🐳 Multi-Distribution VPS Testing Environment

A comprehensive Docker-based testing environment that simulates multiple Linux VPS distributions for local deployment testing. Test your applications across 8 different Linux distributions organized by family, with advanced state management capabilities.

🔧 WSL & Docker Desktop Management

Need to reinstall or optimize Docker Desktop and WSL 2? Check out our dedicated toolkit:

📦 WSL & Docker Desktop Manager - Complete automation for:

💾 Backing up Docker containers, images, and volumes
🗑️ Safely uninstalling Docker Desktop and WSL
🚀 Reinstalling WSL 2 with dynamic disk allocation (expandable storage)
🐳 Reinstalling Docker Desktop with optimized WSL 2 backend
📊 Windows 11 specific optimizations and monitoring tools

Perfect for solving storage issues, performance problems, or when you need a clean slate for Docker and WSL!

🎨 TUI Form Designer

Looking to create beautiful terminal user interfaces? Check out our TUI development toolkit:

📦 TUI Form Designer - Professional TUI development platform:

🖼️ Visual form designer for terminal applications
🐍 Python-based framework with modern architecture
🎯 Component-based UI system
📋 Form validation and data handling
🚀 Cross-platform terminal applications

Perfect for creating professional command-line tools and terminal-based applications!

🎛️ Multi-Repository Development Workspace

Want to work with all three projects simultaneously? Use our integrated VS Code workspace:

🚀 Open the Workspace: multi-repo-workspace.code-workspace

🐳 VPS Testing Environment (this repository)
🔧 WSL & Docker Manager (system management)
🎨 TUI Form Designer (terminal UI development)

Quick Start: File → Open Workspace from File... → multi-repo-workspace.code-workspace

�🚀 START HERE - One Script Per Platform

Windows Users (PowerShell)

.\START-WINDOWS.bat

Linux/macOS Users

./start-linux.sh

That's it! These are the ONLY two scripts you need to remember for launching the interactive VPS environment.

📁 Clean Workspace Structure

Root Directory/
├── START-WINDOWS.bat     ← Windows launcher
├── start-linux.sh        ← Linux launcher  
├── docker-compose.yml    ← Docker configuration
├── README.md            ← This documentation
└── project/             ← All other files organized here
    ├── advanced-launcher.py
    ├── organized-family-builder.py
    ├── families/        ← Family-based build system
    ├── distros/         ← Distribution Dockerfiles
    ├── deployment-examples/
    └── ... (build & test scripts)

No more confusion! Just 4 essential files in the root directory.

🎯 Purpose

Perfect for developers who need to:

Test deployments across different Linux distributions locally
Validate application compatibility before production deployment
Learn deployment procedures on various distros without VPS costs
Practice server administration on different Linux families
Test automation scripts across multiple environments
Simulate upgrade scenarios with snapshot and restore capabilities

� Prerequisites

Required Software

Docker Desktop - Container runtime
- Windows: Download from docker.com
- Enable WSL2 backend for best performance
Python 3.6+ - For the launcher scripts
- Install: winget install Python.Python.3.12
- Or download from python.org
SSH Client - For connecting to VPS containers
- Windows: Built into Windows 10/11
- Or use PuTTY, Windows Terminal, etc.

System Requirements

RAM: 4GB+ (8GB recommended for multiple containers)
Storage: 10GB+ free space for container images
Network: Internet access for building containers

�🐧 Available Distributions

Debian Family (apt package manager)

Distribution	SSH Port	Container Name	Volume
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS	2201	ubuntu-vps	ubuntu-persistent
Debian 12 Bookworm	2202	debian-vps	debian-persistent

Red Hat Family (yum/dnf package manager)

Distribution	SSH Port	Container Name	Volume
Rocky Linux 9	2203	rocky-vps	rocky-persistent
CentOS Stream 9	2204	centos-vps	centos-persistent

Alpine Family (apk package manager)

Distribution	SSH Port	Container Name	Volume
Alpine Linux 3.18	2205	alpine-vps	alpine-persistent

SUSE Family (zypper package manager)

Distribution	SSH Port	Container Name	Volume
openSUSE Leap 15.5	2206	opensuse-vps	opensuse-persistent

Arch Family (pacman package manager)

Distribution	SSH Port	Container Name	Volume
Arch Linux	2207	arch-vps	arch-persistent
Slackware 15.0	2208	slackware-vps	slackware-persistent

🚀 Quick Start

Interactive Launcher (Recommended)

