How to Install Exalate for Salesforce on Docker

How to Install Exalate for Salesforce on Docker

1. Create directory and create docker-compose.yml file

Create a directory to hold the docker-compose file:

cd ~
mkdir exalate-salesforce

Create a docker-compose.yml file

services:
  database:
    restart: unless-stopped
    image: postgres:15.12
    volumes:
      - ./persist/db:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./createdb.sh:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init-user-db.sh
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=exalate
      - DB_NAME=salesforcenode
      - DB_USER=exalate
      - DB_PASS=exalate
    networks:
      - dbnet

  salesforce:
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 9000:9002

    #
    # Change the image tag to the required version
    # Check Release History on docs.exalate.com for an overview
    #
    image: idalko/salesforcenode:5.23.0
    depends_on:
      - database #wait for postgres to be started, not for ready
    volumes:
      - ./persist/home:/opt/salesforcenode/data
    environment:
      # Add your environment settings here
      - SALESFORCENODE_PG_HOST=database
      - SALESFORCENODE_PG_DB=salesforcenode?gssEncMode=disable
      - SALESFORCENODE_PG_USER=exalate
      - SALESFORCENODE_PG_PWD=exalate


        #As part of the security improvements, Exalate 5.6.0 and above validates the origin header
     #that the browser is sending upon every request to Exalate.
     #In order to validate the origin header, Exalate needs to know what is the URL 
     #leading to it.
     #When you deploy Exalate onto a server, you configure a DNS rule such that 
     #whenever people navigate to foo.com, they reach your server's Exalate. 
     #You set up SSL so that https://foo.com leads to your Exalate on your server. once this is      done you need to set an environment variable NODE_SELF_URL=https://foo.com 
     #for your Exalate docker container.

      - NODE_SELF_URL=https://foo.com

     # You can use following variables to link the node with nginx proxy
     # Replace exa-snow.exalate.biz with the appropriate FQDN
     # - LETSENCRYPT_HOST=exa-sf.exalate.biz
     # - VIRTUAL_HOST=exa-sf.exalate.biz
     # - VIRTUAL_PORT=9002
     # To hanlde SSL termination we suggest following this article https://docs.exalate.com/docs/scripts-how-to-bring-up-a-reverse-proxy-using-the-jwildernginx-proxy
      
     # CACHE_EXPIRY_DURATION_HOURS variable defines how long the cache will remain in the app.
     # The default value of 8 hours can be changed by specifying the number of hours.
     # - CACHE_EXPIRY_DURATION_HOURS=20

    networks:
      - dbnet
      - default

networks:
  dbnet:
    driver: bridge
  default:
    driver: bridge

#!/bin/bash
 
TEST=`psql -U postgres <<-EOSQL
   SELECT 1 FROM pg_database WHERE datname='$DB_NAME';
EOSQL`
 
echo "******CREATING DOCKER DATABASE******"
if [[ $TEST == "1" ]]; then
    # database exists
    # $? is 0
    exit 0
else
psql -U postgres <<-EOSQL
   CREATE ROLE $DB_USER WITH LOGIN ENCRYPTED PASSWORD '${DB_PASS}' SUPERUSER;
EOSQL
 
psql -U postgres <<-EOSQL
   CREATE DATABASE $DB_NAME WITH OWNER $DB_USER ENCODING 'UNICODE' LC_COLLATE 'C' LC_CTYPE 'C' TEMPLATE template0;
EOSQL
 
psql -U postgres <<-EOSQL
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE $DB_NAME TO $DB_USER;
EOSQL
fi
 
echo ""
echo "******DOCKER DATABASE CREATED******"
  

4. Start the Application

cd ~/exalate-salesforce
docker-compose up -d

Once the container is started you should be able to access it using the port specified in the ports: section of your docker-compose file(for example: http://localhost:9000/).

