Server Setup

This is a way to setup Portainer & Nginx Proxy Manager to manage your server.

1. Create the volumes to persist data.

   docker volume create proxy_data
   docker volume create proxy_letsencrypt
   docker volume create portainer_data

2. Create the network for the proxied containers.

   docker network create proxy

   Reuse this in portainer later if you need to expose containers.

3. Deploy the compose file & open port 81 for Nginx Proxy Manager.

   # Adjust the time zone in the compose file.
   # Uncomment the port mapping for port 81 in the compose file.
   docker compose up -d

4. Point your domain for the proxy to the server.

5. Setup a proxy host for Nginx Proxy Manager to proxy it's own admin interface.

   proxy.your-domain.tld -> http://localhost:81

   Request a Let's Encrypt certificate and force ssl.

6. Close the port 81 and change your Nginx Proxy Manager password.

   docker compose down
   # Comment/remove the port mapping for port 81 in the compose file and recreate the containers.
   docker compose up -d

7. Continue using proxy.your-domain.tld with ssl for accessing Nginx Proxy Manager.

8. Setup your portainer domain.

9. Setup the proxy host for portainer.

   portainer.your-domain.tld -> https://portainer:9443

   Request a Let's Encrypt certificate and force ssl.

10. Verify force ssl is enabled for both domains, since it sometimes switches of when requesting a certificate.

Issues

Make sure your using IPv4 so that Nginx Proxy Manager can verify domain ownership for Let's Encrypt going through the docker network.