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Flight Trajectory Visualizer Deployment Guide

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for deploying the Flight Trajectory Visualizer application on a server where you don't have root access.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.8 or higher installed on the server
  • Access to a terminal/SSH on the server
  • Ability to create directories and run Python in your user space

Step 1: Prepare Your Environment

# Log in to your server
ssh username@your-server.com

# Create a directory for your application
mkdir -p ~/apps/flight-visualizer
cd ~/apps/flight-visualizer

# Create a virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

Step 2: Transfer Files to Your Server

Option 1: Using SCP (from your local machine):

# Compress your project files
zip -r flight_visualizer.zip .

# Transfer to your server
scp flight_visualizer.zip username@your-server.com:~/apps/flight-visualizer/

Option 2: Using Git (if your project is in a Git repository):

# On your server
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/flight-visualizer.git .

Option 3: Manual file upload (using SFTP or your hosting provider's file manager)

Step 3: Extract Files (if using zip)

# On your server
cd ~/apps/flight-visualizer
unzip flight_visualizer.zip

Step 4: Install Dependencies

# Ensure your virtual environment is activated
source venv/bin/activate

# Install all required packages
pip install -r deployment_requirements.txt

Step 5: Configure Environment Variables

# Create a .env file or export variables
touch .env
echo "SESSION_SECRET=your_secure_random_string" >> .env
echo "PORT=8080" >> .env

# Load environment variables
export SESSION_SECRET=$(grep SESSION_SECRET .env | cut -d '=' -f2)
export PORT=$(grep PORT .env | cut -d '=' -f2)

Step 6: Test Your Application

# Run the application with gunicorn
gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:$PORT main:app

Visit http://your-server.com:8080 to test if your application is running correctly.

Step 7: Set Up for Production

For long-running deployment, you can use one of these methods:

Option A: Using Screen

# Install screen if not already available
pip install screen --user  # If allowed

# Start a new screen session
screen -S flight-visualizer

# Start your application
gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:$PORT --workers 3 main:app

# Detach from screen by pressing Ctrl+A, then D

Option B: Using nohup

# Start the application in the background
nohup gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:$PORT --workers 3 main:app > app.log 2>&1 &

# Note the process ID
echo $! > app.pid

Option C: Using Supervisor (if available)

If supervisor is installed and accessible without root:

  1. Create a configuration file ~/supervisor/flight-visualizer.conf:
[program:flight-visualizer]
command=/home/username/apps/flight-visualizer/venv/bin/gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:8080 --workers 3 main:app
directory=/home/username/apps/flight-visualizer
user=username
autostart=true
autorestart=true
stderr_logfile=/home/username/apps/flight-visualizer/logs/supervisor.err.log
stdout_logfile=/home/username/apps/flight-visualizer/logs/supervisor.out.log
  1. Create the logs directory:
mkdir -p ~/apps/flight-visualizer/logs
  1. Start with supervisor:
supervisorctl -c ~/supervisor/supervisord.conf start flight-visualizer

Troubleshooting

  1. Port already in use: Try a different port number
  2. Memory issues: Adjust the number of gunicorn workers
  3. Permission denied: Check file permissions with chmod
  4. Module not found errors: Ensure all dependencies are installed
  5. Application errors: Check logs with tail -f app.log

Useful Commands

  • Check if your application is running: ps aux | grep gunicorn
  • Kill the application: kill $(cat app.pid) or pkill -f "gunicorn.*main:app"
  • View logs: tail -f app.log
  • Reattach to screen: screen -r flight-visualizer

Security Considerations

  1. Never expose debugging mode in production
  2. Generate a strong random string for SESSION_SECRET
  3. Don't store sensitive credentials in your code
  4. Consider using HTTPS if possible (may require your hosting provider's support)