Production Deployment Checklist¶

This checklist ensures that all important aspects for a professional production system are covered.

Pre-Deployment¶

1. Code & Dependencies¶

[ ] All changes committed and tested
[ ] requirements.txt is up to date
[ ] Pre-deployment checks executed: python utils/pre_deployment_check.py
[ ] No debug output or test code in production

2. Environment Configuration¶

[ ] .env file created for production (or system environment variables)
[ ] SECRET_KEY set and secure (not the default value!)
[ ] DEBUG=False in production
[ ] ALLOWED_HOSTS correctly configured (not *)
[ ] CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS configured with HTTPS URLs
[ ] SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE=True (for HTTPS)
[ ] CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE=True (for HTTPS)

3. Database¶

[ ] Migrations reset/consolidated (if necessary)
[ ] Data migrations re-added (if necessary)
[ ] Backup strategy defined
[ ] Database backup created before deployment

4. Static & Media Files¶

[ ] STATIC_ROOT correctly configured
[ ] MEDIA_ROOT correctly configured
[ ] Directories exist and have correct permissions
[ ] Apache/Web server configured for static/media files

Deployment¶

5. Deployment Process¶

[ ] Deployment archive created: python utils/create_deployment_archive.py
[ ] Archive transferred to production server
[ ] Archive extracted on production server
[ ] Virtual environment activated
[ ] Dependencies installed: pip install -r requirements.txt
[ ] Deployment script executed: python utils/deploy_production.py
[ ] Pre-deployment checks on production server: python utils/pre_deployment_check.py

6. Application Server¶

[ ] Gunicorn configured (config/gunicorn_config.py)
[ ] Start/stop handled via script: scripts/mcc-web.sh

7. Web Server (Apache/Nginx)¶

[ ] Reverse proxy configured
[ ] SSL/TLS certificate installed
[ ] X-Forwarded-Proto header set
[ ] Static files served (not by Django)
[ ] Media files served (not by Django)
[ ] Health check endpoint reachable: /health/

Post-Deployment¶

8. Verification¶

[ ] Health check works: curl http://your-domain/health/
[ ] Admin interface reachable
[ ] API endpoints working
[ ] Static files served correctly
[ ] Media files served correctly
[ ] Translations working (DE/EN)
[ ] No errors in logs

9. Monitoring & Logging¶

[ ] Logging configured (File or Syslog)
[ ] Log rotation set up
[ ] Monitoring tools configured (optional)
[ ] Health check endpoint monitored

10. Backup & Maintenance¶

[ ] Automatic database backups set up (Cron)
[ ] Backup rotation configured
[ ] Media files backup strategy defined
[ ] Backup restoration tested

Security¶

11. Security Settings¶

[ ] SECRET_KEY securely stored (not in Git)
[ ] DEBUG=False in production
[ ] ALLOWED_HOSTS restrictively configured
[ ] HTTPS enforced
[ ] Security headers set (HSTS, CSP, etc.)
[ ] Admin interface protected (strong password)
[ ] API keys securely managed

12. File Permissions¶

[ ] Database file: Readable/writable for the configured user (the user that runs the application)
[ ] Media directory: Writable for the configured user
[ ] Static directory: Readable for the configured user
[ ] No sensitive files publicly accessible

Automation¶

13. Automated Tasks¶

[ ] Cron job for database backups: utils/backup_database.py
[ ] Log rotation configured

Documentation¶

14. Documentation¶

[ ] Deployment process documented
[ ] Rollback procedure documented
[ ] Backup restoration documented
[ ] Support contact information documented

Emergency Procedures¶

15. Rollback Plan¶

[ ] Rollback procedure defined
[ ] Backup restoration tested
[ ] Emergency contacts documented

Files Created¶

The following files were created for the professional setup:

config/gunicorn_config.py - Gunicorn configuration
utils/backup_database.py - Automatic backup script
utils/pre_deployment_check.py - Pre-deployment validation
Health Check Endpoint - /health/ in config/views.py

Quick Commands¶

# Pre-Deployment Checks
python utils/pre_deployment_check.py

# Create Backup
python utils/backup_database.py

# Deploy
python utils/deploy_production.py

# Check Health
curl http://your-domain/health/

# Server Control (Script)
/data/appl/mcc/mcc-web/scripts/mcc-web.sh status
/data/appl/mcc/mcc-web/scripts/mcc-web.sh restart

Cron Job Example¶

Add to /etc/crontab for daily backups:

Note: Replace USER with the username configured by the administrator that starts the application.

# Daily database backup at 2 AM
# USER = the user configured by the administrator (e.g., mcc, www-data, etc.)
0 2 * * * USER cd /data/appl/mcc/mcc-web && /data/appl/mcc/mcc-web/venv/bin/python utils/backup_database.py --keep-days 7 --compress

Log Rotation¶

Create /etc/logrotate.d/mcc-web:

Note: Replace USER and GROUP with the username and group configured by the administrator that starts the application.

/data/appl/mcc/mcc-web/logs/*.log {
    daily
    rotate 14
    compress
    delaycompress
    missingok
    notifempty
    create 0640 USER GROUP
    sharedscripts
    postrotate
        /data/appl/mcc/mcc-web/scripts/mcc-web.sh reload > /dev/null 2>&1 || true
    endscript
}

Notes¶

User: All scripts are executed by the configured user (defined by the administrator, e.g., mcc, www-data, etc.)
Cronjobs: Cronjobs are started by the configured user, not by www-data
Application Start: The software is started by the configured user, the user mcc is not mandatory
Backups should be tested regularly
Health check should be monitored by monitoring tools
Logs should be reviewed regularly