Deploying Docker Swarm On NGINX Web Server

Docker Swarm

This hands-on session will guide you in deploying Docker Swarm on the hosting of NGINX web server. Then load balancing and scaling the number of instances will be shown.

Creating Web API app for the role

Give a name to your app and choose Settings as denoted below. Finally, click on "Create" to deploy an application.

After the app gets created, make note of your Application ID and click on Settings >> Keys.

Give a name for your password and choose an expiry date and click on the Save button to get your key.

Note the key as well. It is called as app secret and you will be using it in further steps.

Providing access to Subscription

Now, let us grant access to subscription for the app that we have created now. For this, go to subscription->Access Control->Add. Here, choose the role as contributor and select the app that you created now. Finally, click on the Save button.

Creating Docker Swarm

Go to the URL - https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-azure/#quickstart and click on the below-denoted menu. This will take you into the Azure portal again.

Choose or create a resource group and select a suitable location. Then, fill the App ID and App Key that you copied in the previous step. This is why we registered an application in AD.

Generate a public key for your Linux environment and paste it in the Public key box. Choose the required number of worker count, manager count, and VM size. Fill in the needed details, agree to the terms, and click on Purchase button. The deployment will take a minimum of 5 minutes depending on the SKUs that you choose.

After all the resources get deployed, click on the externalLoadBalancer.

In the left side menu of externalLoadBalancer, click on Load Balancing Rules and add a rule.

Give a name to the rule and click on OK without changing any other settings.

Now, copy the public IP address of externalSSLoadBalancer. Using the IP address, connect to the Linux VM using Putty.

Make sure to use Docker as the username.

Run the command

docker node ls.

This will show you all the nodes.

Hosting an NGINX server

Run this command -

docker service create --name mywebsite -p 80:80 nginx

This will host NGINX server on your container.

Now, run the command to view the website that you hosted now.

docker service ls

Run the following command to see the number of replications of your site.

docker service ps my website

Ping the IP of your externalSSLoadBalancer in the browser. You will get a response from the NGINX server.

Replicating multiple instances of website

Run this command to get multiple replicas for your website.

docker service update --replicas 10 mywebsite

Now, run the command -

docker service ps my website

This will show you all 10 replicas.

Scaling Instances of Worker VMSS

Go to the Worker-VMSS in the resources that you created initially.

In the left side menu, click on Scaling and change the instance count to your requirement and click on save button.

Click on the instances menu in the left side. Wait for the additional instances to spin up. In a while, you will be able to find the newly scaled instances.