How to Host Horilla HRMS Software Using Gunicorn+Nginx in Production?

Hosting a Django project using Gunicorn and Nginx is like having a well-coordinated team of servers working together to make your website run smoothly. Gunicorn is like the quarterback, catching user requests and passing them to the right players (worker processes) to handle them. Nginx acts as the coach, making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time, and distributing the workload evenly among the team. Together, they ensure your website stays fast, reliable, and safe for all your visitors, like a winning game plan for your online presence.  Hosting a Django project using Gunicorn and Nginx is like having a well-coordinated team of servers working together to make your website run smoothly. Gunicorn is like the quarterback, catching requests from users and passing them to the right players (worker processes) to handle them. Nginx acts as the coach, making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time, and distributing the workload evenly among the team. Together, they ensure your website stays fast, reliable, and safe for all your visitors, like a winning game plan for your online presence.

Step 1: Install Nginx, Python, & Pip

Now, we’re going to install some software we need for our project. We’ll install Nginx, which is a web server, Python3, which is a programming language, and Pip3, which is a package manager for Python.

sudo apt update

sudo apt install python3-dev nginx python3-pip

Step 2: Create a Virtual Environment

sudo pip install virtualenv 

virtualenv env

source env/bin/activate

Using a virtual environment creates a controlled environment for our project, preventing conflicts and ensuring consistent behavior across different systems.

Step 3: Clone Horilla Opensource & Install Requirements

Clone the Horilla Open Source repository using

git clone https://github.com/horilla-opensource/horilla.git

Navigate to the project directory with

cd horilla

Install the project’s dependencies by running

pip install -r requirements.txt

Execute make migrations to create migration file

python3  manage.py makemigrations

Apply the migrations command to update the database schema.

python3  manage.py migrate

Finally, start the server to check the project is working.

python3 manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

Please verify that the project is operational, similar to what is shown in the image provided.

Step 4: Install Gunicorn on Virtual Environment & Configure Gunicorn

pip install gunicorn

gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 horilla.wsgi

Please verify that the project is operational, similar to what is shown in the image provided.

Now, we can deactivate the environment.

deactivate

Open the file for editing with the following command and add the below details

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gunicorn.socket

[Unit]
Description=gunicorn socket

[Socket]
ListenStream=/run/gunicorn.sock

[Install]
WantedBy=sockets.target

You can save this file using ctrl+s and exit from the file using ctrl+x. It allows external services, like Nginx, to communicate with Gunicorn through the Unix socket, improving performance and security.

Gunicorn Service File Configuration 

Configuring the service file is crucial when hosting Django on a production server. To properly configure it, follow the instructions below.

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gunicorn.service

Use this command to open a file and paste the following details onto that page.

[Unit]
Description=gunicorn daemon
Requires=gunicorn.socket
After=network.target

[Service]
User=ubuntu       #  1 .                                                                 
Group=www-data    #  2 .      
WorkingDirectory=/home/ubuntu/horilla     #  3 .   

ExecStart=/home/ubuntu/env/bin/gunicorn \  #  4 .      
          --access-logfile - \
          --workers 3 \
          --bind unix:/run/gunicorn.sock \
          Horilla.wsgi:application   

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Now, update the content on this page based on your device. Follow the numbers shown in the image below to update the content on the page.

1. User

Use the following command to know your user.

whoami

Update the response on User=RESPONSE_VALUE.

2. Group

To know the group use the following command

groups USER

Change “USER” to your user. It will then respond with the group name and update the service file with a response.

3. WorkingDirectory

To obtain the path of the project directory, navigate to the project directory folder and execute the following command.

pwd

It will respond with the full path of the project directory. 

4. ExecStart

To obtain the path containing the gunicorn path in the virtualenv, navigate to the env directory in the command line and execute the following command.

pwd

The response will be something similar to this: /home/ubuntu/env/. Now include the following full path: /home/ubuntu/env/bin/gunicorn. Use the response path on the ExecStart= YOUR_PATH

To save changes, press Ctrl+S, and to exit the file, press Ctrl+X.

To apply the changes in the service file use the following command.

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Now enable the gunicorn socket using the following command. These commands start the Gunicorn socket service and enable it to start automatically on system boot.

sudo systemctl start gunicorn.socket

sudo systemctl enable gunicorn.socket

Step 5: Configure Nginx

This Nginx configuration file /etc/nginx/sites-available/horilla is used to define how Nginx should handle incoming requests for the Horilla Django project.

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/horilla

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name 16.16.201.235;  #  1 .    

    location = /favicon.ico { access_log off; log_not_found off; }
    location static/ {
        root /home/ubuntu/horilla;  #  2 .    
    }
    location media/ {
        root /home/ubuntu/horilla; #  3 .    
    }
    location / {
        include proxy_params;
        proxy_pass http://unix:/run/gunicorn.sock;
    }
}

1. server_name 16.16.201.235;

Use your server IP or domain here. 

2. location static/  and location media/

This is the path “/home/ubuntu/horilla;” of the project directory. To get the full path you can navigate to the project directory in the command line and use the following command.

pwd

It will respond with a full path and add that path here.

location static/ {
        root ADD_YOUR_PATH;     
    }
location media/ {
        root ADD_YOUR_PATH;     
    }

These comments provide helpful context for anyone reading or maintaining the configuration file, making it easier to understand the purpose of each configuration directive.

Save and exit the file using Ctrl+S to save and Ctrl+X to exit the editor.

To apply the changes and save the file use the following commands.

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/horilla /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

sudo systemctl restart nginx

sudo systemctl status nginx

After completing this, start nginx. Please verify that the project is operational, similar to what is shown in the image provided.

Now you can use the IP address on the web browser to access the project.

To read more about Django Deployment & Hosting, refer to our blog Django Deployment & Hosting: Technical Step-by-Step Guide in 2024

Conclusion

Gunicorn plays the role of the quarterback, directing requests to the right players (worker processes), while Nginx acts as the coach, making sure everyone knows their role and works together smoothly. By following the steps outlined, we’ve set up a system where your website can perform at its best, delivering a fast, reliable, and secure experience for your visitors. It’s like having a winning game plan for your online presence!