INFORMATION SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT

OPEN SOURCE TECHNOLOGIES IN WEB DEVELOPMENT

DEPLOYING DJANGO APP ON A LINUX/UBUNTU SERVER WITH APACHE

MOVING YOUR APP FROM DEVELOPMENT TO PRODUCTION

Hello community! Today, I want to show you, at a beginner level, how to make your Django app live on production using an Ubuntu server/desktop. We will use server-side software, specifically Apache. In this tutorial, we will set up the server to run on HTTP ports 80 and 8000. Later, I will provide a tutorial on running over HTTPS port 443 with secure SSL.

Requirements

• Install Ubuntu: Make sure you have Ubuntu installed on your server or desktop.
• Ensure you have a Django app: Your Django project should be ready for deployment.
• Internet connection: Required for installing necessary packages and libraries.

Steps

1. Copy Your Django Project

To get started, you'll need to transfer your Django project folder from a Windows machine to your Ubuntu server using a USB drive.

• Copy your Django project folder from Windows to a USB drive: Ensure your Django project is saved on the USB drive.

• Connect your USB drive to Ubuntu OS: Plug the USB drive into your Ubuntu system.

• Open your USB drive: Navigate to the USB drive in your file manager.

• Open Terminal: Right-click inside the USB drive and select 'Terminal' to open a terminal session in the USB drive's directory.

• Copy the Django project folder: Run the following command to copy the Django folder and all its contents to the desired location on your Ubuntu server.

  sudo cp -r SUPERMARKET /home/management/

  • SUPERMARKET: This is the name of your Django app folder.
  • /home/management/: This is the path where you are copying the folder to on your Ubuntu system.

2. Navigate to Your Django App

Once you've copied the project, navigate to the project directory on your Ubuntu server:

• Navigate to your Django app directory:

  cd /home/management/SUPERMARKET/project/

• List files to ensure they are present:

  ls -l

  Verify that you see these files: app, db.sqlite3, manage.py, project, static.

3. Create Virtual Environment

A virtual environment is essential for managing dependencies and isolating your Django project from other Python projects.

• Update packages:

  sudo apt update

• Install Python 3 and venv:

  sudo apt install python3-venv

• Create a virtual environment:

  sudo python3 -m venv venv

• Activate the virtual environment:

  source venv/bin/activate

• Enable write permissions to install libraries in venv:

  sudo chmod -R 777 venv

4. Install Required Libraries

Ensure that all necessary Python libraries are installed within your virtual environment.

• Install Django and other libraries:

  pip install django
  pip install pandas
  pip install plotly
  pip install scikit-learn
  pip install numpy
  pip install django-admin-menu
  pip install django-import-export

5. Run Your Site

Before configuring Apache, ensure your Django app runs correctly.

• Run your Django application:

  python manage.py runserver

  Your app should now be accessible at http://127.0.0.1:8000/ by default.

Apache Web Server Configurations for HTTP Port 80

1. Install Tools to Check IP Address

You'll need to know your server's IP address for configuring Apache.

• Install net-tools:

  sudo apt install net-tools

• Check your IP address:

  ifconfig

  OR

  ip addr show

  Note down the server IP address. In my case, it is 10.0.2.15/24.

2. Update Django Settings

Configure your Django settings to ensure compatibility with Apache.

• Install gedit for editing files:

  sudo apt install gedit

• Open and edit Django settings:

  sudo gedit /home/management/SUPERMARKET/project/settings.py

• Update settings:

  ALLOWED_HOSTS = ["*"]
  STATIC_URL = '/static/'
  STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static/')

  • ALLOWED_HOSTS: Set to ["*"] to allow all hosts (for development; specify allowed hosts in production).
  • STATIC_URL: URL prefix for static files.
  • STATIC_ROOT: Directory where static files will be collected.

