as a single file within the secrets/ directory.

• Generation: The administrator should generate these files using tools or scripts (e.g., secrets/gen_secret_txt.sh).
• Usage: Services mount these files at /run/secrets/<secret_name> at runtime.

For detailed security implementation, please refer to: Data Security Guide

5. Checking Service Status

To verify everything is running correctly:

docker ps

All containers (nginx, wordpress, mariadb, redis, ftp, website, adminer) should be in Up status. For WordPress/MariaDB/Redis, look for (healthy) status indicating they passed health checks.

Startup Note: WordPress will wait for MariaDB and Redis to be healthy before starting. This ensures a stable connection.