Excellent PaaS for In-House Deployments
Rating: 9 out of 10
IncentivizedUse Cases and Deployment Scope
I use Dokku as a platform to orchestrate the deployment of and connect services to multiple in-house applications. It is an incredibly versatile tool that doesn't require much configuration to get started with but allows countless options to address your specific needs. Its ability to restart stopped serviced and connect services like Redis to my apps is invaluable.
Pros
- Dockerfile deployments are an incredibly simple and straightforward way to spin up applications.
- The docker-options plugin allows endless direct configuration of options passed to different docker lifecycle stages.
Cons
- Dokku might overreach on its assumptions about how you want to host your app, using its own VHOSTS plugin by default. This may be a pro or a con depending on what you want.
- Proxy port configuration can be somewhat difficult, with Dokku resetting any pre-deployment configuration to "smart" defaults on the first deployment.
Likelihood to Recommend
If you have your own in-house servers or have a cloud server with the freedom to configure any PaaS that you want, then Dokku is for you. So far, I have never run into a scenario where Dokku was not able to fit my needs, after deploying many different types of applications with varying frameworks, languages, and connected services. If you already have a PaaS available, however, Dokku may not be for you.
Vetted Review
2 years of experience