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Deployment Overview

ServITech Backend API is a Laravel 12 application that can be deployed to various hosting environments. This guide provides an overview of deployment options and general considerations.

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System Requirements

Before deploying, ensure your production environment meets these requirements:
  • PHP: 8.2 or higher
  • Composer: Latest version
  • Node.js & NPM: For building frontend assets
  • Database: MySQL 5.7+ or SQLite 3
  • Web Server: Apache 2.4+ or Nginx 1.18+
  • SSL Certificate: Required for production environments
ServITech uses Laravel 12, which requires PHP 8.2 or higher. Verify your server’s PHP version before deployment.

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Deployment Options

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Traditional Server Deployment

Deploy to a traditional VPS or dedicated server with full control over the environment:
  • Pros: Full control, customizable configuration, cost-effective for large applications
  • Cons: Requires server management knowledge, manual updates and maintenance
  • Best for: Production environments with specific requirements

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Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Deploy to managed platforms like Laravel Forge, Ploi, or DigitalOcean App Platform:
  • Pros: Automated deployments, easy scaling, minimal server management
  • Cons: Higher costs, less control over infrastructure
  • Best for: Teams without dedicated DevOps resources

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Containerized Deployment

Deploy using Docker containers for consistent environments:
  • Pros: Environment consistency, easy scaling, portable across platforms
  • Cons: Additional complexity, requires Docker knowledge
  • Best for: Microservices architecture or multi-environment setups

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Pre-Deployment Checklist

Before deploying to production, complete these essential tasks:

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1. Security Configuration

Never deploy with APP_DEBUG=true in production. This exposes sensitive application information.
APP_ENV=production
APP_DEBUG=false

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2. Environment Variables

Review and configure all environment variables for production:
  • Set strong APP_KEY (automatically generated)
  • Generate JWT_SECRET for authentication
  • Configure production database credentials
  • Set up email service credentials
  • Configure proper APP_URL
See the Environment Variables guide for complete details.

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3. Database Setup

Prepare your production database: 
# Run migrations
php artisan migrate --force

# Optional: Seed initial data
php artisan db:seed --class=ProductionSeeder
The --force flag is required to run migrations in production environments.

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4. Build Assets

Compile frontend assets for production: 
npm run build
This generates optimized assets in the public/ directory.

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5. Optimize Performance

Run Laravel optimization commands: 
# Cache configuration
php artisan config:cache

# Cache routes
php artisan route:cache

# Cache views
php artisan view:cache

# Optimize autoloader
composer install --optimize-autoloader --no-dev

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Web Server Configuration

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Nginx Configuration

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name your-domain.com;
    root /var/www/servitechapi/public;

    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN";
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff";

    index index.php;

    charset utf-8;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location = /favicon.ico { access_log off; log_not_found off; }
    location = /robots.txt  { access_log off; log_not_found off; }

    error_page 404 /index.php;

    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $realpath_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_hide_header X-Powered-By;
    }

    location ~ /\.(?!well-known).* {
        deny all;
    }
}

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Apache Configuration

Ensure mod_rewrite is enabled: 
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName your-domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/servitechapi/public

    <Directory /var/www/servitechapi/public>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/servitechapi_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/servitechapi_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

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File Permissions

Set appropriate permissions for Laravel directories: 
# Set ownership (replace 'www-data' with your web server user)
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/servitechapi

# Storage and cache directories need write permissions
chmod -R 775 /var/www/servitechapi/storage
chmod -R 775 /var/www/servitechapi/bootstrap/cache

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Queue Workers

ServITech uses database queues for background jobs. Set up a queue worker service:

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Systemd Service Configuration

Create /etc/systemd/system/servitechapi-worker.service: 
[Unit]
Description=ServITech Queue Worker
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=www-data
Group=www-data
Restart=always
ExecStart=/usr/bin/php /var/www/servitechapi/artisan queue:work --tries=3 --timeout=90

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
Enable and start the service: 
sudo systemctl enable servitechapi-worker
sudo systemctl start servitechapi-worker

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SSL/TLS Configuration

Always use HTTPS in production to protect sensitive data and authentication tokens.

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Using Let’s Encrypt (Certbot)

# Install Certbot
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

# Obtain and install certificate
sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

# Auto-renewal is configured automatically

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Monitoring and Logging

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Log Management

Configure log rotation for Laravel logs: 
# /etc/logrotate.d/servitechapi
/var/www/servitechapi/storage/logs/*.log {
    daily
    rotate 14
    compress
    delaycompress
    notifempty
    create 0640 www-data www-data
    sharedscripts
}

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Application Monitoring

Consider implementing:
  • Error Tracking: Sentry, Bugsnag, or Flare
  • Performance Monitoring: New Relic or Laravel Telescope
  • Uptime Monitoring: Uptime Robot or Pingdom
  • Server Monitoring: DataDog or Prometheus

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Backup Strategy

Implement automated backups for both database and application files.

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Database Backups

# MySQL backup script
mysqldump -u username -p database_name > backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# Compress and store
gzip backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql
mv backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz /backups/

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File Backups

Backup critical directories:
  • /storage/app - Uploaded files and application data
  • .env - Environment configuration
  • /database - Database files (if using SQLite)

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Deployment Workflow

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Using Git for Deployments

# On production server
cd /var/www/servitechapi

# Pull latest changes
git pull origin main

# Install dependencies
composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader
npm install && npm run build

# Run migrations
php artisan migrate --force

# Clear and rebuild caches
php artisan config:clear
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:cache

# Restart queue workers
sudo systemctl restart servitechapi-worker

# Restart PHP-FPM (if needed)
sudo systemctl restart php8.2-fpm

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Zero-Downtime Deployments

For production environments with high availability requirements:
  1. Use Laravel Envoy or Deployer for automated deployments
  2. Implement blue-green deployment strategy
  3. Use load balancers to route traffic during updates
  4. Test in staging environment before production deployment

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Health Checks

Implement health check endpoints for monitoring: 
// routes/api.php
Route::get('/health', function () {
    return response()->json([
        'status' => 'healthy',
        'timestamp' => now()->toISOString(),
        'version' => config('app.version'),
    ]);
});

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Next Steps

Production Build

Learn how to build and optimize your application for production

Environment Variables

Complete reference for all environment variables

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Additional Resources

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