ansible-lemp-wordpress/docs/multi-environment-deployment.md

Multi-Environment Deployment Guide

This guide explains how to deploy the LEMP WordPress stack in different environments using Docker for testing and production servers for live deployment.

🎯 Available Deployment Modes

Basic LEMP Mode

• Playbook: playbooks/lemp-wordpress.yml
• Features: Nginx, MySQL, PHP, WordPress, SSL support
• Use Case: Standard WordPress sites

Ultimate Performance Mode

• Playbook: playbooks/lemp-wordpress-ultimate.yml
• Features: Basic + Redis caching + PHP OPcache + Nginx optimization
• Use Case: High-traffic WordPress sites

🔧 Environment Setup

1. Docker Testing Environment

Prerequisites:

cd docker/
docker-compose up -d

Inventory File (inventory/docker.yml):

wordpress_servers:
  hosts:
    docker-test:
      ansible_host: localhost
      ansible_port: 2222
      ansible_user: ansible
      ansible_ssh_pass: ansible123
      ansible_become_pass: ansible123
      domain_name: localhost
      
      # SSL Configuration (usually disabled for testing)
      ssl_enabled: false
      
      # WordPress Database (Test credentials)
      mysql_root_password: "test_root_password"
      wordpress_db_name: "wordpress"
      wordpress_db_user: "wp_user"
      wordpress_db_password: "test_wp_password"
      
      # WordPress Admin (Test credentials)
      wp_admin_user: "admin"
      wp_admin_password: "test_admin_password"
      wp_admin_email: "admin@localhost"
      wp_site_title: "Test WordPress Site"
      
      # Ultimate Features (for testing Ultimate-Playbook)
      enable_redis: true
      enable_opcache: true

Deploy Commands:

# Test Basic LEMP deployment
ansible-playbook -i inventory/docker.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress.yml

# Test Ultimate Performance deployment
ansible-playbook -i inventory/docker.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress-ultimate.yml

Access: http://localhost:8080

2. Production Server Deployment

Inventory File (inventory/production.yml):

wordpress_servers:
  hosts:
    your-server.example.com:
      ansible_host: YOUR_SERVER_IP
      ansible_user: your_user
      domain_name: example.com
      
      # SSL Configuration
      ssl_enabled: true  # Enable HTTPS
      ssl_email: admin@example.com
      
      # WordPress Database (CHANGE THESE!)
      mysql_root_password: "CHANGE_ME_ROOT_PASSWORD"
      wordpress_db_name: "wordpress"
      wordpress_db_user: "wp_user"
      wordpress_db_password: "CHANGE_ME_WP_PASSWORD"
      
      # WordPress Admin (CHANGE THESE!)
      wp_admin_user: "admin"
      wp_admin_password: "CHANGE_ME_ADMIN_PASSWORD"
      wp_admin_email: "admin@example.com"
      wp_site_title: "My WordPress Site"
      
      # Ultimate Performance Features
      enable_redis: true      # For Ultimate playbook
      enable_opcache: true    # For Ultimate playbook

Deploy Commands:

# Basic LEMP deployment
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress.yml

# Ultimate Performance deployment
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress-ultimate.yml

3. Staging Environment

Inventory File (inventory/staging.yml):

wordpress_servers:
  hosts:
    staging.example.com:
      ansible_host: 192.168.1.100
      ansible_user: deploy
      domain_name: staging.example.com
      
      # SSL Configuration
      ssl_enabled: false  # Disable for staging
      
      # WordPress Database
      mysql_root_password: "staging_root_password"
      wordpress_db_name: "wordpress_staging"
      wordpress_db_user: "wp_staging"
      wordpress_db_password: "staging_wp_password"
      
      # WordPress Admin
      wp_admin_user: "staging_admin"
      wp_admin_password: "staging_admin_password"
      wp_admin_email: "staging@example.com"
      wp_site_title: "Staging WordPress Site"
      
      # Ultimate Features (test performance features)
      enable_redis: true
      enable_opcache: true

🎛️ Advanced Configuration

1. SSL/HTTPS Setup

Enable SSL during deployment:

# Basic LEMP with SSL
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress.yml \
  -e "ssl_enabled=true" -e "ssl_email=your-email@domain.com"