# Start the interactive launcher
.\launch-vps.bat

# Or directly with Python
python advanced-launcher.py

Command Line Usage

# Fresh Ubuntu container (no persistent data)
python advanced-launcher.py --family debian --distribution ubuntu --mode fresh

# Persistent Rocky Linux server
python advanced-launcher.py --family redhat --distribution rocky --mode persistent

# Create a snapshot
python advanced-launcher.py --family debian --distribution ubuntu --mode snapshot --state backup1

# Restore from snapshot
python advanced-launcher.py --family debian --distribution ubuntu --mode restore --state backup1

# Upgrade existing server
python advanced-launcher.py --family redhat --distribution rocky --mode upgrade

Management Commands

# Check status of all VPS containers
python manage-vps.py status

# Connect to a specific VPS
python manage-vps.py connect ubuntu
python manage-vps.py connect rocky

# Stop all VPS containers
python manage-vps.py stop

SSH Access

# Connect to any VPS (password: vpsuser123)
ssh vpsuser@localhost -p 2201  # Ubuntu
ssh vpsuser@localhost -p 2203  # Rocky Linux
ssh vpsuser@localhost -p 2205  # Alpine Linux
# ... etc

🎮 Launch Modes

🧹 Fresh Install Mode

Clean container with no persistent data
Fastest startup time
Perfect for testing clean deployments
All changes lost when container stops

💾 Persistent Server Mode

Data persists between sessions
Acts like a real VPS with permanent storage
Changes saved automatically to named volumes
Ideal for development and iterative testing

� Upgrade Mode

Updates existing persistent server
Rebuilds image with latest packages
Preserves user data and configurations
Simulates real server upgrades

📸 Snapshot Mode

Saves current server state to named backup
Creates restore points before major changes
Multiple snapshots per distribution supported
Quick rollback capability

📥 Restore Mode

Restores from previous snapshots
Overwrites current persistent data
Interactive snapshot selection
Perfect for testing different configurations

�🛠️ Each VPS Includes

SSH Server - Full terminal access with key/password auth
Docker - Container runtime for testing deployments
Package Managers - apt, dnf/yum, apk, zypper, pacman (distro-specific)
Development Tools - git, vim, nano, htop, curl, wget, build-essential
Programming Languages - Python3, Node.js, development libraries
System Tools - systemd, cron, firewall, networking tools
User Account - vpsuser with sudo privileges (password: vpsuser123)
Persistent Storage - Optional volumes for data persistence

📁 Project Structure

.
├── distros/                    # Individual distribution configs
│   ├── ubuntu/Dockerfile      # Ubuntu 22.04 LTS setup
│   ├── debian/Dockerfile      # Debian 12 Bookworm setup  
│   ├── rocky/Dockerfile       # Rocky Linux 9 setup
│   ├── centos/Dockerfile      # CentOS Stream 9 setup
│   ├── alpine/Dockerfile      # Alpine Linux 3.18 setup
│   ├── opensuse/Dockerfile    # openSUSE Leap 15.5 setup
│   ├── arch/Dockerfile        # Arch Linux setup
│   └── slackware/Dockerfile   # Slackware 15.0 setup
├── advanced-launcher.py       # Main Python launcher (interactive & CLI)
├── manage-vps.py             # VPS management utilities
├── launch-vps.bat            # Windows batch launcher
├── vps.bat                   # Quick alias
├── docker-compose.yml        # Multi-VPS orchestration with profiles
└── README.md                 # This file

├── stop-server.ps1 # Shutdown script └── manage-vps.ps1 # VPS management utilities


