Containerization

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  1. Containerization for MediaWiki Servers

This article provides a comprehensive overview of containerization technologies and their application to MediaWiki server deployments. Containerization offers significant advantages concerning resource utilization, scalability, and deployment consistency, making it a modern best practice for managing complex web applications like MediaWiki. This guide is geared towards system administrators and developers looking to modernize their MediaWiki infrastructure.

What is Containerization?

Containerization is a lightweight form of virtualization. Unlike traditional virtual machines (VMs) which virtualize hardware, containers virtualize the operating system. This means that multiple containers can run on a single host OS, sharing the kernel but isolating application processes and dependencies. This leads to significantly reduced overhead compared to VMs, resulting in faster startup times, lower resource consumption, and improved portability.

Popular containerization technologies include Docker and Podman. These tools allow you to package an application and its dependencies into a standardized unit for consistent operation across different environments—development, testing, and production.

Benefits of Containerizing MediaWiki

  • Portability: Containers ensure that your MediaWiki installation behaves consistently regardless of the underlying infrastructure.
  • Scalability: Containers can be easily scaled up or down based on demand, supporting dynamic workloads. See Scalability for more information.
  • Resource Efficiency: Containers consume fewer resources than traditional VMs, allowing you to run more instances on the same hardware.
  • Isolation: Containers provide process isolation, enhancing security and preventing conflicts between applications.
  • Faster Deployment: Container images can be quickly deployed and updated, reducing downtime. Consider also Deployment Process.
  • Simplified Development: Consistent environments streamline the development and testing workflows.

Technologies and Tools

Several tools are commonly used for containerizing MediaWiki. Here's a breakdown:

Technology Description Use Case
Docker A widely adopted platform for building, shipping, and running containers. General purpose containerization, development environments.
Podman A daemonless container engine for developing, managing, and running OCI Containers on your Linux System. Alternative to Docker, often preferred for security reasons.
Docker Compose A tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications. Managing complex MediaWiki deployments with multiple services (e.g., web servers, database).
Kubernetes A container orchestration system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Large-scale MediaWiki deployments requiring high availability and scalability. See Kubernetes Integration.

Example: Dockerizing a Basic MediaWiki Setup

This section outlines the steps to containerize a minimal MediaWiki installation using Docker. This is a simplified example; a production deployment will require more configuration.

1. Create a Dockerfile: A Dockerfile is a text document that contains all the commands a user could call on the command line to assemble an image. 

  ```dockerfile
  FROM php:8.1-apache

  RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
      libfreetype6-dev \
      libjpeg62-turbo-dev \
      libpng-dev \
      zip \
      unzip

  WORKDIR /var/www/html

  RUN curl -O https://releases.wikimedia.org/mediawiki/1.40/mediawiki-1.40.0.tar.gz
  RUN tar -xzf mediawiki-1.40.0.tar.gz
  RUN mv mediawiki /var/www/html

  # Copy LocalSettings.php (replace with your configuration)
  COPY LocalSettings.php /var/www/html/mediawiki/

  # Set permissions
  RUN chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/mediawiki
  ```

2. Create a `LocalSettings.php` file: This file contains MediaWiki's configuration. Refer to Configuration for detailed instructions.

3. Build the Docker image: Navigate to the directory containing the Dockerfile and run: 

  ```bash
  docker build -t my-mediawiki .
  ```

4. Run the container: 

  ```bash
  docker run -d -p 80:80 -v /path/to/images:/var/www/html/mediawiki/images my-mediawiki
  ```
  (Replace `/path/to/images` with the actual path where you want to store uploaded images.)

Database Considerations

MediaWiki requires a database backend. Containerizing the database alongside MediaWiki is a common practice. Here's a comparison of common database options:

Database Containerization Notes Performance
MariaDB Official MariaDB Docker images are available. Easily integrated with Docker Compose. Excellent; widely used with MediaWiki.
MySQL Similar to MariaDB; official Docker images are available. Similar to MariaDB.
PostgreSQL Official PostgreSQL Docker images are available. Requires configuration for MediaWiki compatibility. Good; can handle large datasets.

Consider using a dedicated database container and linking it to your MediaWiki container. This provides isolation and allows for independent scaling of the database. See Database Setup for more information.

Orchestration with Kubernetes

For large-scale deployments, Kubernetes is highly recommended. Kubernetes automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Key Kubernetes concepts include:

  • Pods: The smallest deployable units in Kubernetes, containing one or more containers.
  • Deployments: Manage the desired state of your application, ensuring the specified number of replicas are running.
  • Services: Provide a stable endpoint for accessing your application, even as pods are created and destroyed.
  • Ingress: Manages external access to the services within the cluster.

A Kubernetes deployment for MediaWiki would typically involve separate deployments for the web server, database, and potentially other services like caching (e.g., Redis).


Kubernetes Resource Description Example
Deployment Manages the replicas of the MediaWiki web server container. `kubectl apply -f mediawiki-deployment.yaml`
Service Exposes the MediaWiki web server to the network. `kubectl apply -f mediawiki-service.yaml`
Ingress Routes external traffic to the MediaWiki service. `kubectl apply -f mediawiki-ingress.yaml`

Security Considerations

Container security is crucial. Key considerations include:

  • Image Scanning: Regularly scan container images for vulnerabilities.
  • Least Privilege: Run containers with the minimum necessary privileges.
  • Network Policies: Control network traffic between containers.
  • Resource Limits: Set resource limits to prevent containers from consuming excessive resources.
  • Regular Updates: Keep container images and the host operating system up-to-date. See Security Best Practices.

Further Resources


Intel-Based Server Configurations

Configuration Specifications Benchmark
Core i7-6700K/7700 Server 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB CPU Benchmark: 8046
Core i7-8700 Server 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2x1 TB CPU Benchmark: 13124
Core i9-9900K Server 128 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 1 TB CPU Benchmark: 49969
Core i9-13900 Server (64GB) 64 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
Core i9-13900 Server (128GB) 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Server (64GB) 64 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Server (128GB) 128 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD
Core i5-13500 Workstation 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2 NVMe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 4000

AMD-Based Server Configurations

Configuration Specifications Benchmark
Ryzen 5 3600 Server 64 GB RAM, 2x480 GB NVMe CPU Benchmark: 17849
Ryzen 7 7700 Server 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2x1 TB NVMe CPU Benchmark: 35224
Ryzen 9 5950X Server 128 GB RAM, 2x4 TB NVMe CPU Benchmark: 46045
Ryzen 9 7950X Server 128 GB DDR5 ECC, 2x2 TB NVMe CPU Benchmark: 63561
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/1TB) 128 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/2TB) 128 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/4TB) 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/1TB) 256 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/4TB) 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe CPU Benchmark: 48021
EPYC 9454P Server 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe

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