Deployment in Render

Render.com is a modern hosting and deployment platform that simplifies the deployment of web applications and services. It provides a managed infrastructure that allows developers to focus on code instead of worrying about server configuration and maintenance. With Render, web applications, APIs, databases and static services can be deployed with ease. The platform supports multiple programming languages and frameworks, and provides advanced features such as integrated CI/CD, automatic scaling, and free SSL. In addition, Render offers an intuitive interface and extensive documentation, making the deployment process fast and accessible for beginners and experienced developers alike.

Table of contents

  1. Part one: deploying database in Filess.io
  2. Part two: deploy application in Render
    1. Sign in to Render
    2. Create app instance
      1. Basic Settings
      2. Environment Variables Configuration.
    3. Verify deployment process

Part one: deploying database in Filess.io

External database

Unfortunately, Render only has native support for PostgreSQL. All other databases (MySQL, MariaDB, etc), require a subscription fee. We use the Filess.io service to host the database.

We deploy the database service in Filess.io

  • Log in to Filess.io and create an account at Sign up
  • Click on + New Database.
  • In Database identifier, we put uvlhubdatabase.
  • In Database engine, we choose MariaDB.

This will take us to the main management section of our cloud database. It is important to keep this data in view, as we will need it in the next part.

Part two: deploy application in Render

We are going to use Render as a cloud deployment service.

Sign in to Render

Click Sign in. It is convenient that we use our GitHub account because it will be easier to link the repository where we are working.

Create app instance

Since our app requires a specific configuration (install dependencies, scripts, create migrations, among others) we have our own Dockerfile image for the Render service.

Basic Settings

  • In the top menu, click on Dashboard -> New -> Web Service.
  • In Git Provider, we paste the path to the Git repository we want to deploy. If it doesn’t appear, hit the Credentials -> Configure GitHub -> select your GitHub user and give it permission with Install. You can choose whether you want access to all repositories or only to the uvlhub_practicas repository. It is up to you.
  • Click on Connect.
  • As Name we put uvlhub_<uvus>. For example, for the UVUS drorganvidez, the service name would be uvlhub_drorganvidez.
  • In Project we can create a new project named uvlhub (this step is not very relevant).
  • In Language, we will use Docker as the deployment system.
  • In Region we choose Frankfurt (central EU).
  • Under Branch, unless we have a reason to do so, it should be main.
  • In Dockerfile Path we make sure to put docker/images/Dockerfile.render
  • In Instance Type, we choose Free.

Environment Variables Configuration.

In Environment Variables, to avoid defining each environment variable one by one, click on Add from .env and copy and paste this:

FLASK_APP_NAME="UVLHUB.IO"
FLASK_ENV=production
FLASK_APP=app
SECRET_KEY=dev_test_key_1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstu
DOMAIN=uvlhub-<uvus>.onrender.com
MARIADB_HOSTNAME=<CHANGE_THIS>
MARIADB_DATABASE=<CHANGE_THIS>
MARIADB_USER=<CHANGE_THIS>
MARIADB_PORT=<CHANGE_THIS>
MARIADB_PASSWORD=<CHANGE_THIS>
MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD=<SAME_PASSWORD_OF_MARIADB_PASSWORD>
WORKING_DIR=/app/

Click on the Deploy button.

It is very important to replace the <CHANGE_THIS> values with the data provided by our database management panel in Filess.io.

It is very important to replace the <uvus> values with your UVUS (University of Seville)

Don’t forget your own variables!

If you have been using modules that included their own .env file, please note that in production environment neither the Rosemary CLI nor the rosemary compose:env command is available for security reasons.

That means that you have to add to the Add from .env option the variables defined by your modules.

Verify deployment process

Once you have done the above steps, you should see a log. It is important to keep an eye out for any errors that may occur.

You should see our project deployed at https://uvlhub-<uvus>.onrender.com The deployment process can take up to 5 minutes.