CETAN Documentation

This documentation covers the CETAN Web Application Server, logging, TLS, authentication, IP filtering, Safe secrets, Safe utilities, development environment setup, and building C++ REST web services using the CETAN REST API.

Running the CETAN Server Inside Docker

This section describes how to run the CETAN Web Application Server inside a Docker container using the prebuilt Docker image cetan_latest.tar.gz. Users only need to extract the image, prepare the CETAN home directory, and start the container with the required volume mounts.

1. Load the Docker Image

Download cetan_latest.tar.gz and extract it:

tar -xzf cetan_latest.tar.gz

Load the image into Docker:

docker load -i cetan_latest

After loading, the image cetan:latest becomes available for use.

2. Create the CETAN Home Directory

Create the directory structure under /opt/apps/cetan. This directory serves as the CETAN home for the Docker container.


/opt/apps/cetan
 ├── config      (cetan_config.xml, slog_config.xml)
 ├── ext         (your .ctn web applications)
 ├── html        (static HTML content)
 ├── logs        (server logs)
 └── security    (cetan.safe, blacklist.conf, certificates)

Create the directories:


sudo mkdir -p /opt/apps/cetan/config
sudo mkdir -p /opt/apps/cetan/ext
sudo mkdir -p /opt/apps/cetan/html
sudo mkdir -p /opt/apps/cetan/logs
sudo mkdir -p /opt/apps/cetan/security

3. Set Ownership and Permissions

The CETAN server inside Docker runs as the cetan user. Assign proper ownership and permissions to the CETAN home directory:


sudo chown -R cetan:cetan /opt/apps/cetan
sudo chmod -R 770 /opt/apps/cetan

These permissions ensure that the CETAN server can read and write its required directories while maintaining security.

4. Start the CETAN Docker Container

Run the CETAN server container with the required volume mounts:


docker run --name cetan-server --rm -it --init \
  -p 443:2025 \
  --mount type=bind,source=/opt/apps/cetan/security,target=/opt/apps/cetan/security \
  --mount type=bind,source=/opt/apps/cetan/config,target=/opt/apps/cetan/config \
  --mount type=bind,source=/opt/apps/cetan/logs,target=/opt/apps/cetan/logs \
  --mount type=bind,source=/opt/apps/cetan/ext,target=/opt/apps/cetan/ext \
  --mount type=bind,source=/opt/apps/cetan/html,target=/opt/apps/cetan/html \
  --mount type=bind,source=/etc/ssl/certs,target=/etc/ssl/certs,readonly \
  cetan:latest

The CETAN server will start using the configuration and applications provided in the mounted directories. The server listens on port 2025 inside the container and is exposed as HTTPS on port 443 on the host.

5. Deploying Applications

Place your compiled .ctn applications into the /opt/apps/cetan/ext directory. Ensure that cetan_config.xml references each application under the <applications> section.

6. Stopping the Server

To stop the CETAN server, press Ctrl+C or run:

docker stop cetan-server

Because the container was started with --rm, it will be removed automatically after stopping.

Summary

Running CETAN inside Docker provides a clean, isolated, and reproducible environment. By preparing the CETAN home directory and mounting it into the container, users can manage configuration, applications, logs, and security files without modifying the Docker image itself.