To complete the app Oauth registration flow with Salesforce is required that your container's Fully Qualified Domain Name (NODE_SELF_URL specified in the docker-compose file) has a A+ rating on https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html.
To manage SSL termination in our experience the simplest way is using the jwilder/nginx-proxy approach.

Once this is done you should be able to access the application registration page using the Fully Qualified Domain Name(FQDN).

5. Install the bridge app on the Salesforce Org

Follow the normal installation flow in the Salesforce Installation Guide, this will create the connected app that will provide you the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret that the you will need to complete the registration.

6. Register the Node

To be able to fully use the functionality of your new node, it needs to be registered on the mapper.  This mapper acts as a DNS server, mapping tracker URLs to node URLs.

Please raise a ticket on our support portal providing the following:

• Salesforce instance URL
• Exalate node URL/Fully Qualified Domain Name(FQDN)

Once this request is raised our team will take the necessary steps to register you container and provide an update statement, this will be used in the container DB to provide the registration detail to the container.

To access the container's DB you can use the following command(exalate-salesforce-database-1is the example db name):

docker exec -it exalate-salesforce-database-1 psql -U postgres

The update statement will look something like this:

INSERT INTO general_settings (id, url, exalate_url, instance_uid, field_values)VALUES (...

To ensure the details are correctly updated you can restart the container after updating the DB:

docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d

Once the container is up you should be able to access the locally running application in your Salesforce Org.

How to Manage the Application on Docker

Run Queries to the Application's Database

You can find all tables using PSQLs \dt+ command:

\dt+

All the Postgres SQL queries are permitted

To exit the application's DB:

\q
# \q exits the psql 
exit
# exits the postgres user session
exit
# exits the exalatesalesforcenode_database_1 bash session

Inspect the Application's Filesystem

cd ~/exalate-salesforce
docker exec -it exalatesalesforcenode_salesforcenode_1 bash

Remove the Application

cd ~/exalate-salesforce
docker-compose rm

Remove the Application Data

cd ~/exalate-salesforce
# docker volume ls | grep exalatesalesforcenode_vol |  awk '{ print $2 }' | xargs docker volume rm
docker volume rm exalatesalesforcenode_voldatabase
docker volume rm exalatesalesforcenode_volsalesforcenode

System Administration Tasks

When Exalate for SalesForce is running on your environment, you are also required to do the mandatory system administration tasks

• Backup (& restore tests)
• Disaster recovery procedure
• Upgrades whenever needed

Upgrading Exalate on Docker

If you need to upgrade Exalate on Docker, here are the steps to follow:

1. Edit the YAML File:

   Open the docker-compose.yml file in a text editor and modify the image tag for the service you wish to upgrade.

   # use the latest version https://hub.docker.com/r/idalko/salesforcenode
   image: idalko/salesforcenode:latest
   depends_on:
   - database #wait for postgres to be started, not for ready
   

   Replace latest with the latest or desired version tag.

2. Pull the Latest Image:

   From the directory containing your docker-compose.yml file, pull the latest image.

   docker-compose pull
   

3. Recreate the Container:

   Using Docker Compose, you can easily recreate the container with the new image.

   docker-compose up -d
   

   The -d flag runs the containers in detached mode. Docker Compose automatically stops the old container and starts a new one based on the updated image.

4. Post-Upgrade Checks:

   After starting the upgraded container, check to make sure everything is running as expected:

• Log into the Exalate interface and verify that all your configurations, connections are intact.
• Test out a few synchronizations to make sure they work as expected.
• Check for any errors in the Docker logs or the Exalate logs.

Troubleshooting

Issues during the installation of the Exalate server for Salesforce

If you have issues during the installation of the Exalate app for Salesforce, you can find logs describing possible problems inside /tmp.

The name for the file is generated randomly and automatically by the OS, but you can find the file by the creation date.

Problems while running the Exalate server for Salesforce

Logs are generated under the directory: /opt/salesforcenode/data/logs.

Refer to these logs to get more information about possible problems and communicate with our support if you need any assistance.

Support

Please read our Support options.