How to Deploy a Node.js Community Site on Tencent Cloud: Step‑by‑Step Guide

Recently we acquired a Tencent Cloud server to build a community site. The architecture includes MongoDB as the database service, a Node.js + Express backend, and Nginx as the entry point.

Database service: MongoDB

Backend: Node.js + Express

Access: Nginx

The key steps from purchase to deployment are:

Server purchase

Nginx compilation, installation, and configuration

Node.js installation

MongoDB installation

Server deployment

Server Purchase

Find the purchase entry on the Tencent Cloud homepage. Choose the configuration you need; annual packages offer a discount (pay for 10 months only). After purchase, the machine’s IP is available within minutes.

Login to the Machine

<code>ssh [email protected]</code>

Log in first with username and password, then set up password‑less SSH.

Nginx Installation

Install Nginx using

apt-get

:

<code>sudo apt-get install nginx</code>

This is the simplest method, but it may not provide the latest version. To support HTTP/2 we need at least Nginx 1.9.5, so we compile the latest version from source.

<code>wget https://nginx.org/download/nginx-1.10.1.tar.gz
 tar -xvf nginx-1.10.1.tar.gz
 cd nginx-1.10.1

 # Install build dependencies
 sudo apt-get install make libssl-dev zlib1g-dev openssl pcre3-dev

 # Configure and compile
 ./configure --with-http_ssl_module --with-http_v2_module
 make
 sudo make install

 # Create a symlink for the nginx command
 sudo ln -s /usr/local/nginx/sbin/nginx /usr/local/sbin/nginx

 # Verify installation
 nginx -V

 # Set up automatic start
 sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JasonGiedymin/nginx-init-ubuntu/master/nginx -O /etc/init.d/nginx
 sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/nginx
 sudo update-rc.d -f nginx defaults

 # Start Nginx
 sudo /etc/init.d/nginx start</code>

MongoDB Installation

MongoDB can be installed directly with

apt-get

:

<code>sudo apt-get install mongodb

# Enable auto‑start on boot
sudo update-rc.d -f mongodb defaults

# Start MongoDB
sudo /etc/init.d/mongodb start</code>

Node.js Installation

<code># Download pre‑compiled Node.js
wget https://nodejs.org/dist/v4.6.0/node-v4.6.0-linux-x64.tar.xz
 tar -xvf node-v4.6.0-linux-x64.tar.xz
 cd node-v4.6.0-linux-x64

# Copy binaries to /usr/local
sudo cp -r bin include lib share /usr/local/

# Verify installation
node -v</code>

Server Deployment

Preparation steps:

<code># Create deployment directory
sudo mkdir -p /data/www/ivweb.io

# Create a dedicated user and group
sudo groupadd www
sudo useradd www -g www -d /data/www

# Set permissions for /data
sudo chown www:www /data

# Install forever to keep the Node app running
sudo npm install -g forever</code>

Synchronize files to the server using rsync (Windows users need to install rsync first):

<code>rsync -rtzvlC --exclude node_modules --exclude ".git" \
    ./ "[email protected]:/data/www/ivweb.io"</code>

Start the application:

<code># Log in as www
cd /data/www/ivweb.io
# Install project dependencies
npm install
# Launch the app with forever
forever start app.js

# Check running processes
forever list
# View logs in real time
# tail -f XXX.log</code>

Finally, configure Nginx to proxy the Node app and restart Nginx. The site is now live.