Databases

How to configure your Databases

Utopia's platform utilizes three main databases: MongoDB, MySQL, and Redis. When setting up these databases in your environment, you have two primary options:

1. Hosted Separately: You can choose to host these databases externally, meaning they are not part of your Docker container setup but are located and managed separately.

2. Hosted within Docker Container: Alternatively, the databases can be automatically set up within your Docker container during the installation process.

Configuration Steps:

1. Bring Your Own Database (BYOD) Option:

   • If you choose to use external databases, select the "Bring Your Own Database" option in the configurator.

   • Upon selection, an input box will appear where you can enter your database connection details (i.e. connection strings). An example format for these details is provided in a greyed-out text as a guide.

   • Note: When you opt for external databases, Docker will not set up internal databases as part of the installation process.

2. Default Docker Database Setup:

   • If you prefer Docker to handle the database setup, simply leave the "Bring Your Own Database" option unchecked.

   • In this case, the necessary database images will be automatically set up as part of your Docker Compose configuration. This means Docker will take care of creating and integrating the databases into your container environment during the installation.

Finalizing Your Choice:

We recommend you host the databases within the Container for a Docker install - its ideal for Demo and Proof of Concept projects. This method integrates the databases directly into your Docker environment, making them easier to manage as part of your overall installation.

If you are planning to manage the databases separately then this has many advantages but lends itself to a production environment, as it comes with additional hosting costs for the external databases. If you are looking to host the databases independently then we suggest you look at a Kubernetes install that is more suited to a production ready environment.