Docker Deployment

Run Social Analyzer in Docker containers with optional Selenium Grid

Docker deployment provides an isolated, reproducible environment for running Social Analyzer. The docker-compose setup includes Selenium Grid integration for advanced detection modes and parallel processing.

Prerequisites

1. Install Docker

   Install Docker Engine on your system:

   # Ubuntu/Debian
   curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
   sudo sh get-docker.sh
   
2. Install Docker Compose

   Install Docker Compose:

   sudo apt-get install docker-compose
   
3. Clone repository

   git clone https://github.com/qeeqbox/social-analyzer.git
   cd social-analyzer
   

Quick Start

Simple Docker Run

Run Social Analyzer as a single container:

docker build -t social-analyzer .
docker run -p 9005:9005 social-analyzer

Access the web interface at:

http://localhost:9005/app.html

Docker Compose (Recommended)

Use docker-compose for the complete setup with Selenium Grid:

docker-compose up

This starts:

• Social Analyzer web application
• Selenium Hub (port 4444)
• Firefox node for browser automation

Docker Compose Configuration

The docker-compose.yml file defines a multi-container setup:

version: "3" 
services:
  social-analyzer:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "9005:9005"
    depends_on:
      - hub
    links:
      - hub
    entrypoint: npm start -- --docker --grid "http://hub:4444/wd/hub"
    
  hub:
    image: selenium/hub
    ports:
      - "4444:4444"
    environment:
      GRID_MAX_SESSION: 16
      GRID_BROWSER_TIMEOUT: 6000
      GRID_TIMEOUT: 6000
      
  firefox:
    image: selenium/node-firefox
    container_name: web-automation_firefox
    depends_on:
      - hub
    environment:
      SE_EVENT_BUS_HOST: hub
      SE_EVENT_BUS_PUBLISH_PORT: 4442
      SE_EVENT_BUS_SUBSCRIBE_PORT: 4443
      SE_NODE_MAX_SESSIONS: ${CPU_CORES:-2}
    volumes:
      - /dev/shm:/dev/shm
    ports:
      - "9002:5900"
    links:
      - hub

Architecture Overview

The Docker Compose setup consists of three services:

Social Analyzer

Main application container

• Runs the Node.js web server
• Serves the web interface on port 9005
• Connects to Selenium Hub for browser automation
• Handles detection and analysis logic

Selenium Hub

Central coordination service

• Manages browser node connections
• Routes automation requests to available nodes
• Handles up to 16 concurrent sessions
• Exposed on port 4444

Firefox Node

Browser automation worker

• Provides Firefox browser instances
• Executes WebDriver commands
• Supports parallel execution
• VNC server on port 9002 for debugging

Starting the Services

Start in foreground

docker-compose up

Watch logs in real-time and stop with Ctrl+C.

Start in background

docker-compose up -d

Runs containers in detached mode.

Build and start

docker-compose up --build

Rebuilds images before starting (use after code changes).

Managing Containers

View running containers

docker-compose ps

Shows status of all services:

              Name                            Command               State           Ports         
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
social-analyzer_hub_1              /opt/bin/entry_point.sh          Up      0.0.0.0:4444->4444/tcp
social-analyzer_social-analyzer_1  docker-entrypoint.sh npm ...    Up      0.0.0.0:9005->9005/tcp
web-automation_firefox             /opt/bin/entry_point.sh          Up      0.0.0.0:9002->5900/tcp

View logs

All services

docker-compose logs -f

Stop services

docker-compose stop

Stops containers without removing them.

Stop and remove

docker-compose down

Stops and removes all containers, networks, and volumes.

Restart services

docker-compose restart

Restarts all services.

Configuration Options

Environment Variables

Customize behavior with environment variables:

CPU Cores

CPU_CORES=4 docker-compose up

Available Variables

Variable	Description	Default
CPU_CORES	Firefox node max sessions	2
PORT	Social Analyzer web port	9005
GRID_MAX_SESSION	Hub max sessions	16
GRID_BROWSER_TIMEOUT	Browser timeout (ms)	6000
GRID_TIMEOUT	Grid timeout (ms)	6000

Custom docker-compose.yml

Create a custom configuration:

version: "3"
services:
  social-analyzer:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "8080:9005"  # Custom external port
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
    depends_on:
      - hub
    links:
      - hub
    entrypoint: npm start -- --docker --grid "http://hub:4444/wd/hub"
  
  hub:
    image: selenium/hub:latest
    ports:
      - "4444:4444"
    environment:
      GRID_MAX_SESSION: 32  # Increased capacity
      GRID_BROWSER_TIMEOUT: 10000
      GRID_TIMEOUT: 10000
  
  firefox:
    image: selenium/node-firefox:latest
    deploy:
      replicas: 3  # Multiple Firefox nodes
    environment:
      SE_EVENT_BUS_HOST: hub
      SE_EVENT_BUS_PUBLISH_PORT: 4442
      SE_EVENT_BUS_SUBSCRIBE_PORT: 4443
      SE_NODE_MAX_SESSIONS: 4
    volumes:
      - /dev/shm:/dev/shm
    shm_size: 2gb  # Increased shared memory