# Ultimate Performance with SSL
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress-ultimate.yml \
  -e "ssl_enabled=true" -e "ssl_email=your-email@domain.com"

2. Performance Tuning Overrides

Custom PHP settings:

ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress-ultimate.yml \
  -e "php_memory_limit=1G" \
  -e "php_upload_max_filesize=256M"

Custom Redis settings:

ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress-ultimate.yml \
  -e "redis_maxmemory=512mb"

3. Security with Ansible Vault

For production environments, use Ansible Vault:

Create vault file:

mkdir -p group_vars/all/
ansible-vault create group_vars/all/vault.yml

Update inventory to use vault variables:

wordpress_servers:
  hosts:
    your-server.example.com:
      # ... other settings ...
      
      # Database (using vault)
      mysql_root_password: "{{ vault_mysql_root_password }}"
      wordpress_db_password: "{{ vault_wordpress_db_password }}"
      wp_admin_password: "{{ vault_wp_admin_password }}"

Deploy with vault:

ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress.yml --ask-vault-pass

See Vault Security Guide for detailed instructions.

🚀 Common Deployment Scenarios

Scenario 1: Local Development & Testing

# Start Docker environment
cd docker/
docker-compose up -d

# Test Basic LEMP
ansible-playbook -i inventory/docker.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress.yml

# Test Ultimate Performance
ansible-playbook -i inventory/docker.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress-ultimate.yml

# Access: http://localhost:8080

Scenario 2: Cloud Server (DigitalOcean, AWS, Linode)

# Configure inventory/production.yml with your server details

# Deploy with SSL for production
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress-ultimate.yml \
  -e "ssl_enabled=true" -e "ssl_email=admin@yourdomain.com"

Scenario 3: On-Premises Server

# Deploy without SSL for internal network
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress.yml \
  -e "ssl_enabled=false"

Scenario 4: High-Performance WordPress

# Ultimate deployment with custom performance settings
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress-ultimate.yml \
  -e "php_memory_limit=1G" \
  -e "redis_maxmemory=512mb" \
  -e "ssl_enabled=true"

🔍 Troubleshooting Multi-Environment Issues

Problem: Docker container not accessible

Solution: Check Docker setup

cd docker/
docker-compose ps
docker-compose logs

Problem: SSH connection to production server fails

Solution: Verify SSH settings

# Test SSH connection
ssh -p 22 your_user@your_server_ip

# Check inventory file SSH settings
ansible all -i inventory/production.yml -m ping

Problem: SSL certificate generation fails

Solution: Check domain and email

# Ensure domain points to your server
nslookup yourdomain.com

# Deploy with valid email
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress.yml \
  -e "ssl_enabled=true" -e "ssl_email=valid-email@domain.com"

Problem: Redis not working in Ultimate mode

Solution: Check if Ultimate playbook is being used

# Make sure you're using the Ultimate playbook
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.yml playbooks/lemp-wordpress-ultimate.yml

📝 Best Practices

Development

1. Always test in Docker first before deploying to production
2. Use docker.yml inventory for local testing
3. Enable all Ultimate features in Docker for testing

Production

1. Use strong passwords or Ansible Vault
2. Enable SSL/HTTPS for production sites
3. Choose appropriate deployment mode (Basic vs Ultimate)
4. Regular backups of database and files
5. Keep system updated with security patches

Security

1. Never commit real passwords to Git
2. Use SSH keys instead of passwords
3. Enable firewall on production servers
4. Regular security updates

🎯 Quick Reference

Available Playbooks

Playbook	Features	Use Case
lemp-wordpress.yml	Basic LEMP + WordPress + SSL	Small to medium sites
lemp-wordpress-ultimate.yml	Basic + Redis + OPcache + Optimization	High-traffic sites

Environment Files

File	Purpose	Use Case
inventory/docker.yml	Docker testing	Development/Testing
inventory/production.yml	Production server	Live deployment

Key Variables

Variable	Purpose	Example
ssl_enabled	Enable/disable HTTPS	true or false
enable_redis	Enable Redis caching	true (Ultimate only)
enable_opcache	Enable PHP OPcache	true (Ultimate only)
mysql_root_password	MySQL root password	"SecurePassword123!"
wp_admin_password	WordPress admin password	"AdminPassword456!"