Deploying a Rails application involves moving your local application to a production-ready server environment, ensuring that your application remains responsive, secure, and scalable. Here’s a basic outline of the process:
- Preparation:
– Ensure your application runs without issues in the `production` environment locally. You can do this by setting `RAILS_ENV=production` and testing it.
– Make sure all your gems, assets, and configurations are up-to-date and optimized for production.
- Choose a Deployment Method:
– Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): Services like Heroku, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, or Google Cloud Platform’s App Engine make deployment relatively straightforward. With Heroku, for instance, it can be as simple as running `git push heroku master` after some initial setup.
– Virtual Private Servers (VPS): Providers like DigitalOcean, Linode, or AWS EC2 give you more control over the server, at the cost of increased management overhead. Tools like Capistrano can aid in deploying Rails apps to these servers.
- Database Setup:
– Ensure that the database used in production (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL) is set up, optimized, and backed up.
– Update the `database.yml` file in your Rails app to use the production database.
- Web Server & Application Server Setup:
– Popular choices for web servers include Nginx or Apache. These handle incoming HTTP requests.
– Application servers like Puma or Unicorn run your Rails application. They interface with the web server to serve dynamic content.
- SSL Certificate:
– Always secure your application using HTTPS. Obtain an SSL certificate (Let’s Encrypt offers them for free) and configure your server to use it.
- Environment Variables and Secrets:
– Rails uses `credentials.yml.enc` and `master.key` for storing secrets. Ensure they’re appropriately set for production and are not exposed or checked into version control.
– For environment variables, tools like `dotenv` or server-specific methods can be used.
- Asset Compilation:
– Assets (JavaScript, CSS, images) should be precompiled for production using `rails assets:precompile`.
- Monitoring & Maintenance:
– Once deployed, monitoring tools (like New Relic or Skylight) can help you keep an eye on performance and errors. Regularly review logs, backup databases, and keep your server and software up-to-date.
Deploying a Rails application requires meticulous attention to detail to ensure security, performance, and reliability. Regardless of the deployment method you choose, always keep the principles of maintainability and scalability in mind, and be prepared for regular upkeep and monitoring.
