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This guide covers deploying Proyecto to a production environment with proper security, performance, and reliability configurations.

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Pre-Deployment Checklist

Review all items in this checklist before deploying to production. Missing security configurations can expose your application to attacks.
1

Security Settings

Verify critical security settings:
proyecto/settings.py
DEBUG = False  # MUST be False
SECRET_KEY = os.environ.get('DJANGO_SECRET_KEY')  # Use environment variable
ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['yourdomain.com', 'www.yourdomain.com']
Never deploy with DEBUG = True. This exposes sensitive application internals and stack traces.
2

Database Configuration

Use environment variables for database credentials:
DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2',
        'NAME': os.environ.get('DB_NAME'),
        'USER': os.environ.get('DB_USER'),
        'PASSWORD': os.environ.get('DB_PASSWORD'),
        'HOST': os.environ.get('DB_HOST'),
        'PORT': os.environ.get('DB_PORT', '5432'),
        'ATOMIC_REQUESTS': True,
    }
}
3

Static Files

Configure static file serving:
STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR / 'staticfiles'
STATIC_URL = '/static/'
Collect static files:
python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
4

Additional Security Headers

Add these security settings:
# HTTPS/SSL
SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT = True
SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE = True
CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE = True

# HSTS
SECURE_HSTS_SECONDS = 31536000  # 1 year
SECURE_HSTS_INCLUDE_SUBDOMAINS = True
SECURE_HSTS_PRELOAD = True

# Other security
SECURE_BROWSER_XSS_FILTER = True
SECURE_CONTENT_TYPE_NOSNIFF = True
X_FRAME_OPTIONS = 'DENY'

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Production Deployment Steps

1

Install Dependencies

Set up a Python virtual environment and install requirements:
# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
Required packages:
  • Django==3.2.18
  • psycopg2==2.9.5 (PostgreSQL adapter)
  • asgiref==3.4.1
  • pytz==2022.7.1
  • Gunicorn (for WSGI server)
2

Set Environment Variables

Create a .env file or set environment variables:
# Security
export DJANGO_SECRET_KEY="your-secret-key-here"
export DJANGO_DEBUG="False"
export ALLOWED_HOSTS="yourdomain.com,www.yourdomain.com"

# Database
export DB_NAME="Proyecto"
export DB_USER="proyecto_user"
export DB_PASSWORD="secure_password"
export DB_HOST="localhost"
export DB_PORT="5432"

# Django settings module
export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE="proyecto.settings"
Use a tool like python-dotenv to load environment variables from a .env file, but never commit this file to version control.
3

Prepare Database

Set up the production database:
# Run migrations
python manage.py migrate

# Create superuser
python manage.py createsuperuser

# Collect static files
python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
See Database Setup for PostgreSQL configuration.
4

Install Gunicorn

Install Gunicorn as your WSGI HTTP server:
pip install gunicorn
5

Test Gunicorn

Test that Gunicorn can serve your application:
gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 proyecto.wsgi:application
Visit http://your-server:8000 to verify it works.

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WSGI Application

Proyecto’s WSGI application is defined in proyecto/wsgi.py:
proyecto/wsgi.py
import os
from django.core.wsgi import get_wsgi_application

os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'proyecto.settings')
application = get_wsgi_application()
This exposes the WSGI callable as application, which is used by Gunicorn, uWSGI, and other WSGI servers.

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Process Management with Systemd

Create a systemd service file to manage Gunicorn:
/etc/systemd/system/proyecto.service
[Unit]
Description=Proyecto Django Application
After=network.target

[Service]
User=www-data
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/proyecto
Environment="PATH=/var/www/proyecto/venv/bin"
EnvironmentFile=/var/www/proyecto/.env
ExecStart=/var/www/proyecto/venv/bin/gunicorn \
    --workers 3 \
    --bind unix:/var/www/proyecto/proyecto.sock \
    proyecto.wsgi:application

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
Start and enable the service: 
sudo systemctl start proyecto
sudo systemctl enable proyecto
sudo systemctl status proyecto
Adjust User, Group, and WorkingDirectory to match your deployment environment.

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Web Server Configuration

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Nginx Configuration

Configure Nginx as a reverse proxy:
/etc/nginx/sites-available/proyecto
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;

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

    location /static/ {
        alias /var/www/proyecto/staticfiles/;
    }

    location /media/ {
        alias /var/www/proyecto/media/;
    }

    location / {
        include proxy_params;
        proxy_pass http://unix:/var/www/proyecto/proyecto.sock;
    }
}
Enable the site: 
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/proyecto /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

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Apache Configuration

Alternatively, use Apache with mod_wsgi:
/etc/apache2/sites-available/proyecto.conf
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName yourdomain.com
    ServerAlias www.yourdomain.com

    WSGIDaemonProcess proyecto python-path=/var/www/proyecto python-home=/var/www/proyecto/venv
    WSGIProcessGroup proyecto
    WSGIScriptAlias / /var/www/proyecto/proyecto/wsgi.py

    Alias /static /var/www/proyecto/staticfiles
    Alias /media /var/www/proyecto/media

    <Directory /var/www/proyecto/proyecto>
        <Files wsgi.py>
            Require all granted
        </Files>
    </Directory>

    <Directory /var/www/proyecto/staticfiles>
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    <Directory /var/www/proyecto/media>
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

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SSL/HTTPS Setup

Always use HTTPS in production to encrypt data in transit and protect user credentials.

