Introduction

Laravel is a popular PHP web application framework that simplifies the development process by providing powerful tools and elegant syntax. Deploying Laravel applications with high availability in the cloud is essential for ensuring seamless user experiences and optimal performance. In this blog, we'll guide you through the process of deploying a highly available Laravel application on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).

1. Prerequisites

Before getting started, ensure that you have:

• An active Oracle Cloud Infrastructure account
• The Laravel application code ready for deployment
• The OCI CLI installed and configured on your local machine
• A domain name (optional) for your application

2. Create a Virtual Cloud Network (VCN)

A Virtual Cloud Network (VCN) is the foundation of your cloud infrastructure in OCI. It provides a virtual network environment for your cloud resources. To create a VCN:

• Log in to the OCI Console and navigate to Networking > Virtual Cloud Networks.
• Click "Create VCN" and enter the required information, such as the VCN name, CIDR block, and compartment.
• Click "Create VCN" to create your VCN and the required subnets, gateways, and security lists.

3. Deploy a Load Balancer

A load balancer distributes incoming traffic across multiple instances, ensuring high availability and fault tolerance. To create a load balancer in OCI:

• Navigate to Networking > Load Balancers and click "Create Load Balancer."
• Select a suitable shape (bandwidth) and specify the details, such as the name, compartment, VCN, and subnets.
• Configure a backend set, which includes details like the backend set name, load balancing policy, health check settings, and backend servers (instances).
• Add a listener to accept incoming traffic and route it to the backend set.
• If using a custom domain, update your DNS records to point to the load balancer's IP address.

4. Set Up an Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Database

A highly available Laravel application requires a resilient and scalable database. To set up an Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Database:

• Navigate to the "Database" section in the OCI Console and click "Create Database."
• Choose the desired database edition, version, and shape.
• Configure database settings, such as the database name, admin username, and password.
• Select the compartment and VCN for your database.
• Click "Create Database" to launch the database instance.

5. Deploy Laravel Application Instances

Deploy multiple instances of your Laravel application for redundancy and load balancing. To do this:

• Set up a Compute instance in OCI with the required shape, OS, and storage configuration.
• SSH into the instance and install necessary dependencies, such as PHP, Nginx, and Composer.
• Clone your Laravel application code onto the instance.
• Configure Nginx to serve your Laravel application.
• Set up environment variables and configure the database connection in the .env file.
• Run composer install to install the required PHP packages.
• Run php artisan migrate to create the necessary database tables.
• Repeat these steps for multiple instances to ensure high availability.

6. Configure the Load Balancer Backend Set

Update the backend set configuration in your load balancer to include the newly created Laravel application instances:

• Navigate to the "Load Balancers" section in the OCI Console.
• Click on your load balancer and go to the "Backend Sets" tab.
• Click on your backend set, then go to the "Backends" tab and click "Add Backends."
• Add the IP addresses and ports of your Laravel application instances.

7. Test Your Laravel Application

Access your Laravel application using the load balancer's IP address or your custom domain name.