Portainer Deployment Guide on RamNode VPS

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

Server Requirements

• RamNode VPS (1GB+ RAM, 2GB recommended)
• Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04 LTS
• Root or sudo access
• SSH client

→ View Lite VPS Plans

Optional Requirements

• Domain name pointed to VPS
• Basic command line familiarity
• Understanding of Docker concepts

Initial VPS Setup

Connect to your RamNode VPS and update the system:

Connect via SSH

ssh root@your-vps-ip

Update System Packages

apt update && apt upgrade -y

💡 Tip: Replace "your-vps-ip" with your actual RamNode VPS IP address.

Configure Firewall

Set up a basic firewall configuration:

UFW Firewall Setup

# Allow SSH (adjust port if you've changed it)
ufw allow 22/tcp

# Allow HTTP and HTTPS
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp

# Allow Portainer (we'll use port 9443 for HTTPS)
ufw allow 9443/tcp

# Enable firewall
ufw --force enable

⚠️ Warning: Make sure SSH is allowed before enabling UFW to avoid losing access!

Install Docker

Install Docker using the official installation script:

Install Docker

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sh get-docker.sh

Start and Enable Docker

systemctl start docker
systemctl enable docker

Add User to Docker Group (if not using root)

usermod -aG docker $USER

Verify Docker Installation

docker --version
docker run hello-world

✅ Docker is now installed and ready for Portainer deployment.

Create Docker Volumes

Create persistent volumes for Portainer data:

Create Volume

docker volume create portainer_data

📦 This volume will store all Portainer configuration and data persistently.

Deploy Portainer

Choose between HTTP (for testing) or HTTPS (for production) deployment:

Option A: HTTP Deployment (Development/Testing)

Deploy Portainer with HTTP

docker run -d \
  --name portainer \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -p 9000:9000 \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v portainer_data:/data \
  portainer/portainer-ce:latest

Access at: http://your-vps-ip:9000

Option B: HTTPS Deployment (Recommended for Production)

First, generate a self-signed certificate:

Generate SSL Certificate

mkdir -p /opt/portainer/certs
cd /opt/portainer/certs

openssl genrsa -out portainer.key 2048
openssl req -new -x509 -key portainer.key -out portainer.crt -days 365

Then deploy Portainer with HTTPS:

Deploy Portainer with HTTPS

docker run -d \
  --name portainer \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -p 9443:9443 \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v portainer_data:/data \
  -v /opt/portainer/certs:/certs \
  portainer/portainer-ce:latest \
  --ssl --sslcert /certs/portainer.crt --sslkey /certs/portainer.key

Access at: https://your-vps-ip:9443

Initial Portainer Configuration

Complete the initial setup through the web interface:

1. Open Web Browser

Navigate to your Portainer instance:

• HTTP: http://your-vps-ip:9000
• HTTPS: https://your-vps-ip:9443

2. Create Admin Account

• Username: Choose a secure username
• Password: Use a strong password (minimum 12 characters)

3. Select Environment

• Select "Docker" as your environment type
• Choose "Local" to manage the local Docker environment

🎉 Portainer is now ready to use! You can start managing your Docker containers.

Configure Reverse Proxy (Optional)

For a more professional setup, configure NGINX as a reverse proxy:

Install NGINX

apt install -y nginx

Create NGINX Configuration

nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/portainer

NGINX Configuration File

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name your-domain.com;

    ssl_certificate /path/to/your/certificate.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/your/private.key;

    # Modern SSL configuration
    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
    ssl_ciphers ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA512:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA512;
    ssl_prefer_server_ciphers off;

    location / {
        proxy_pass https://localhost:9443;
        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_ssl_verify off;
    }
}

Enable Site and Restart NGINX

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/portainer /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
nginx -t
systemctl restart nginx

Security Hardening

Implement additional security measures:

Enable Docker Content Trust:

Enable Content Trust

export DOCKER_CONTENT_TRUST=1
echo 'export DOCKER_CONTENT_TRUST=1' >> ~/.bashrc

Configure Fail2Ban for Portainer:

Create Fail2Ban Filter

cat > /etc/fail2ban/filter.d/portainer.conf << 'EOF'
[Definition]
failregex = ^.*Invalid credentials.*client_ip=<HOST>.*$
ignoreregex =
EOF

Add Portainer Jail

cat >> /etc/fail2ban/jail.local << 'EOF'

[portainer]
enabled = true
port = 9000,9443
protocol = tcp
filter = portainer
logpath = /var/lib/docker/containers/*/portainer*-json.log
maxretry = 3
bantime = 3600
findtime = 600
EOF

Restart Fail2Ban

systemctl restart fail2ban

🔐 Security Tip: Use strong passwords, enable two-factor authentication when available, and regularly update Docker and Portainer.

