How to host Ackee on Hetzner VM Instance - ServerAvatar

Ackee is an open-source analytics platform designed to improve collaboration and communication within organizations. It provides features for analyzing data, managing content, and enhancing community engagement. With customizable modules and themes, Ackee enables businesses to customize their analytics environment to meet specific needs without requiring extensive technical knowledge. Hetzner is a dependable hosting option for Ackee, providing scalable infrastructure and simple deployment solutions. ServerAvatar makes it easy and user-friendly to deploy the Ackee application on the Hetzner platform.

Create a Server in Hetzner

Getting Started with Hetzner:

Hetzner provides a range of services like dedicated hosting, virtual private servers, colocation services, and domain registration. Hetzner is known for having reliable systems and competitive prices in web hosting. Its services work well for both individual users and businesses that need strong hosting options.

Step 1: Login to Hetzner Cloud Console

• Go to the Hetzner Cloud website and sign in using your credentials.

Step 2: Create a New Project (Optional)

• If you don't have an existing project, create a new one by clicking on the New Project button.

• Enter a name for your project and click Add Project.

Step 3: Select a Project

• Select the project in which you wish to create your server.

Step 4: Create a New Hetzner Cloud Server

• Navigate to the Servers sub-menu and click on Add Server to begin creating your server.

Step 5: Configure your server

1. Select a Location: Select the data center location where you want to deploy your server. Choose the region that is closest to your target audience for better performance.
2. Select an Image: ServerAvatar supports both Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 22.04. Therefore, choose one of these supported operating systems.
3. Select a Server Type: Hetzner provides various plans with different configurations of CPU, RAM, and storage. Select the server type based on your requirements. The minimum requirement is 2GB or more of RAM for better performance, especially if handling high traffic volumes, and a minimum of 10GB of free disk space depending on the volume of analytics data. So, select the plan based on the complexity and traffic of your sites.
4. Select Networking: Select from three networking options for your server. Private networks allow you to securely connect servers within the same data center without going over the public internet.
5. SSH Key or Root Password: Select an SSH Key if you want to authenticate with an SSH key. This method is recommended over using a root password for enhanced security. If you choose SSH key authentication, Hetzner will disable password-based authentication by default. Otherwise, you will receive the root password via email.
6. Add a Firewall Rule: Configure firewall rules to control incoming and outgoing traffic based on IP addresses, ports, and protocols for improved security.
7. Additional Options (Optional): Configure additional options such as Backups, Placement Groups, Volumes, Labels, and Cloud Config as per your Requirements.
8. Give a Server Name: Enter a server name for easy identification.
9. Finalize and Create: Review your configuration settings to ensure that everything is configured correctly. Click on the Create & Buy Now button.9. Finalize and Create: Review your configuration settings to ensure that everything is configured correctly. Click on the Create & Buy Now button.

Step 6: Access Your Server

• Once the server is deployed, it will appear on your Hetzner Cloud dashboard. Use the provided IP address and SSH key (if configured) to access your server via SSH. Now, You can connect your Server with ServerAvatar for Server management.

Initial Server Configuration

The Initial server configuration includes the installation and configuration of various packages required to host your website. Usually, You have to write commands and modify configuration files. Luckily, With ServerAvatar, Your full server configuration and optimization can be automated.

Here are the three ways to automatically configure your server with ServerAvatar.

wget https://srvr.so/install
chmod +x install
./install

Install and Setup Ackee on Cloud using ServerAvatar

Ackee Application: Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction:

Ackee is a self-hosted, open-source analytics tool that offers privacy-focused insights into website and application usage. It provides features comparable to traditional analytics platforms while prioritizing user privacy.

Here are Some Key Features of Ackee Analytics include:

• Privacy-Focused
• Self-Hosted
• Dashboard and Reporting
• Customizable
• Open Source

Prerequisites:

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• MongoDB (v4.4 or higher)
• Nginx

Installation:

Step 1: Create an Application

Go to the Applications tab on the ServerAvatar server panel and click on the Create button as shown in the image below.

To proceed with the installation and deployment of Ackee, ensure you have met the prerequisites.

• Enter an Application Name of your choice.
• Specify a Domain (choose between a Test Domain or a Primary Domain).
  • Note: If you're hosting Ackee on your domain, make sure your domain is correctly pointed to your server's current IP address.

Now, Clone Ackee from the available public repository in Github.

• Method: Git
• Service Provider: Github
• Repository Type: Public
• Clone HTTPS URL: https://github.com/electerious/Ackee.git
• Branch: master

To proceed further, provide additional information.

• Select a Rendering Type: Server Side Rendering
• Port: 3000 (Choose an available port to avoid conflicts)
• Package Installation Command: npm install
• Start App Command: npm start

Click on the Create Application button. You will be redirected to the Application Installation Status page, where you can monitor the installation process and view command outputs.

Once, all of your entered commands run successfully you will be redirected to the Application Dashboard.

Step 2: Create Ackee Database

Go to the server panel, navigate to the Databases tab, and click on the Create button as shown in the following image.

On the following screen, complete the database details, including:

• Database Name
• Database Username
• Database Password

Step 3: Setup .env file

• Navigate to the Application Panel tab by clicking on the icon next to the application as shown in the below image.

• Now, go to the FIle Manager option and open the public_html folder.

• Create a new file and name it .env

• Now, open the .env file by clicking on it.

• Add the following configurations into the .env file, replacing placeholders with actual values:

  • ACKEE_MONGODB=mongodb://db_username:db_password@localhost:27017/db_name
  • ACKEE_USERNAME=username
  • ACKEE_PASSWORD=password
  • PORT=port number

• Now, visit your configured domain name and enter the username and password you entered in .env

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and deployed Ackee through ServerAvatar.