This is going to be the easiest complex thing you have ever done.

Nextcloud is kinda like Dropbox meets Zoom and Google Office. You should probably check out the official website.

Nextcloud AIO is now (wasn’t until recently) the official method to install the open-source, free, community version of Nextcloud. Installing Nextcloud AIO has several advantages over installing only Nextcloud. The AIO version includes automated installation, updates, & backups. It also comes with STUN & TURN servers, and the “high-performance backend” for Talk (Nextcloud’s version of Zoom.)

The bottom line is that Virtualmin + Docker + Portainer + Nextcloud AIO = Awesomeness!

So let’s have at it.

As with all of these examples, the first thing we need is a fully qualified domain name, a URL, where we are going to host Nextcloud. In this example were going to use: nextcloud.imfbsbn.com.

If you read the previous post about how I setup Virtualmin, you will know that I do not use the DNS features within VM. Just so were clear, VM provides DNS services beautifully. My reasons for not using VM’s DNS has nothing to do with VM. My reasoning is that my domain registrar – a multi-multimillion dollar organization – can provide DNS more reliably than the VPS server I rent for $12/mo.

So here you have a choice:

• If VM is hosting your DNS – if you followed the official setup instructions – then all you have to do is add the domain to VM.
• If you’re like me, and VM is NOT hosting your DNS, then you have to create your DNS record at your domain registrar.
  This is me. So this is what I’m going to do first.

I’m going to create the Nextcloud DNS record which looks like this:

Again, this is what it looks like at Namecheap. Things at your registrar may appear different. Also, you can see the records I’ve created in previous projects.

Next, we need to add the domain name to Virtualmin and set up the reverse proxy. Virtualmin makes this super easy.

Log into the Virtualmin panel,

Near the top left of the menu, click on “Create Virtual Server”.

Quick note on “top-Level” & “Sub-Servers”

• Top-Level Servers | You can think of these like an account. If you and three friends each own five domains and you wanted to share a server the root account would create four “Top-Level” servers; one for each friend. Each person would be able to login to Virtualmin and be the administrator for their account and whatever “Sub- Servers” (a.k.a. domains) they wish to add.
• Because I’m the only “admin” with access to my server, I’m always logging in as root. I want to have access to all of the domains hosted on the server at all times. I don’t want to have to log out, and login as a different user to make changes to any particular domain. Therefore I generally add all domains to my server as “Top-Level Servers.”

Just like we added the domain for portainer, we will add this domain for nextcloud.

For domain name we will enter our fully qualified domain name. Description can be anything you want.

As for the administration password, I just clicked on the little key with the + sign and VM inserted a password for me. I didn’t write it down because I’m the only user of the system and I will always be logging in as root. In fact, I don’t need to write down either the username or the password. We will never use them.

Just like before, a few changes to the default settings:

• For the administration username I prefer to use something custom over the automatic feature.
• I unchecked the boxes for DNS, MariaDB, Mail, Spam, Webmin, & AWStats because this domain will not use any of those features.
• This domain WILL REQUIRE Apache (as a reverse proxy.) So leave that box checked.

When you’re all set click the orange Create Server button.

Virtualmin will work its magic adding the domain to the server. Depending on your hardware the process might take 1-2 minutes.

When it’s done, click on the blue button at the bottom that says Return to Server Details.

Before we leave the Virtualmin panel, we’re going to set up the proxy forwarding (so we don’t have to come back later.)

Confirm VM is ready to modify the correct domain. It should be listed at the top of the left menubar.

First click on Web Configuration. Then click on Edit Proxy Website.

Click on the “Yes” radio button to enable proxying.

Inside the Proxy to URL box enter: http://127.0.0.1:11100/

Click on Save and Apply. And we have done everything we need to do inside Virtualmin. 

Assuming you have installed Portainer – as shown in the previous post – you don’t even need to access the CLI in order to complete the installation.

Instead, log into Portainer, click on the “primary” installation, and then click on “stacks”.

Over near the top right, click on the Add Stack button.

Give your stack a name. Be aware and must meet Linux standards for usernames. The system will bark at you if it’s unhappy.

The “web editor” is selected by default. That’s what were going to use.