Backup Strategy

Create an automated backup script for Portainer data:

Create Backup Script

cat > /opt/backup-portainer.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash

BACKUP_DIR="/opt/backups"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
BACKUP_FILE="portainer_backup_${DATE}.tar.gz"

mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Stop Portainer container
docker stop portainer

# Create backup
docker run --rm \
  -v portainer_data:/data:ro \
  -v $BACKUP_DIR:/backup \
  ubuntu:latest \
  tar -czf /backup/$BACKUP_FILE -C /data .

# Start Portainer container
docker start portainer

echo "Backup completed: $BACKUP_DIR/$BACKUP_FILE"

# Clean up old backups (keep last 7 days)
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "portainer_backup_*.tar.gz" -mtime +7 -delete
EOF

chmod +x /opt/backup-portainer.sh

Schedule Daily Backups

echo "0 2 * * * /opt/backup-portainer.sh" | crontab -

💾 Backups will now run automatically at 2:00 AM daily, keeping the last 7 days of backups.

Monitoring and Maintenance

Keep your Portainer installation healthy and up to date:

Check Portainer status:

Status Commands

docker ps | grep portainer
docker logs portainer

Update Portainer:

Update Portainer

# Pull the latest image
docker pull portainer/portainer-ce:latest

# Stop and remove current container
docker stop portainer
docker rm portainer

# Deploy updated container (use your preferred deployment command from Step 6)

Monitor resource usage:

Resource Monitoring

# Check system resources
htop
df -h
docker system df

Troubleshooting

Common issues and their solutions:

Portainer Won't Start

Check Logs

docker logs portainer

Verify Volume Permissions

ls -la /var/lib/docker/volumes/portainer_data/

Can't Access Web Interface

Check Container Status

docker ps

Verify Firewall Rules

ufw status

Test Port Connectivity

netstat -tlnp | grep :9443

SSL Certificate Issues

Regenerate Certificates

cd /opt/portainer/certs
rm portainer.*
openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout portainer.key -x509 -days 365 -out portainer.crt -subj "/CN=your-domain.com"
docker restart portainer

Best Practices

• Regular Updates: Keep Docker and Portainer updated regularly
• Backup Strategy: Implement automated backups of Portainer data
• Security: Use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication when available
• Monitoring: Set up monitoring for container health and resource usage
• Documentation: Document your container configurations and deployment procedures
• Testing: Test backup and recovery procedures regularly

🎉 Congratulations!

You now have a fully functional Portainer installation on your RamNode VPS! This setup provides you with a powerful platform for managing Docker containers through an intuitive web interface.

Portainer Documentation Learn Docker Basics

Next Steps

• Explore Portainer's features like user management and registry management
• Use application templates for quick container deployments
• Set up monitoring for container health and resource usage
• Configure role-based access control for team members
• Integrate with Docker registries for custom images
• Explore Portainer's API for automation possibilities

Deploy Portainer on RamNode VPS

📋 Guide Contents

Prerequisites

Server Requirements

Optional Requirements

Initial VPS Setup

Configure Firewall

Install Docker

Create Docker Volumes

Deploy Portainer

Option A: HTTP Deployment (Development/Testing)

Option B: HTTPS Deployment (Recommended for Production)

Initial Portainer Configuration

1. Open Web Browser

2. Create Admin Account

3. Select Environment

Configure Reverse Proxy (Optional)

Security Hardening

Backup Strategy

Monitoring and Maintenance

Troubleshooting

Portainer Won't Start

Can't Access Web Interface

SSL Certificate Issues

Best Practices

🎉 Congratulations!

Next Steps