☁️ Cloud Platform Deployment

Cloud Computing

Nếu bạn không muốn manage VPS, các cloud platforms cung cấp cách deploy n8n đơn giản hơn. Bài này covers 3 platforms phổ biến nhất.

Platform Comparison

Quick Overview:

Text

1PLATFORM       SETUP    COST       PROS              CONS
2────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
3Railway        5 min    $5+/mo     Easy, fast        Limited config
4Render         10 min   $7+/mo     Good free tier    Cold starts
5DigitalOcean   20 min   $12+/mo    Full control      More setup

Cost Breakdown:

Text

1MONTHLY COST ESTIMATE
2─────────────────────
3 
4Railway:
5├── Free tier: $5 credit (limited)
6├── Basic: $5-15/mo
7└── Growth: $15-30/mo
8 
9Render:
10├── Free tier: Sleep after 15min
11├── Starter: $7/mo per service
12└── + PostgreSQL: $7/mo
13└── Total: $14+/mo
14 
15DigitalOcean:
16├── App Platform: $12/mo min
17├── Or Droplet: $6/mo + setup time
18└── + Managed DB: $15/mo (optional)

Option 1: Railway

Step-by-Step:

1. Create Railway Account:

Text

11. Go to https://railway.app
22. Sign up with GitHub
33. Verify email

2. Create New Project:

Text

11. Click "New Project"
22. Select "Deploy a Template"
33. Search "n8n"
44. Click n8n template

3. Configure Variables:

Bash

1# Railway auto-provisions PostgreSQL
2# Add these environment variables:
3 
4N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
5N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
6N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=<generate-strong-password>
7GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh
8N8N_PROTOCOL=https
9WEBHOOK_URL=${RAILWAY_STATIC_URL}

4. Setup Custom Domain:

Text

11. Go to Settings > Domains
22. Add custom domain: n8n.yourdomain.com
33. Update DNS (CNAME to railway subdomain)
44. Wait for SSL

5. Configure Resources:

Text

11. Go to Settings > General
22. Adjust memory/CPU if needed
33. Enable restart on deploy

Railway docker-compose.yml:

yaml

1# railway.toml (alternative to template)
2[build]
3builder = "dockerfile"
4dockerfilePath = "Dockerfile"
5 
6[deploy]
7startCommand = "n8n start"
8healthcheckPath = "/healthz"
9healthcheckTimeout = 300
10restartPolicyType = "on_failure"

Pros/Cons:

Text

1✅ PROS:
2• Fastest deployment
3• Auto PostgreSQL
4• Great DX
5• Good pricing
6• Auto SSL
7 
8❌ CONS:
9• Limited customization
10• No SSH access
11• Costs grow with usage
12• Execution limits (CPU time)

Option 2: Render

Step-by-Step:

1. Create Render Account:

Text

11. Go to https://render.com
22. Sign up with GitHub
33. Verify email

2. Create PostgreSQL Database:

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11. Dashboard > New > PostgreSQL
22. Name: n8n-db
33. Region: (choose closest)
44. Plan: Starter ($7/mo) or Free
55. Create Database
66. Note: Internal Database URL

3. Create Web Service:

Text

11. Dashboard > New > Web Service
22. Select "Deploy an existing image"
33. Image URL: n8nio/n8n
44. Name: n8n
55. Region: Same as database
66. Instance Type: Starter ($7/mo)

4. Configure Environment:

Bash

1# Environment Variables:
2 
3# Database (from step 2)
4DB_TYPE=postgresdb
5DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=<internal-hostname>
6DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
7DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n_db
8DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n_user
9DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=<from-render>
10 
11# n8n Settings
12N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
13N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
14N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=<strong-password>
15N8N_HOST=<your-service>.onrender.com
16N8N_PROTOCOL=https
17WEBHOOK_URL=https://<your-service>.onrender.com/
18GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh
19 
20# Render specific
21N8N_PORT=10000

5. Configure Persistent Disk:

Text

11. Go to service settings
22. Disks > Add Disk
33. Name: n8n-data
44. Mount Path: /home/node/.n8n
55. Size: 1 GB (or more)

6. Custom Domain:

Text

11. Settings > Custom Domains
22. Add domain: n8n.yourdomain.com
33. Add CNAME record to DNS
44. Auto SSL

render.yaml (Infrastructure as Code):

yaml

1# render.yaml
2services:
3  - type: web
4    name: n8n
5    env: docker
6    dockerfilePath: ./Dockerfile
7    plan: starter
8    disk:
9      name: n8n-data
10      mountPath: /home/node/.n8n
11      sizeGB: 1
12    envVars:
13      - key: DB_TYPE
14        value: postgresdb
15      - key: DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST
16        fromDatabase:
17          name: n8n-db
18          property: host
19      - key: DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT
20        fromDatabase:
21          name: n8n-db
22          property: port
23      - key: DB_POSTGRESDB_USER
24        fromDatabase:
25          name: n8n-db
26          property: user
27      - key: DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD
28        fromDatabase:
29          name: n8n-db
30          property: password
31      - key: DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE
32        fromDatabase:
33          name: n8n-db
34          property: database
35      - key: N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE
36        value: true
37      - key: N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER
38        sync: false
39      - key: N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD
40        sync: false
41 
42databases:
43  - name: n8n-db
44    plan: starter

Pros/Cons:

