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Setup Traefik on a Linux VPS using Docker

This markdown file provides a comprehensive guide for setting up Traefik on a Linux VPS using Docker. It includes instructions for updating the VPS, installing Docker, configuring Traefik, deploying it as a container, and accessing the Traefik dashboard. Additionally, it covers setting up services with Traefik labels and enabling HTTPS with Let's Encrypt.

Prerequisites

  1. A Linux VPS (Ubuntu/Debian/CentOS) with Docker installed.
  2. Basic knowledge of command-line operations.
  3. A domain name (optional but recommended for SSL configuration).

Step 1: Update your VPS

Update your package manager to ensure all software is up-to-date:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Docker (if not already installed)

If Docker isn't installed, install it with the following commands:

For Ubuntu/Debian:

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=amd64 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

For CentOS:

sudo yum install -y yum-utils
sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo https://download.docker.com/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo
sudo yum install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

Verify the Docker installation:

docker --version

Step 3: Create a Traefik Configuration

Create a directory for Traefik's configuration:

mkdir -p ~/traefik
cd ~/traefik

Create a traefik.toml or traefik.yml file (YAML or TOML format). This is an example for traefik.yml:

api:
  dashboard: true
  insecure: true

entryPoints:
  web:
    address: ":80"
  websecure:
    address: ":443"

providers:
  docker:
    exposedByDefault: false

certificatesResolvers:
  letsencrypt:
    acme:
      email: your-email@example.com
      storage: acme.json
      httpChallenge:
        entryPoint: web

Make sure to secure the dashboard by setting up proper authentication or access controls later.

Step 4: Deploy Traefik using Docker

  1. Create a Docker network for Traefik and other containers:

    docker network create traefik

  2. Run the Traefik container:

    docker run -d      -p 80:80      -p 443:443      -p 8080:8080      --name traefik      --network traefik      --restart=always      -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock      -v $PWD/traefik.yml:/etc/traefik/traefik.yml      -v $PWD/acme.json:/acme.json      traefik:v2.10

  3. Make sure acme.json has the correct permissions:

    touch acme.json
chmod 600 acme.json

Step 5: Access Traefik Dashboard

Open your browser and go to:

http://<your-vps-ip>:8080/dashboard/

If you secured it, enter the credentials or access it from a private network.

Step 6: Setup a Service with Traefik Labels

To expose a service via Traefik, add labels to your Docker containers. Here’s an example with Nginx:

docker run -d   --name nginx   --network traefik   --label "traefik.enable=true"   --label "traefik.http.routers.nginx.rule=Host(`your-domain.com`)"   --label "traefik.http.routers.nginx.entrypoints=web"   --label "traefik.http.routers.nginx.middlewares=https-redirect@file"   nginx

Replace your-domain.com with your domain or use IP for testing.

Optional: Enable HTTPS with Let's Encrypt

To enable HTTPS, you can add labels to Docker containers for automatic Let's Encrypt certificate generation:

--label "traefik.http.routers.nginx.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt"

Make sure your DNS points to your VPS IP address.

Traefik Setup Complete!

You now have Traefik set up on your Linux VPS with Docker.

Setup Traefik on a Linux VPS using Docker | Blog | Jayasurya Subramani