Three-Tier Application Deployment using Docker Compose

Three-Tier Application using Docker Compose

Overview

This project demonstrates a real-world three-tier architecture deployed using Docker Compose.
The application is fully containerized and includes a React frontend, Node.js backend, and a MySQL database with persistent storage.

It highlights how multi-service applications can be orchestrated locally using Docker while maintaining clean separation of concerns.

Architecture

React.js frontend container
Node.js REST API backend container
MySQL database container
Docker Compose for orchestration
Docker Volumes for data persistence

Key Highlights

✅ Three-tier architecture implementation
✅ Multi-container setup using Docker Compose
✅ Persistent MySQL storage with Docker volumes
✅ One-command deployment workflow
✅ Clean separation of frontend, backend, and database

Deployment Flow

Clone the repository
Build Docker images for frontend and backend
Start all services using Docker Compose
Backend connects to MySQL via internal Docker network
Frontend communicates with backend API
Application accessible via browser

Application Components

🗄️ Database Layer

MySQL for structured data storage
Docker Volumes for persistence

⚙️ Backend Layer

Node.js REST API
Handles business logic and database communication

🎨 Frontend Layer

React.js UI
Communicates with backend via HTTP APIs

Tech Stack

Frontend

React.js
HTML, CSS, JavaScript

Backend

Node.js
Express.js (API layer)

Database

MySQL

DevOps & Containerization

Docker
Docker Compose

Project Structure

.
├── backend/              # Node.js backend (API)
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── ...
├── frontend/             # React.js frontend
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── ...
├── docker-compose.yml    # Docker Compose configuration
├── student-teacher-app/  # Application source code
└── README.md

Data Persistence

MySQL uses Docker Volumes
Data survives container restarts and rebuilds
Ensures reliability during development and testing

Why This Project Matters

Demonstrates core DevOps fundamentals
Shows practical understanding of container orchestration
Mirrors real-world application architecture
Serves as a foundation for Kubernetes-based deployments

Use Cases

DevOps portfolio project
Docker Compose reference
Three-tier architecture learning
Local development environment setup

Future Enhancements

Migrate deployment to Kubernetes
Add Nginx reverse proxy
Implement environment-based configuration
Integrate monitoring (Prometheus & Grafana)
Add CI/CD pipeline