Introducing the New Docker Compose Installation Option for F5 NGINX Instance Manager

F5 NGINX Instance Manager (NIM) is a centralised management solution designed to simplify the administration and monitoring of F5 NGINX instances across various environments, including on-premises, cloud, and hybrid infrastructures. It provides a single interface to efficiently oversee multiple NGINX instances, making it particularly useful for organizations using NGINX at scale.

We’re excited to introduce a new Docker Compose installation option for NGINX Instance Manager, designed to help you get up and running faster than ever before, in just a couple of steps.

Key Features:

• Quick and Easy Installation: With just a couple of steps, you can pull and deploy NGINX Instance Manager on any Docker host, without having to manually configure multiple components. The image is available in our container registry, so once you have a valid license to access it, getting up and running is as simple as pulling the container.
• Fault-Tolerant and Resilient: This installation option is designed with fault tolerance in mind. Persistent storage ensures your data is safe even in the event of container restarts or crashes. Additionally, with a separate database container, your product’s data is isolated, adding an extra layer of resilience and making it easier to manage backups and restores.
• Seamless Upgrades: Upgrades are a breeze. You can update to the latest version of NGINX Instance Manager by simply updating the image tag in your Docker Compose file. This makes it easy to stay up-to-date with the latest features and improvements without worrying about downtime or complex upgrade processes.
• Backup and Restore Options: To ensure your data is protected, this installation option comes with built-in backup and restore capabilities. Easily back up your data to a safe location and restore it in case of any issues.
• Environment Configuration Flexibility: The Docker Compose setup allows you to define custom environment variables, giving you full control over configuration settings such as log levels, timeout values, and more.
• Production-Ready: Designed for scalability and reliability, this installation method is ready for production environments. With proper resource allocation and tuning, you can deploy NGINX Instance Manager to handle heavy workloads while maintaining performance.

 

The following steps walk you through how to deploy and manage NGINX Instance Manager using Docker Compose.

What you need

• A working version of Docker
• Your NGINX subscription’s JSON Web Token from MyF5
• This pre-configured docker-compose.yaml file:
•  Download docker-compose.yaml file .

 

Step 1 - Set up Docker for NGINX container registry

Log in to the Docker registry using the contents of the JSON Web Token file you downloaded from MyF5 :

docker login private-registry.nginx.com --username=<JWT_CONTENTS> --password=none

 

Step 2 -  Run “docker login” and then “docker compose up” in the directory where you downloaded docker-compose.yaml

Note: You can optionally set the Administrator password for NGINX Instance Manager prior to running Docker Compose.

 

~$ docker login private-registry.nginx.com --username=<JWT_CONTENTS> --password=none

~$ echo "admin" > admin_password.txt

~$ docker compose up -d

[+] Running 6/6

 ✔ Network nim_clickhouse        Created                                                                                           0.1s

 ✔ Network nim_external_network  Created                                                                                           0.2s

 ✔ Network nim_default           Created                                                                                           0.2s

 ✔ Container nim-precheck-1      Started                                                                                           0.8s

 ✔ Container nim-clickhouse-1    Healthy                                                                                           6.7s

 ✔ Container nim-nim-1           Started                                                                                           7.4s.

 

Step 3 – Access NGINX Instance Manager

Go to the NGINX Instance Manager UI on https://<<DOCKER_HOST>>:443 and license the product using the same JSON Web Token you downloaded from MyF5 earlier.

 

Conclusion

With this new setup, you can install and run NGINX Instance Manager  on any Docker host in just 3 steps, dramatically reducing setup time and simplifying deployment. Whether you are working in a development environment or deploying to production, the Docker Compose-based solution ensures a seamless and reliable experience.

 

For more information on using the docker compose option with NGINX Instance manager such as running a backup and restore, using secrets, and many more, please see the instructions here.