Deploy Metabase on RamNode VPS | Business Intelligence Guide

Prerequisites & VPS Selection

Small Team

• 2GB RAM
• 2 vCPU
• 1-5 users

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Enterprise

• 8GB+ RAM
• 8 vCPU
• Large datasets

→ Premium VPS

What You'll Need

Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 or Debian 11/12
Root or sudo access
Domain name (for SSL)
A database to analyze (PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.)

Initial Server Setup

Update your system and configure the firewall:

Update System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Configure Firewall

sudo apt install -y ufw
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status

⚠️ Warning: Ensure SSH (port 22) is allowed before enabling UFW!

Install Docker

Install Docker for running Metabase:

Install Docker

sudo apt install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin

Setup Docker User

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker
docker --version

Setup PostgreSQL for Metabase

Metabase needs a database to store its application data. We'll use PostgreSQL:

Create Project Directory

mkdir -p ~/metabase
cd ~/metabase

docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  metabase-db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: metabase-db
    restart: always
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: metabase
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: your_secure_password_here
      POSTGRES_DB: metabase
    volumes:
      - metabase-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - metabase-network
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U metabase"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  metabase:
    image: metabase/metabase:latest
    container_name: metabase
    restart: always
    depends_on:
      metabase-db:
        condition: service_healthy
    environment:
      MB_DB_TYPE: postgres
      MB_DB_DBNAME: metabase
      MB_DB_PORT: 5432
      MB_DB_USER: metabase
      MB_DB_PASS: your_secure_password_here
      MB_DB_HOST: metabase-db
      JAVA_TIMEZONE: UTC
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:3000:3000"
    networks:
      - metabase-network

volumes:
  metabase-db-data:

networks:
  metabase-network:
    driver: bridge

⚠️ Important: Replace your_secure_password_here with a strong password!

Start Metabase

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f metabase

💡 Note: First startup may take 2-3 minutes as Metabase initializes. Watch the logs until you see "Metabase Initialization COMPLETE".

Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

Set up Nginx to proxy requests to Metabase:

Install Nginx and Certbot

sudo apt install -y nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

/etc/nginx/sites-available/metabase

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name analytics.yourdomain.com;

    client_max_body_size 50M;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_read_timeout 90s;
        proxy_connect_timeout 90s;
        proxy_send_timeout 90s;
    }
}

⚠️ Important: Replace analytics.yourdomain.com with your actual domain!

Enable Site

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/metabase /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

SSL Certificate

Secure your Metabase installation with SSL:

Get SSL Certificate

sudo certbot --nginx -d analytics.yourdomain.com

✅ Certbot will automatically configure Nginx for HTTPS and set up auto-renewal.

Initial Setup

Complete the Metabase setup wizard:

1
Access Metabase: Navigate to https://analytics.yourdomain.com
2
Language: Select your preferred language
3
Admin Account: Create your admin user with a strong password
4
Add Database: Connect your first data source (can skip and add later)
5
Usage Data: Choose whether to share anonymous usage statistics

Connect Data Sources

Connect Metabase to your databases for analysis:

Supported Databases

• PostgreSQL
• MySQL / MariaDB
• MongoDB
• SQLite
• SQL Server
• Google BigQuery
• Snowflake
• And many more...

Adding a Database

Go to Admin → Databases
Click "Add database"
Select database type
Enter connection details
Test and save connection

Example: PostgreSQL Connection

Host: your-database-host.com
Port: 5432
Database name: your_database
Username: your_user
Password: your_password

# For local databases on the same VPS:
Host: host.docker.internal  # or use the host IP

💡 Tip: Create a read-only database user for Metabase to prevent accidental data modifications.

