Restore Dataset Using Docker

These steps will help as a guide to restore dotCMS dataset (database and assets) using docker compose, on local machine for testing purposes.

Please note also that versions 22.02 and later include a simple menu button for exporting assets and database dumps.

1. Install Docker#

---

To install Docker, follow the steps here: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/

In most cases, the easiest approach is to install Docker Desktop, though Linux servers may instead opt for one of the packages in the Server section.

a. Install Docker Compose#

If you installed Docker Desktop in Step 1, this is already installed. Otherwise, follow the steps here: https://docs.docker.com/compose/install/

2. Create docker-compose File#

---

Copy this docker-compose.yml file to use as an example; change as needed.

version: '3.5'

networks:
  db_net:
  es_net:

volumes:
  cms-shared:
  dbdata:
  esdata:

services:
################################################################################
  elasticsearch:
    image: docker.elastic.co/elasticsearch/elasticsearch:7.10.2
    environment:
      - cluster.name=elastic-cluster
      - discovery.type=single-node
      - data
      - bootstrap.memory_lock=true
      - "ES_JAVA_OPTS=-Xmx3G "
    ports:
      - 9200:9200
      - 9600:9600
    volumes:
      - esdata:/usr/share/elasticsearch/data
    networks:
      - es_net
################################################################################
  dotcms: 
    image: dotcms/dotcms:22.03_lts

    environment:
      "CATALINA_OPTS": '-Xmx1g '
      "DB_BASE_URL": "jdbc:postgresql://db/dotcms"
      "DB_USERNAME": 'dotcmsdbuser'
      "DB_PASSWORD": 'password'
      "DOT_ES_AUTH_BASIC_PASSWORD": 'admin'
      "DOT_ES_ENDPOINTS": 'http://elasticsearch:9200'
      "DOT_INITIAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD": 'admin'
    depends_on:
      - db
      - elasticsearch
    volumes:
      - cms-shared:/data/shared
    networks:
      - db_net
      - es_net
    ports:
      - "8082:8082"
      - "8443:8443"
################################################################################
  db:
    image: dotcms/postgres:15
    command: postgres -c 'max_connections=400' -c 'shared_buffers=512MB' -c 'effective_cache_size=1536MB' -c 'maintenance_work_mem=128MB'
    environment:
        "POSTGRES_USER": 'dotcmsdbuser'
        "POSTGRES_PASSWORD": 'db_pass'
        "POSTGRES_DB": 'dotcms'
    networks:
      - db_net
    volumes:
      - dbdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"

3. Create Directories#

---

a. Base Directories#

Create the directory paths shared and logs on the same path that the docker-compose.yml file will read from:

mkdir shared logs

b. Asset Directories#

Next, create an assets directory under the shared path like this: ./shared/assets/ and place the assets from your dataset on that folder.

4. Move Plugins#

---

If there are any Dynamic Plugins (OSGi), place them in the ./shared/felix/load/ directory.

Any undeployed OSGi plugins should be moved to ./shared/felix/undeployed/

5. Adjust Folder Permissions#

---

Change the permissions on the shared and logs paths to userid and groupid 65001, which is the userid that dotCMS runs inside the container:

sudo chown -R 65001.65001 shared
sudo chown -R 65001.65001 logs

This should result in something like the following:

dotcms-standalone $ ls -lha 
total 20K
drwxrwxr-x 4 dotcmsuser     dotcmsuser     4.0K Jan  8 14:31 .
drwxrwxr-x 4 dotcmsuser     dotcmsuser     4.0K Jan  7 08:46 ..
-rw-rw-r-- 1 dotcmsuser     dotcmsuser     1.7K Jan  7 14:43 docker-compose.yml
drwxrwxr-x 2 65001          65001          4.0K Jan  8 14:31 logs
drwxrwxr-x 2 65001          65001          4.0K Jan  8 14:31 shared

6. Start the DB Container#

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For now, just start the DB container to restore the database (use -d to run it as daemon):

docker compose up db

7. Restore Database#

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Restore the database by connecting with the credentials on the docker-compose.yml file, similar to restoring any other database dump in Postgresql:

psql -U dotcmsdbuser dotcms -h localhost

Enter your password when prompted, and then use:

dotcms=# \i dotcms-prod-restore.sql

8. Stop the Database Container#

---

Stop the docker compose with stop or control + c, if it was not running as daemon.

docker compose stop

9. Reinitialize and Reindex#

---

Start docker compose with all the services (use -d to run it as daemon):

docker compose up -d

At this point, you should be able to access your dotCMS instance running with the restored dataset by accessing http://localhost:8082 in the browser. To conclude the restoration process, simply complete a full reindex of content.

Please note that this has been an example presented for testing purposes, and as such is simpler than a typical production environment.