Install the Mini DBA Console container on Linux

Use this page when you want to install the Mini DBA Console container. The Console is the browser application used to connect to one or more Mini DBA Engines, view monitoring data, configure settings, and manage monitored database servers.

The supported Linux release is the versioned Docker Compose bundle. Do not use a native Linux package or make the Console's built-in HTTP listener directly public on the internet.

What you need before installing

• A 64-bit Linux VM or physical host with Docker Engine and Docker Compose v2. Confirm docker compose version succeeds.
• A persistent data drive or durable mounted filesystem for Console data and cryptographic keys.
• A private network path from the Console VM to each Mini DBA Engine endpoint on TCP 8734.
• An inbound network design for the Console: TCP 8080 from a trusted private network, or an HTTPS reverse proxy that publishes HTTPS on TCP 443 and forwards to the Console.
• Permission to run Docker commands through sudo or through an account intentionally approved for Docker access.

The Console data drive must remain mounted across host reboots. Its capacity is normally small compared with Engine monitoring history, but it is still durable application state: it holds engine connection configuration, Console logs, and data-protection keys. Do not put it only in the container writable layer or on a disposable temporary disk.

Download the supported bundle

1. Open Linux container installation.
2. Select Download Linux Containers, complete the download form, and save the ZIP file.
3. Download the SHA-256 checksum shown alongside the bundle.
4. Transfer both files to the Console VM using your approved file-transfer method.
5. Verify the archive before extracting it.

Run each command in order:

cd ~/Downloads
sha256sum minidba-linux-container-2026.1.zip
cat minidba-linux-container-2026.1.zip.sha256
mkdir -p ~/minidba-linux-container
unzip minidba-linux-container-2026.1.zip -d ~/minidba-linux-container
cd ~/minidba-linux-container/split-vm/console

Compare the two hash values. A mismatch means the file is incomplete or has changed; download it again and do not install it.

Prepare the persistent Console data drive

Mount the persistent disk first. In this example, the organisation has mounted it at /data:

findmnt /data
df -h /data
sudo install -d -m 0750 /data/minidba-console

findmnt /data must identify the expected persistent filesystem. Configure persistent mounting before installation, for example through /etc/fstab or the cloud platform's supported disk-mount mechanism. If the disk is absent, stop rather than creating the mount path on the OS disk.

The installer creates the subdirectories and sets the exact ownership required by the non-root appuser inside the Console container. Do not use a guessed host chown command or manually assign a numeric UID.

Install the Console

Run the installer with the persistent Console data directory:

cd ~/minidba-linux-container/split-vm/console
bash install.sh /data/minidba-console

The command checks Docker and Compose, writes .env, pulls the released Console image, prepares directory ownership, and starts the Console. By default it listens on TCP 8080 on the Console host.

Verify the container and the local HTTP listener:

docker compose ps
docker compose logs --tail 100 console
curl -I http://127.0.0.1:8080/health
ss -ltn | grep 8080

Open http://CONSOLE-VM:8080 only from the trusted private network. For a production browser URL, publish the Console through a TLS-terminating reverse proxy or managed HTTPS gateway. Do not expose unauthenticated administrative settings or passwords in a checked-in Compose file.

Connect the Console to an Engine

After the browser can reach the Console, sign in as a Console administrator and open Settings. Add an Engine using its private endpoint, for example:

net.tcp://engine-vm.private.example:8734/MiniDBAService/tcp

The Console VM must be able to resolve the private hostname and connect to TCP 8734. Do not use a public IP address for an Engine endpoint. Test the network path from the Console VM before troubleshooting the application:

getent hosts engine-vm.private.example
nc -vz engine-vm.private.example 8734

If nc is not installed, use your operating system's approved TCP test utility. A successful network test does not replace the Console's own Engine connection test in Settings.

Console files you must preserve

The host directory passed to the installer is mounted into three container locations. Keep the whole directory in backups and when rebuilding a host.

The deployment folder also contains .env, which records the selected image tag, bind address, port, and persistent data root. Treat it as operational configuration. Do not commit passwords, admin secrets, or reverse-proxy secrets into this file or the Compose definition.

Use the Console user interface to add or remove Engine connections. Do not hand-edit minidba-engines.json while the Console is running unless you have stopped the container and are following a supported recovery procedure.

Day-to-day commands

Run these commands from split-vm/console:

docker compose ps
docker compose logs -f console
docker compose restart console
docker compose stop console
docker compose up -d console
docker compose pull console
docker compose up -d console

Stopping or replacing the container does not delete /data/minidba-console. Do not use docker compose down -v for an upgrade. Back up the data directory first, update the versioned image in .env only when ready, pull it, then start the container.

Next steps

If you have not already done so, install the Mini DBA Engine container close to the databases being monitored. Then connect the Console to the Engine in Settings, activate the Engine licence, and add one test database server.