  Remove this line from settings.py:

  STATICFILES_DIRS = [BASE_DIR / 'static']

• Make write permissions on 'static' directory:

  sudo chmod -R 777 static/

3. Create Apache Virtual Host Configuration

• Configure Apache to serve your Django app.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2 libapache2-mod-wsgi-py3 python3-pip

• Create a new Apache configuration file:

  sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/django_project.conf

• Add the following configuration:

  <VirtualHost *:80>
      ServerAdmin admin@management
      ServerName 10.0.2.15
  
      DocumentRoot /home/management/SUPERMARKET/project
  
      Alias /static /home/management/SUPERMARKET/project/static
      <Directory /home/management/SUPERMARKET/project/static>
          Require all granted
      </Directory>
  
      <Directory /home/management/SUPERMARKET/project>
          <Files wsgi.py>
              Require all granted
          </Files>
      </Directory>
  
      WSGIDaemonProcess supermarket python-path=/home/management/SUPERMARKET/project python-home=/home/management/SUPERMARKET/project/venv
      WSGIProcessGroup supermarket
      WSGIScriptAlias / /home/management/SUPERMARKET/project/project/wsgi.py
  
      ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
      CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
  </VirtualHost>

  • ServerAdmin: Email address of the server administrator.
  • ServerName: Your server's IP address or domain name.
  • DocumentRoot: Directory where your Django project is located.
  • Alias /static: Maps the URL /static to the directory where static files are stored.
  • Directory: Permissions for static files and the WSGI script.
  • WSGIDaemonProcess: Configures the WSGI daemon process for your Django project.
  • WSGIScriptAlias: Path to the WSGI script for your Django project.

4. Enable New Site Configuration

Activate the new Apache site configuration and mod_wsgi module.

• Enable the new site and mod_wsgi module:

  sudo a2ensite django_project.conf
  sudo a2enmod wsgi

• Restart Apache:

  sudo systemctl restart apache2

5. Set Permissions

Ensure Apache has the necessary permissions to read and execute files.

• Ensure Apache has read and execute permissions:

  sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /home/management/SUPERMARKET/project
  sudo chmod -R 755 /home/management/SUPERMARKET/project/
  sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /home/management/SUPERMARKET/project/static/
  sudo chmod -R 755 /home/management/SUPERMARKET/project/static/

• Enable the site configuration and reload Apache:

  sudo a2ensite django_project.conf
  sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf
  sudo systemctl reload apache2

• Ensure Apache has read permission on parent directories:

  sudo chmod 755 /home
  sudo chmod 755 /home/management
  sudo systemctl restart apache2

• Run your project: Open a web browser and navigate to http://10.0.2.15 to see your Django app live.

Apache Web Server Configurations for HTTP Port 8000

If you prefer to use port 8000 instead of the default port 80, follow these additional steps.

1. Update Ports Configuration

Configure Apache to listen on port 8000.

• Open the ports configuration file:

  sudo gedit /etc/apache2/ports.conf

• Change the port from 80 to 8000:

  Listen 8000

2. Update Virtual Host Configuration

Modify your virtual host configuration to use port 8000.

• Open the virtual host configuration file:

  sudo gedit /etc/apache2/sites-available/django_project.conf

• Change the port from 80 to 8000:

  <VirtualHost *:8000>

• Restart Apache:

  sudo systemctl restart apache2

• Run your site: Open a web browser and navigate to http://10.0.2.15:8000 to access your Django app on port 8000.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to deploy a Django application on an Ubuntu server using Apache. We covered the following:

1. Copying Your Django Project: Transferring your project from Windows to Ubuntu.
2. Creating and Configuring a Virtual Environment: Isolating your Python environment.
3. Installing Required Libraries: Ensuring all necessary libraries are available.
4. Running Your Django App: Testing the application before configuring Apache.
5. Configuring Apache for HTTP Ports 80 and 8000: Setting up Apache to serve your Django application.

This setup allows you to deploy and serve your Django application using Apache on your Ubuntu server. For a more secure deployment, consider setting up HTTPS with SSL certificates, which will be covered in a future tutorial.

My Contacts

WhatsApp
+255675839840
+255656848274

YouTube
Visit my YouTube Channel

Telegram
+255656848274
+255738144353

PlayStore
Visit my PlayStore Developer Page

GitHub
Visit my GitHub