Text

1✅ PROS:
2• Good free tier
3• Managed PostgreSQL
4• IaC support (render.yaml)
5• Simple scaling
6• Good documentation
7 
8❌ CONS:
9• Cold starts (free tier)
10• Limited disk options
11• Less customizable
12• Slower deploys

Option 3: DigitalOcean

Via App Platform:

1. Create App:

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11. DigitalOcean > Apps > Create App
22. Source: Docker Hub
33. Repository: n8nio/n8n
44. Click Next

2. Configure Resources:

Text

11. Edit Plan > Basic > $12/mo
22. Add Database Component
33. Type: PostgreSQL
44. Plan: Basic ($15/mo)
55. Click Next

3. Environment Variables:

Bash

1DB_TYPE=postgresdb
2DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=${db.HOSTNAME}
3DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=${db.PORT}
4DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=${db.DATABASE}
5DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=${db.USERNAME}
6DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=${db.PASSWORD}
7 
8N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
9N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
10N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=<password>
11N8N_HOST=${APP_DOMAIN}
12N8N_PROTOCOL=https
13WEBHOOK_URL=https://${APP_DOMAIN}/
14GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh

Via Droplet (More Control):

1. Create Droplet:

Text

11. Create Droplet
22. Image: Docker on Ubuntu
33. Plan: $12/mo (2GB RAM recommended)
44. Region: Singapore/nearest
55. SSH Key: Add your key
66. Create

2. SSH and Setup:

Bash

1# SSH into droplet
2ssh root@your_droplet_ip
3 
4# Create directory
5mkdir -p /opt/n8n
6cd /opt/n8n
7 
8# Create docker-compose.yml
9nano docker-compose.yml
10# (paste production stack from previous lesson)
11 
12# Create .env
13nano .env
14 
15# Start
16docker compose up -d

3. Setup Firewall:

Bash

1ufw allow ssh
2ufw allow http
3ufw allow https
4ufw enable

4. Setup Domain:

Text

11. Add A record: n8n.yourdomain.com → droplet_ip
22. Wait for DNS propagation
33. Setup nginx/SSL (see previous lesson)

Pros/Cons:

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1✅ PROS:
2• Full control (Droplet)
3• Managed services available
4• Good network (Singapore DC)
5• Predictable pricing
6• SSH access (Droplet)
7 
8❌ CONS:
9• More setup work
10• Higher minimum cost
11• Manual scaling
12• Manual backups (Droplet)

Quick Start Scripts

Railway One-Click:

Bash

1# Just use the template!
2# https://railway.app/template/n8n

Render One-Click:

Bash

1# Deploy from render.yaml
2# Or use "Deploy to Render" button

DigitalOcean Droplet:

Bash

1#!/bin/bash
2# quick-setup.sh - Run on fresh droplet
3 
4# Update system
5apt update && apt upgrade -y
6 
7# Install Docker
8curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
9 
10# Create n8n directory
11mkdir -p /opt/n8n && cd /opt/n8n
12 
13# Download docker-compose
14cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
15version: "3.8"
16services:
17  n8n:
18    image: n8nio/n8n
19    restart: unless-stopped
20    ports:
21      - "5678:5678"
22    environment:
23      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
24      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
25      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=changethis
26      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh
27    volumes:
28      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
29volumes:
30  n8n_data:
31EOF
32 
33# Start
34docker compose up -d
35 
36echo "n8n running at http://$(curl -s ifconfig.me):5678"

Platform Decision Matrix

Text

1CHOOSE RAILWAY IF:
2├── Want fastest setup
3├── Small-medium workflows
4├── Don't need SSH
5└── Budget $10-30/mo
6 
7CHOOSE RENDER IF:
8├── Want free tier
9├── Need managed PostgreSQL
10├── Like IaC (render.yaml)
11└── Budget $15-30/mo
12 
13CHOOSE DIGITALOCEAN DROPLET IF:
14├── Need full control
15├── Want SSH access
16├── Have DevOps skills
17├── Running many workflows
18└── Budget $15-50/mo
19 
20CHOOSE DIGITALOCEAN APP IF:
21├── Want managed experience
22├── Need DigitalOcean ecosystem
23├── Prefer GUI management
24└── Budget $25-50/mo

Bài Tập Thực Hành

Deploy Challenge

Deploy n8n on any platform:

Choose your platform based on needs
Follow step-by-step guide above
Configure environment variables
Add custom domain (optional)
Test webhook with test workflow
Document your setup

Share deployment screenshots in community! ☁️

Key Takeaways

Remember

🚀 Railway = Fastest to deploy
💰 Render = Best free tier
🔧 DigitalOcean = Most control
🔒 Always use strong passwords
📝 Document your environment variables

Bài tiếp theo: Environment Variables - Deep dive vào tất cả n8n settings và configurations.

☁️ Cloud Platform Deployment

Platform Comparison

Quick Overview:

Cost Breakdown:

Option 1: Railway

Step-by-Step:

Railway docker-compose.yml:

Pros/Cons:

Option 2: Render

Step-by-Step:

render.yaml (Infrastructure as Code):

Pros/Cons:

Option 3: DigitalOcean

Via App Platform:

Via Droplet (More Control):

Pros/Cons:

Quick Start Scripts

Railway One-Click:

Render One-Click:

DigitalOcean Droplet:

Platform Decision Matrix

Bài Tập Thực Hành

Key Takeaways

Tiếp Theo