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Using Let’s Encrypt (Certbot)

1

Install Certbot

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
2

Obtain SSL Certificate

sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com
3

Auto-Renewal

Certbot automatically sets up renewal. Test it:
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

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Update Django Settings for HTTPS

Add these settings when using HTTPS:
proyecto/settings.py
SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT = True
SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE = True
CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE = True
SECURE_HSTS_SECONDS = 31536000
SECURE_HSTS_INCLUDE_SUBDOMAINS = True
SECURE_HSTS_PRELOAD = True

​
Gunicorn Configuration

Create a Gunicorn configuration file:
/var/www/proyecto/gunicorn_config.py
import multiprocessing

# Bind to Unix socket
bind = 'unix:/var/www/proyecto/proyecto.sock'

# Worker processes
workers = multiprocessing.cpu_count() * 2 + 1
worker_class = 'sync'
worker_connections = 1000

# Timeouts
timeout = 30
keepalive = 2

# Logging
accesslog = '/var/www/proyecto/logs/gunicorn-access.log'
errorlog = '/var/www/proyecto/logs/gunicorn-error.log'
loglevel = 'info'

# Process naming
proc_name = 'proyecto'

# Security
limit_request_line = 4096
limit_request_fields = 100
limit_request_field_size = 8190
Update systemd service to use the config: 
ExecStart=/var/www/proyecto/venv/bin/gunicorn \
    --config /var/www/proyecto/gunicorn_config.py \
    proyecto.wsgi:application

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Monitoring and Logging

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Application Logging

Configure Django logging in settings.py: 
LOGGING = {
    'version': 1,
    'disable_existing_loggers': False,
    'formatters': {
        'verbose': {
            'format': '{levelname} {asctime} {module} {message}',
            'style': '{',
        },
    },
    'handlers': {
        'file': {
            'level': 'INFO',
            'class': 'logging.FileHandler',
            'filename': '/var/www/proyecto/logs/django.log',
            'formatter': 'verbose',
        },
    },
    'root': {
        'handlers': ['file'],
        'level': 'INFO',
    },
}

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Monitoring Tools

Consider these monitoring solutions:
  • System metrics: Prometheus + Grafana
  • Application performance: New Relic, DataDog
  • Error tracking: Sentry
  • Uptime monitoring: UptimeRobot, Pingdom

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Health Check Endpoint

Create a simple health check view:
CTP/views.py
from django.http import JsonResponse
from django.db import connection

def health_check(request):
    try:
        # Check database connection
        connection.ensure_connection()
        return JsonResponse({'status': 'healthy'}, status=200)
    except Exception as e:
        return JsonResponse({'status': 'unhealthy', 'error': str(e)}, status=503)
Add to URLs: 
path('health/', health_check, name='health_check'),

​
Performance Optimization

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Database Connection Pooling

Install pgbouncer for PostgreSQL connection pooling: 
sudo apt install pgbouncer

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Caching

Add Redis caching: 
pip install django-redis
settings.py
CACHES = {
    'default': {
        'BACKEND': 'django_redis.cache.RedisCache',
        'LOCATION': 'redis://127.0.0.1:6379/1',
        'OPTIONS': {
            'CLIENT_CLASS': 'django_redis.client.DefaultClient',
        }
    }
}

​
Static File Compression

Enable gzip compression in Nginx: 
gzip on;
gzip_vary on;
gzip_proxied any;
gzip_comp_level 6;
gzip_types text/plain text/css text/xml text/javascript application/json application/javascript application/xml+rss;

​
Backup Strategy

Implement automated backups before going to production.

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Database Backups

Create a backup script:
/var/www/proyecto/scripts/backup.sh
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/backups/proyecto"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

# Create backup
pg_dump -U proyecto_user -h localhost Proyecto > "$BACKUP_DIR/db_$DATE.sql"

# Compress
gzip "$BACKUP_DIR/db_$DATE.sql"

# Keep only last 30 days
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "db_*.sql.gz" -mtime +30 -delete
Schedule with cron: 
0 2 * * * /var/www/proyecto/scripts/backup.sh

​
Media File Backups

Sync media files to remote storage: 
rsync -avz /var/www/proyecto/media/ backup-server:/backups/proyecto/media/

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Deployment Checklist

1

Security

  • DEBUG = False
  • Strong SECRET_KEY in environment variable
  • ALLOWED_HOSTS configured
  • HTTPS enabled with valid SSL certificate
  • Security headers configured
  • Database credentials in environment variables
2

Database

  • PostgreSQL installed and running
  • Database created
  • Migrations applied
  • Superuser created
  • Automated backups configured
3

Static Files

  • STATIC_ROOT configured
  • collectstatic executed
  • Web server serving static files
  • Media files directory created
4

Application Server

  • Gunicorn installed
  • Systemd service created and enabled
  • Application starts successfully
  • Logs directory created and writable
5

Web Server

  • Nginx/Apache installed and configured
  • Reverse proxy configured
  • SSL/HTTPS configured
  • Static and media files served correctly
6

Monitoring

  • Application logging configured
  • Health check endpoint created
  • Monitoring tools set up
  • Error tracking configured

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Troubleshooting

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502 Bad Gateway

Check Gunicorn is running: 
sudo systemctl status proyecto
journalctl -u proyecto -n 50

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Static Files Not Loading

Verify collectstatic was run and web server configuration: 
python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
sudo nginx -t

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Database Connection Errors

Verify database credentials and connectivity: 
psql -U proyecto_user -d Proyecto -h localhost

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Permission Errors

Ensure proper ownership: 
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/proyecto
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/proyecto

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Next Steps

After deployment:
  1. Monitor application logs for errors
  2. Set up automated backups
  3. Configure monitoring and alerting
  4. Perform load testing
  5. Document your deployment process
  6. Create a rollback plan
Keep a deployment checklist and update it as you refine your deployment process.

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