Selenium Grid Integration

Grid URL

The application automatically uses the grid when started with docker-compose:

http://hub:4444/wd/hub

Benefits of Grid Mode

• Parallel Processing: Multiple browser instances run simultaneously
• Better Performance: Faster execution for advanced detection modes
• Isolation: Browser processes isolated from main application
• Scalability: Add more browser nodes as needed

Accessing Grid Console

View the Selenium Grid status page:

http://localhost:4444/grid/console

Shows:

• Available browser nodes
• Active sessions
• Browser versions
• Node status

VNC Access to Browser

Connect to the Firefox container via VNC for debugging:

vnc://localhost:9002

Default VNC password: secret

Watch the browser in real-time as Social Analyzer performs checks.

Scaling Browser Nodes

Add more Firefox nodes

docker-compose up --scale firefox=5

Starts 5 Firefox nodes for increased parallelism.

Add Chrome nodes

Modify docker-compose.yml to include Chrome:

chrome:
  image: selenium/node-chrome
  depends_on:
    - hub
  environment:
    SE_EVENT_BUS_HOST: hub
    SE_EVENT_BUS_PUBLISH_PORT: 4442
    SE_EVENT_BUS_SUBSCRIBE_PORT: 4443
    SE_NODE_MAX_SESSIONS: 2
  volumes:
    - /dev/shm:/dev/shm
  links:
    - hub

Then start:

docker-compose up

Using the Dockerized Application

Once running, access the web interface:

Web Interface

http://localhost:9005/app.html

Use normally - the grid option is automatically enabled.

CLI in Container

Execute CLI commands inside the container:

docker exec -it social-analyzer_social-analyzer_1 node app.js --username "johndoe"

Python CLI in Container

If you’ve built a container with Python support:

docker exec -it social-analyzer_social-analyzer_1 python3 app.py --username "johndoe"

Data Persistence

Volume Mounting

Mount a local directory to persist logs:

social-analyzer:
  build: .
  ports:
    - "9005:9005"
  volumes:
    - ./logs:/app/logs  # Persist logs
    - ./data:/app/data  # Persist data files

Then:

mkdir logs data
docker-compose up

Export Results

Copy results from container:

docker cp social-analyzer_social-analyzer_1:/app/logs ./local-logs

Performance Optimization

Increase Shared Memory

Browser containers need adequate shared memory:

firefox:
  image: selenium/node-firefox
  shm_size: 2gb  # Increase from default

Resource Limits

Set CPU and memory limits:

firefox:
  image: selenium/node-firefox
  deploy:
    resources:
      limits:
        cpus: '2'
        memory: 2G
      reservations:
        cpus: '1'
        memory: 1G

Network Optimization

Use a custom network for better isolation:

networks:
  social-analyzer-net:
    driver: bridge

services:
  social-analyzer:
    networks:
      - social-analyzer-net
  hub:
    networks:
      - social-analyzer-net
  firefox:
    networks:
      - social-analyzer-net

Troubleshooting

Containers won’t start

Check if ports are already in use:

sudo lsof -i :9005
sudo lsof -i :4444

Kill conflicting processes or change ports.

Hub connection failed

Verify hub is running:

docker-compose ps hub

Test hub endpoint:

curl http://localhost:4444/status

Firefox node not connecting

Check Firefox logs:

docker-compose logs firefox

Restart the Firefox service:

docker-compose restart firefox

Out of memory errors

Increase Docker memory allocation in Docker Desktop settings or for Docker daemon:

sudo nano /etc/docker/daemon.json

{
  "default-shm-size": "2gb"
}

Slow performance

• Reduce GRID_MAX_SESSION to lower concurrent load
• Increase CPU_CORES if your system has capacity
• Scale down Firefox nodes if over-subscribed
• Check host system resources (CPU, memory, disk I/O)

Production Deployment

Do not expose Social Analyzer to the public internet without proper security measures. It lacks built-in authentication and access control.

Recommended Security

1. Reverse Proxy: Use nginx or Apache with authentication
2. VPN: Restrict access via VPN
3. Firewall: Only allow specific IP addresses
4. HTTPS: Use TLS/SSL certificates
5. Secrets: Use Docker secrets for API keys

Example nginx Configuration

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name social-analyzer.local;
    
    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/key.pem;
    
    auth_basic "Restricted Access";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
    
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:9005;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }
}

Maintenance

Update Images

docker-compose pull
docker-compose up -d

Clean Up

# Remove stopped containers
docker-compose down

# Remove all data
docker-compose down -v

# Remove images
docker-compose down --rmi all

Health Checks

Add health checks to services:

social-analyzer:
  build: .
  healthcheck:
    test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:9005/app.html"]
    interval: 30s
    timeout: 10s
    retries: 3