Apiqcloud dashboard allows adjusting some of the most commonly required Docker container settings without the necessity to access it via SSH. For that, we’ve integrated the Docker container settings dialog frame to the Apiqcloud topology wizard. Simultaneously powerful and user-friendly, it gives you the ability to configure your containers in the easiest and comfortable way.

• via topology wizard - click on the New environment button and add the needed container(s) or hit the Change environment topology button for the already created environment.
  
  
  

  
  
  Then choose a container that needs to be tuned and select the appropriate Configuration section at the bottom (circled in the image above).

  Tip: With Apiqcloud, any container can be preconfigured even before being created - the necessary data is automatically fetched from image manifest upon accessing the configuration wizard.

• directly from the dashboard - hover over your Docker-based environment, click on the gear icon next to the required layer and pick one of the quick access options from the expanded list

  

After that, the Docker layer settings window will appear:

As you can see, it contains 5 separate sections with the next settings’ options (follow the appropriate guide below for the section you are interested in):

• Variables
• Links
• Volumes
• Ports
• Cmd /Entry Point

• Embedded file manager
• Log file
• Access via SSH

File Manager

The in-built Apiqcloud Configuration Manager is designed to manage the files inside your container (including the ones, that are available and/or exported by means of Data Storage Container functionality). The appropriate tab can be opened by clicking on the Config button next to the necessary node (or the whole layer):

• Root (File Manager) - gives you easy access to container local filesystem, where you can operate the comprised data and instance settings within the corresponding configuration files
• Mount Points - list of folders, that are physically stored on a remote node but can be used at a current container through mounting the directories with required data
• Exports - list of folders, which are shared with other nodes, i.e. are exported to be available at the remote instances whilst being stored locally

• Favorites - files and folders you’ve marked as favorites so that you have quick and simple access to them (where paths to added volumes are added to this section by default)
  

Being granted the full root permissions while working with Docker’s file manager, you can take full control over image file system with no extra tools required. However, be aware of what you are modifying, as in case something will get broken, the changes you’ve applied couldn’t be automatically reverted.

Logs

Another section of the Apiqcloud dashboard, which may help you to manage your Docker-based solutions, is Logs. Here, the data on all aspects of your container’s lifecycle is gathered, which may come in handy while troubleshooting and/or debugging your Dockerized application or service.

The log files inside a container are automatically rotated, so when any of them reaches the size of 50 MB, it is automatically compressed and moved to the dedicated rotated_logs directory. To view such archives (if necessary), you need to enter the appropriate container via SSH and download them for examining locally. The compressed logs are stored for 7 days, after which they will be automatically removed, being considered as obsolete data.

Also, when creating a new Docker-based environment or redeploying the already existing containers with another tag version, you’ll be proposed to Show Logs within the corresponding dashboard notification after the operation is finished.

• In case of container creation, the dedicated run.log file will be automatically opened (if such was predefined within the deployed template), where the main information on container start up and appeared errors (if any occurred) are stored

• If initiating container redeploy, you’ll be shown the details on the performed update, with the appropriate node(s) ID, tag version and process duration

SSH Access

If you prefer to manage your containers via terminal, you can easily connect to any of them via SSH, no matter whether has it the external IP address attached or not. With the full root permissions automatically granted, you get true freedom for operating your instances through executing the necessary operations directly from your local machine.

In addition, the platform is supplied with the dedicated Apiqcloud CLI client, which allows handling the vast majority of operations, required for your application’s lifecycle management, by means of a set of special scripts. Herewith, the structure of the commands this could be accomplished through is completely similar to the Apiqcloud API hierarchy, so you can easily get used to the client.