Security Hardening

Secure your Metabase installation:

Environment Variables for Security

Add to docker-compose.yml metabase service

environment:
  # ... existing variables ...
  MB_PASSWORD_COMPLEXITY: strong
  MB_PASSWORD_LENGTH: 12
  MB_SESSION_COOKIES: true
  MB_EMBEDDING_SECRET_KEY: your_32_char_secret_key_here
  MB_ENCRYPTION_SECRET_KEY: your_32_char_encryption_key

Admin Settings

• Admin → Settings → Authentication: Enable Google/LDAP SSO if needed
• Admin → People: Manage users and groups
• Admin → Permissions: Set database and collection permissions
• Admin → Settings → Public Sharing: Disable if not needed

Restrict Signup

Disable public signups if you want to control user access:

Add to environment variables

MB_ENABLE_PASSWORD_LOGIN: true

Then go to Admin → Settings → Authentication and disable "Enable Password Login" for new users (admin creates accounts).

Backup Strategy

Backup your Metabase configuration and data:

Backup Script

#!/bin/bash
# /opt/metabase/backup.sh

BACKUP_DIR="/backups/metabase"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
COMPOSE_DIR="/root/metabase"

mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Backup PostgreSQL database
docker exec metabase-db pg_dump -U metabase metabase > $BACKUP_DIR/metabase_db_$DATE.sql

# Compress backup
gzip $BACKUP_DIR/metabase_db_$DATE.sql

# Keep only last 14 days of backups
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.sql.gz" -mtime +14 -delete

echo "Backup completed: metabase_db_$DATE.sql.gz"

Setup Automated Backups

chmod +x /opt/metabase/backup.sh
mkdir -p /backups/metabase

# Add to crontab (daily at 3 AM)
(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "0 3 * * * /opt/metabase/backup.sh") | crontab -

Restore from Backup

# Stop Metabase
cd ~/metabase && docker compose stop metabase

# Restore database
gunzip -c /backups/metabase/metabase_db_20241217.sql.gz | \
  docker exec -i metabase-db psql -U metabase metabase

# Start Metabase
docker compose start metabase

Updates & Maintenance

Keep Metabase updated:

Update Metabase

cd ~/metabase

# Backup first!
/opt/metabase/backup.sh

# Pull latest image
docker compose pull

# Recreate container with new image
docker compose up -d

# Check logs for any migration issues
docker compose logs -f metabase

⚠️ Important: Always backup before updating! Check release notes for breaking changes.

Check Container Health

# View running containers
docker compose ps

# Check resource usage
docker stats metabase metabase-db

# View logs
docker compose logs --tail=100 metabase

Troubleshooting

Metabase Won't Start

Check Logs

docker compose logs metabase
docker compose logs metabase-db

# Check if database is healthy
docker compose exec metabase-db pg_isready -U metabase

Out of Memory

Increase Java Heap

# Add to metabase service in docker-compose.yml:
environment:
  JAVA_OPTS: "-Xmx2g"  # Adjust based on available RAM

Slow Queries

• Check database indexes on frequently queried columns
• Use Metabase's query caching (Admin → Settings → Caching)
• Create database views for complex queries
• Optimize your database server resources

502 Bad Gateway

Debug Connection

# Check if Metabase is running
docker compose ps

# Check if port is listening
curl -I http://127.0.0.1:3000

# Restart services
docker compose restart
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Reset Admin Password

Reset via Database

# Connect to database
docker compose exec metabase-db psql -U metabase metabase

# Reset password (user will need to set new password on login)
UPDATE core_user SET password = NULL WHERE email = 'admin@example.com';
\q

# Restart Metabase
docker compose restart metabase

Metabase Deployed Successfully!

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📋 Guide Contents

Prerequisites & VPS Selection

Small Team

Recommended

Enterprise

What You'll Need

Initial Server Setup

Install Docker

Setup PostgreSQL for Metabase

Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

SSL Certificate

Initial Setup

Connect Data Sources

Supported Databases

Adding a Database

Security Hardening

Environment Variables for Security

Admin Settings

Restrict Signup

Backup Strategy

Updates & Maintenance

Troubleshooting

Metabase Won't Start

Out of Memory

Slow Queries

502 Bad Gateway

Reset Admin Password

Metabase Deployed Successfully!