Configuring the Docker Environment

Introduction

Alright, we have the pieces of the puzzles we need in place for an end to end solution:

A dedicated storage appliance with the capability to create network storage
A docker environment to run containerized applications

Now we just have to put them together

TL;DR

In this article, we will:

Configure Visual Studio Code to manage the docker environment
Set up a jellyfin container with an NFS export
Configure a Reverse Proxy with Caddy for an end-to-end solution

Working Docker through Visual Studio Code

There’s a couple ways to smooth our docker hosting experience. I’ve written about two primary ways right in my blog:

There’s a couple other cool ways these days as well. Such as:

Using Yacht (a portainer alternative)
Lazy Docker (command line based docker UI)
OpenVSCodeServer (Vscode in a browser, I’ll most likely write up a guide for this soon)

For this guide, I’m going to use Visual Studio Code with SSH and Docker extensions. Here’s me setting it up in an any% speed run (use the linked blog guide if you need to slow it down).

Alright! Fully managed docker environment!

Setting up an NFS Export

Now to simulate a full docker experience, we need to link our containers to permanent storage. For small amounts of data this can just be with a local bind mount. That’s fine, that works (as long as we don’t encroach on our Proxmox container’s storage limits). Chances are though, you’re gonna want to mount some large amounts of data. Data that your new NAS has on it. Let’s do an example with jellyfin!

On your NAS, log in and create a new /mnt/storage/container-data directory. Create a jellyfin data dir in there.

Info

If you’re planning to use non-root containers, you can also use this area to change permissions to match the UID and GID of your container

I’m also gonna shove some sample data in there. I’ll make a movies folder and put our favourite bunny in there.

Create an /etc/exports.d/ folder, as the nfs plugin will get sad without one

head to the NFS Tab

Info

If there are no existing shares, you will get a sort error you can ignore.

Create a new export (linux term for a NFS fileshare) for your jellyfin container

Info

By default, nfs shares are protected by an ip whitelist.

That’s it! You now have a nfs share you can use with your new shiny docker container.

Setting up Jellyfin with NFS mounts

Alright, now for some of the real magic.

Create a new folder in your docker host called /mnt/containers with a subfolder of jellyfin

Open up that folder on the navigator on the left as well, if you’re using VSCode. Create a new docker-compose.yaml file to define our container.

Create a new docker-compose.yaml file with the following information (changing your NAS IP where appropriate)

services:
  jellyfin:
    container_name: jellyfin
    image: jellyfin/jellyfin
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 80:8096
    user: root
    volumes:
      - ./container-data/config:/config
      - ./cache:/cache
      - jellyfin_media:/media

volumes:
  jellyfin_media:
    driver_opts:
      type: "nfs"
      o: "addr=10.20.10.27,nfsvers=4"
      device: ":/mnt/storage/container-data/jellyfin"

Run with docker compose up -d in the jellyfin folder

Info

older versions of docker need a separate docker-compose package

let’s see if it all came together! Go to http://<your-ip> and attempt to get big buck bunny going from the /media folder.

Warning

Note that we’re running jellyfin in HTTP at the moment, not HTTPs. It’s a good idea to use a reverse proxy like caddy or nginx proxy manager to fix that. That’s part of my other guide.

woohoo!

Off to the Races

We now have a bit of a problem though. We need to guarantee that your NAS starts first so you don’t have your docker containers relying on nfs exports that haven’t started yet.

Info

In IT terms this is referred to as a race condition.

Easy enough to fix!

back in proxmox, set your docker host to have a 60 second delay on boot.

Info

Also in IT terms, this is referred to as the lazy way to fix race conditions. The proper way is to put some sort of health check precondition as opposed to a set delay, but if it works it works.

Moving On

Great success! You now have all the tools to set up a NAS, your docker environment, any other virtual machines you care to perform, and do it all in one machine. That’s great.

Wait. We’re forgetting something. We’re forgetting the most important thing. Backups! Let’s deal with that in Backing up Proxmox.