## 🔧 Management Commands

### PowerShell Scripts

```powershell
# List available VPS environments
.\manage-vps.ps1 -Action list

# Check status of all containers
.\manage-vps.ps1 -Action status

# Connect to a specific VPS
.\manage-vps.ps1 -Action connect -Distro ubuntu

# View logs
.\manage-vps.ps1 -Action logs -Service ubuntu-vps

# Restart a service
.\manage-vps.ps1 -Action restart -Service debian-vps

# Rebuild all images
.\manage-vps.ps1 -Action build

Docker Compose Profiles

# Start specific distributions
docker-compose --profile ubuntu up -d
docker-compose --profile rhel up -d      # Rocky + CentOS
docker-compose --profile testing up -d   # Include test services

# Stop specific distributions
docker-compose --profile debian down

🧪 Testing Deployments

Node.js Application Example

Copy example to VPS:

ssh vpsuser@localhost -p 2201
cp -r /home/vpsuser/shared/deployment-examples/nodejs-app ./
cd nodejs-app

Deploy:
```
chmod +x deploy.sh
./deploy.sh
```

Test:

curl http://localhost:3000
curl http://localhost:3000/health

Python Flask Application Example

Copy example to VPS:

ssh vpsuser@localhost -p 2202  # Debian VPS
cp -r /home/vpsuser/shared/deployment-examples/python-flask ./
cd python-flask

Deploy:
```
chmod +x deploy.sh
./deploy.sh
```

Test:

curl http://localhost:5000
curl http://localhost:5000/system

🌐 Network Access

Each VPS has dedicated ports for external access:

From Your Host Machine

Ubuntu: http://localhost:3001, http://localhost:5001, http://localhost:8001
Debian: http://localhost:3002, http://localhost:5002, http://localhost:8002
Rocky: http://localhost:3003, http://localhost:5003, http://localhost:8003
CentOS: http://localhost:3004, http://localhost:5004, http://localhost:8004
Alpine: http://localhost:3005, http://localhost:5005, http://localhost:8005

Between VPS Containers

All VPS containers can communicate with each other using:

Container names: ubuntu-vps, debian-vps, etc.
IP addresses: 172.20.0.10, 172.20.0.20, etc.

📋 Common Use Cases

1. Cross-Distribution Testing

Deploy the same application to multiple distros and compare:

# Test on Ubuntu
ssh vpsuser@localhost -p 2201
./deploy-app.sh

# Test on Rocky Linux
ssh vpsuser@localhost -p 2203
./deploy-app.sh

# Test on Alpine
ssh vpsuser@localhost -p 2205
./deploy-app.sh

2. Package Manager Testing

Learn different package managers:

# Ubuntu/Debian (apt)
sudo apt update && sudo apt install nginx

# Rocky/CentOS (dnf)
sudo dnf install nginx

# Alpine (apk)
sudo apk add nginx

3. Service Management Testing

Test systemd vs other init systems:

# Most distros (systemd)
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

# Alpine (OpenRC)
sudo rc-service nginx start
sudo rc-update add nginx default

4. Automation Script Testing

Test deployment automation across distros:

# Your script should handle different package managers
if command -v apt-get &> /dev/null; then
    sudo apt-get install -y $PACKAGE
elif command -v dnf &> /dev/null; then
    sudo dnf install -y $PACKAGE
elif command -v apk &> /dev/null; then
    sudo apk add $PACKAGE
fi

🔒 Security Notes

Development Only: This environment is for testing, not production
Default Passwords: All VPS use vpsuser:vpsuser123 for convenience
Privileged Containers: Required for systemd and Docker-in-Docker
Open Ports: All containers expose multiple ports to localhost only

🛠️ Customization

Adding a New Distribution

Create distros/newdistro/Dockerfile
Add service to docker-compose.yml
Update port mappings and network settings
Add to management scripts

Modifying VPS Configuration

Each distros/*/Dockerfile can be customized to:

Install additional packages
Configure services differently
Add custom users or SSH keys
Mount additional volumes

Adding Custom Applications

Place your deployment examples in:

deployment-examples/your-app/
Include README, deployment scripts, and test files
Use the shared folder to make them available to all VPS

🔄 Cleanup

# Stop all containers
.\stop-server.ps1

# Remove all containers and volumes
.\stop-server.ps1 -RemoveVolumes

# Clean up Docker system
docker system prune -a

💡 Pro Tips

Use VS Code Remote: Connect VS Code directly to containers for development
Snapshot States: Use docker commit to save configured VPS states
Volume Backups: Back up important data from Docker volumes
Resource Monitoring: Use docker stats to monitor resource usage
Network Testing: Test inter-container communication and load balancing

This environment gives you a complete Linux VPS testing lab right on your laptop! 🚀

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 11 Commits
project		project
.gitignore		.gitignore
ISSUES.md		ISSUES.md
OPEN-WORKSPACE.md		OPEN-WORKSPACE.md
README.md		README.md
START-WINDOWS.bat		START-WINDOWS.bat
TUI-FORM-DESIGNER.md		TUI-FORM-DESIGNER.md
TUI_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md		TUI_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md
WSL-DOCKER-MANAGER.md		WSL-DOCKER-MANAGER.md
docker-compose.yml		docker-compose.yml
multi-repo-workspace.code-workspace		multi-repo-workspace.code-workspace
setup_venv.ps1		setup_venv.ps1
start-linux.sh		start-linux.sh
verify-workspace.ps1		verify-workspace.ps1

JustinCBates/devcontainer_server_docker

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