Advanced Configuration

This guide covers advanced features, configuration options, and customization capabilities in Merobox for power users and complex scenarios.

Overview

Merobox provides extensive advanced configuration options organized into specialized areas:

• Environment Variables - Configure Merobox behavior and Docker settings
• Docker Image Management - Manage Docker images, containers, and multi-architecture support
• Network Configuration - Advanced network setup, Docker networks, and security
• Authentication Service Integration - Auth service configuration and integration
• Workflow Advanced Features - Conditional execution, parallel steps, and custom step types
• Testing Framework Integration - Advanced testing configuration and utilities
• Resource Management - Resource limits, monitoring, and optimization
• Security Configuration - Security settings, policies, and best practices

Quick Reference

Common Configuration Patterns

# Basic advanced configuration
nodes:
  count: 3
  image: ghcr.io/calimero-network/merod:latest
  resources:
    memory: '2G'
    cpus: '1.0'
  environment:
    RUST_LOG: 'info'
    CALIMERO_SECURE_MODE: 'true'

# Network configuration
networks:
  - name: calimero-web
    driver: bridge
    options:
      com.docker.network.bridge.enable_icc: 'true'

# Security settings
security:
  user: '1000:1000'
  read_only: true
  capabilities:
    drop: ['ALL']
    add: ['NET_BIND_SERVICE']

Environment Variables

# Core configuration
export CALIMERO_IMAGE="ghcr.io/calimero-network/merod:edge"
export LOG_LEVEL="INFO"
export CALIMERO_DATA_DIR="/custom/path/to/data"

# Network settings
export CALIMERO_NETWORK_MODE="bridge"
export CALIMERO_PORT_RANGE_START="3000"
export CALIMERO_PORT_RANGE_END="4000"

Configuration Best Practices

1. Environment-Specific Configuration

Use different configurations for different environments:

# Development
development:
  nodes:
    count: 2
    resources:
      memory: '1G'
      cpus: '0.5'
  security:
    read_only: false

# Production
production:
  nodes:
    count: 5
    resources:
      memory: '4G'
      cpus: '2.0'
  security:
    read_only: true
    no_new_privileges: true

2. Resource Planning

Plan resources based on your workload:

• CPU: 0.5-2.0 cores per node depending on workload
• Memory: 1-4GB per node for typical applications
• Storage: 10-100GB depending on data requirements
• Network: Consider bandwidth and latency requirements

3. Security Considerations

Implement security best practices:

• Use non-root users
• Enable read-only filesystems
• Drop unnecessary capabilities
• Implement network segmentation
• Use secrets management
• Enable audit logging

4. Monitoring and Observability

Set up comprehensive monitoring:

monitoring:
  enabled: true
  metrics:
    - cpu_usage
    - memory_usage
    - disk_usage
    - network_io
  alerts:
    - metric: memory_usage
      threshold: 80
      action: restart_node

Troubleshooting Advanced Issues

Debug Mode

Enable comprehensive debugging:

# Enable debug logging
export LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG

# Run with verbose output
merobox bootstrap run workflow.yml --verbose

# Enable Docker debug
export DOCKER_BUILDKIT=0
export DOCKER_CLI_EXPERIMENTAL=enabled

Performance Profiling

Profile Merobox performance:

# Profile workflow execution
merobox bootstrap run workflow.yml --profile

# Monitor resource usage
docker stats $(docker ps -q --filter "name=calimero-")

# Analyze logs
merobox logs calimero-node-1 | grep -E "(ERROR|WARN|PERF)"

Network Diagnostics

Diagnose network issues:

# Check Docker networks
docker network ls
docker network inspect calimero-web

# Test connectivity
docker exec calimero-node-1 ping calimero-node-2

# Check port binding
netstat -tulpn | grep -E "(2428|2528)"

Best Practices for Advanced Usage

Production Deployment

1. Resource Planning: Allocate appropriate resources for your workload
2. Security: Implement proper security measures and access controls
3. Monitoring: Set up comprehensive monitoring and alerting
4. Backup: Implement regular backup and recovery procedures
5. Documentation: Maintain detailed documentation of your configuration

Development Workflow

1. Environment Isolation: Use separate environments for different stages
2. Version Control: Track configuration changes in version control
3. Testing: Implement comprehensive testing at all levels
4. CI/CD Integration: Integrate Merobox into your CI/CD pipeline
5. Code Review: Review configuration changes before deployment

Performance Optimization

1. Resource Tuning: Optimize resource allocation based on usage patterns
2. Caching: Implement appropriate caching strategies
3. Parallelization: Use parallel execution where possible
4. Monitoring: Continuously monitor and optimize performance
5. Scaling: Implement auto-scaling based on demand

Next Steps

Now that you understand advanced configuration:

• Python Customization - Advanced Python customization and extensions
• Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions