Backend Deployment - Digital Ocean App Platform

Migration Date: February 6, 2026

Overview

Migrated from self-hosted PM2 service on droplet to Digital Ocean App Platform (Sydney region).

Deployment Details

• Platform: Digital Ocean App Platform
• App ID: fae2d400-6b1d-445f-ac49-7335b8e3b0b3
• URL: https://rmm-psa-backend-t9f7k.ondigitalocean.app
• Region: Sydney (syd)
• Port: 8080
• Auto-deploy: Enabled (triggers on push to main branch)

Architecture Changes

Previous Setup:

• Backend running on droplet via PM2
• All services co-located on single server

Current Setup:

• Backend on DO App Platform (serverless)
• Redis on external droplet (209.38.80.86:6379)
• AI (llama.cpp) on external droplet (209.38.80.86:11435)
• PostgreSQL managed database
• Workers (banking, neto-xero) still on droplet

Environment Variables

Required environment variables configured in DO App Platform:

• NODE_ENV=production
• PORT=8080
• DATABASE_URL (managed PostgreSQL)
• REDIS_HOST, REDIS_PORT, REDIS_USERNAME, REDIS_PASSWORD
• LLAMA_CPP_ENDPOINT, LLAMA_CPP_MODEL
• JWT_SECRET
• GITHUB_TOKEN (for private repo access to releases)
• GITHUB_ORG=Independent-Business-Group
• GITHUB_AGENT_REPO=rmm-psa-agent-v2

MeshCentral Auto-Sync Worker:

• POSTGRES_HOST, POSTGRES_PORT, POSTGRES_USER, POSTGRES_PASSWORD (for MeshCentral DB)
• MESHCENTRAL_URL (e.g., https://rmm-psa-meshcentral-aq48h.ondigitalocean.app)
• MESHCENTRAL_ADMIN_USER, MESHCENTRAL_ADMIN_PASS (admin credentials)
• MESHCENTRAL_AUTO_SYNC=true (enables automatic device sync)

Key Changes

1. Removed Git Update Checker: No longer needed with DO App Platform auto-deploy
2. CORS Configuration: Added dashboard URL (https://rmm-psa-dashboard-5jyun.ondigitalocean.app)
3. GitHub Releases Integration:
   • New /api/releases/* endpoints for agent downloads
   • Proxies downloads from GitHub Releases (eliminates DO Spaces need)
4. External Redis: Configured ACL user doapp with full permissions

Deployment Commands

# Deploy from spec
doctl apps create --spec app-specs/backend-app.yaml
 
# Update app
doctl apps update fae2d400-6b1d-445f-ac49-7335b8e3b0b3 --spec app-specs/backend-app.yaml
 
# Check status
doctl apps get fae2d400-6b1d-445f-ac49-7335b8e3b0b3
 
# View logs
doctl apps logs fae2d400-6b1d-445f-ac49-7335b8e3b0b3 --type run

Health Check

• Endpoint: /api/health
• Expected: All services (redis, llama, database) report as healthy

Cost Savings

• Eliminated DO Spaces: $5-20/month
• Eliminated build droplet: $12+/month
• Backend: ~$12/month (Basic plan)

GitHub Repository

• Organization: Independent-Business-Group
• Repository: https://github.com/Independent-Business-Group/rmm-psa-backend
• Auto-deployment: Enabled on push to main

Notes

• Redis ACL configured with dedicated doapp user
• Database firewall configured to allow App Platform access
• Health check timeout extended to 60 seconds for AI service initialization