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Push Notification Service Setup Guide

This guide provides detailed instructions for setting up, configuring, and running the Push Notification Service on your local or production environment.

Prerequisites​

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

  • Node.js: Version 16.x or later
  • npm: Version 8.x or later
  • Docker & Docker Compose: For containerized deployment
  • PostgreSQL client (optional): For direct database access

Installation​

  1. Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/yourusername/push-notification-service.git
    cd push-notification-service

  2. Install dependencies:

    npm install

Environment Configuration​

  1. Create environment file:

    cp .env.example .env

  2. Configure environment variables:

    Edit the .env file with your specific settings:

    # Server Configuration
    PORT=3000
    NODE_ENV=development

    # Database
    DB_HOST=localhost
    DB_PORT=5432
    DB_NAME=notification_db
    DB_USER=admin
    DB_PASSWORD=admin123

    # Redis
    REDIS_HOST=localhost
    REDIS_PORT=6379

    # RabbitMQ
    RABBITMQ_HOST=localhost
    RABBITMQ_PORT=5672
    RABBITMQ_USER=admin
    RABBITMQ_PASSWORD=admin123

    # Logging
    LOG_LEVEL=info

    For development with Docker Compose, use the service names as hosts:

    DB_HOST=postgres
    REDIS_HOST=redis
    RABBITMQ_HOST=rabbitmq

Database Setup​

  1. Using Docker Compose (Recommended):

    Run PostgreSQL container with pre-configured initialization scripts:

    docker-compose up -d postgres

    The initialization scripts in the init-scripts directory will automatically create the required tables.

  2. Manual Setup:

    If you're using an existing PostgreSQL instance:

    psql -U your_username -d your_database -f init-scripts/01-init.sql

Running the Service​

Development Mode​

Run the service in development mode with auto-restart on file changes:

npm run dev

Production Mode​

For production environments:

npm start

Starting Specific Components​

You can start individual components separately:

# Start only the API server
node src/api/index.js

# Start only the notification workers
node src/workers/index.js

Docker Deployment​

The project includes Docker configuration for easy deployment of all required services.

Running with Docker Compose​

  1. Start all services:

    docker-compose up -d

  2. Start only specific services:

    docker-compose up -d postgres redis rabbitmq

  3. View logs:

    docker-compose logs -f

  4. Stop all services:

    docker-compose down

Container Services​

The docker-compose.yml file defines the following services:

  • postgres: PostgreSQL database
  • redis: Redis for caching and WebSocket state
  • rabbitmq: RabbitMQ message broker
  • elasticsearch: Part of ELK stack for logging
  • logstash: Log processor
  • kibana: Log visualization
  • prometheus: Metrics collection
  • grafana: Metrics visualization

Accessing Service UIs​

After starting the containers, you can access:

Testing​

API Testing​

You can test the API endpoints using tools like Postman or curl:

# Test health endpoint
curl http://localhost:3000/api/health

# Create a user
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/users \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email":"test@example.com","name":"Test User","phone":"+1234567890"}'

WebSocket Testing​

To test WebSocket connections, you can use a tool like wscat:

# Install wscat
npm install -g wscat

# Connect to WebSocket server
wscat -c ws://localhost:3000

After connecting, authenticate:

{"event":"authenticate","data":{"userId":1}}

Production Considerations​

Security​

  1. API Authentication:

    Implement a proper authentication mechanism, such as JWT tokens, API keys, or OAuth.

  2. Environment Variables:

    Ensure all sensitive information is stored in environment variables, not in code.

  3. CORS Configuration:

    Update the CORS settings in src/api/index.js to restrict access to your domains.

  4. Rate Limiting:

    Enable rate limiting for public endpoints to prevent abuse.

Scaling​

  1. Horizontal Scaling:

    The service is designed to scale horizontally. You can run multiple instances behind a load balancer.

  2. Database Scaling:

    For high-traffic scenarios, consider database read replicas and connection pooling.

  3. Worker Scaling:

    You can run multiple worker instances to process notifications in parallel.

Monitoring​

  1. Set Up Alerts:

    Configure alerts in Prometheus/Grafana for key metrics:

    • High error rates
    • Increased latency
    • Queue backlog growth
    • System resource usage

  2. Health Checks:

    Implement comprehensive health checks for each component.

Backup and Recovery​

  1. Database Backups:

    Set up regular PostgreSQL backups:

    docker-compose exec postgres pg_dump -U admin notification_db > backup.sql

  2. Configuration Backups:

    Back up your environment configurations and any custom settings.

Troubleshooting​

Service Connection Issues​

If you encounter connection issues between services:

  1. Check service status:

    docker-compose ps

  2. Verify network connectivity:

    docker-compose exec api ping postgres

  3. Check service logs:

    docker-compose logs postgres

Database Issues​

  1. Connection failures:

    Ensure the database is running and credentials are correct:

    docker-compose exec postgres psql -U admin -d notification_db -c "SELECT 1"

  2. Schema issues:

    Verify the database schema:

    docker-compose exec postgres psql -U admin -d notification_db -c "\dt"

RabbitMQ Issues​

  1. Connection failures:

    Check RabbitMQ status:

    docker-compose exec rabbitmq rabbitmqctl status

  2. Queue issues:

    List queues and their status:

    docker-compose exec rabbitmq rabbitmqctl list_queues

Common Error Solutions​

  1. "ECONNREFUSED" errors:

    Usually indicates that a service isn't running or isn't accepting connections. Check the service status and logs.

  2. "Authentication failed" errors:

    Verify that the credentials in your .env file match those expected by the service.

  3. Database "relation does not exist" errors:

    Ensure that the database initialization scripts have been run successfully.

Next Steps​

After successfully setting up the Push Notification Service, you might want to:

  1. Integrate with your application

    • Add API calls to your backend
    • Implement WebSocket connections in your frontend

  2. Customize the service

    • Add new notification channels
    • Extend the API with additional endpoints
    • Customize notification templates

  3. Set up CI/CD

    • Automate testing and deployment
    • Set up staging and production environments