Then you’re going to copy and paste the following code into the window.

services:
  nextcloud-aio-mastercontainer:
    image: nextcloud/all-in-one:latest
    init: true
    restart: always
    container_name: nextcloud-aio-mastercontainer # This line is not allowed to be changed as otherwise AIO will not work correctly
    volumes:
      - nextcloud_aio_mastercontainer:/mnt/docker-aio-config # This line is not allowed to be changed as otherwise the built-in backup solution will not work
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro # May be changed on macOS, Windows or docker rootless. See the applicable documentation. If adjusting, don't forget to also set 'WATCHTOWER_DOCKER_SOCKET_PATH'!
    network_mode: bridge # add to the same network as docker run would do
    ports:
#      - 80:80 # Can be removed when running behind a web server or reverse proxy (like Apache, Nginx, Caddy, Cloudflare Tunnel and else). See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/blob/main/reverse-proxy.md
      - 8080:8080
#      - 8443:8443 # Can be removed when running behind a web server or reverse proxy (like Apache, Nginx, Caddy, Cloudflare Tunnel and else). See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/blob/main/reverse-proxy.md
    environment: # Is needed when using any of the options below
      # AIO_DISABLE_BACKUP_SECTION: false # Setting this to true allows to hide the backup section in the AIO interface. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-disable-the-backup-section
      # AIO_COMMUNITY_CONTAINERS: # With this variable, you can add community containers very easily. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/tree/main/community-containers#community-containers
      APACHE_PORT: 11100 # Is needed when running behind a web server or reverse proxy (like Apache, Nginx, Caddy, Cloudflare Tunnel and else). See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/blob/main/reverse-proxy.md
      APACHE_IP_BINDING: 127.0.0.1 # Should be set when running behind a web server or reverse proxy (like Apache, Nginx, Caddy, Cloudflare Tunnel and else) that is running on the same host. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/blob/main/reverse-proxy.md
      # APACHE_ADDITIONAL_NETWORK: frontend_net # (Optional) Connect the apache container to an additional docker network. Needed when behind a web server or reverse proxy (like Apache, Nginx, Caddy, Cloudflare Tunnel and else) running in a different docker network on same server. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/blob/main/reverse-proxy.md
      # BORG_RETENTION_POLICY: --keep-within=7d --keep-weekly=4 --keep-monthly=6 # Allows to adjust borgs retention policy. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-adjust-borgs-retention-policy
      # COLLABORA_SECCOMP_DISABLED: false # Setting this to true allows to disable Collabora's Seccomp feature. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-disable-collaboras-seccomp-feature
      # NEXTCLOUD_DATADIR: /mnt/ncdata # Allows to set the host directory for Nextcloud's datadir. ⚠️⚠️⚠️ Warning: do not set or adjust this value after the initial Nextcloud installation is done! See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-change-the-default-location-of-nextclouds-datadir
      # NEXTCLOUD_MOUNT: /mnt/ # Allows the Nextcloud container to access the chosen directory on the host. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-allow-the-nextcloud-container-to-access-directories-on-the-host
      NEXTCLOUD_UPLOAD_LIMIT: 24G # Can be adjusted if you need more. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-adjust-the-upload-limit-for-nextcloud
      # NEXTCLOUD_MAX_TIME: 3600 # Can be adjusted if you need more. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-adjust-the-max-execution-time-for-nextcloud
      NEXTCLOUD_MEMORY_LIMIT: 1024M # Can be adjusted if you need more. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-adjust-the-php-memory-limit-for-nextcloud
      # NEXTCLOUD_TRUSTED_CACERTS_DIR: /path/to/my/cacerts # CA certificates in this directory will be trusted by the OS of the nextcloud container (Useful e.g. for LDAPS) See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-trust-user-defined-certification-authorities-ca
      # NEXTCLOUD_STARTUP_APPS: deck twofactor_totp tasks calendar contacts notes # Allows to modify the Nextcloud apps that are installed on starting AIO the first time. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-change-the-nextcloud-apps-that-are-installed-on-the-first-startup
      # NEXTCLOUD_ADDITIONAL_APKS: imagemagick # This allows to add additional packages to the Nextcloud container permanently. Default is imagemagick but can be overwritten by modifying this value. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-add-os-packages-permanently-to-the-nextcloud-container
      # NEXTCLOUD_ADDITIONAL_PHP_EXTENSIONS: imagick # This allows to add additional php extensions to the Nextcloud container permanently. Default is imagick but can be overwritten by modifying this value. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-add-php-extensions-permanently-to-the-nextcloud-container
      # NEXTCLOUD_ENABLE_DRI_DEVICE: true # This allows to enable the /dev/dri device for containers that profit from it. ⚠️⚠️⚠️ Warning: this only works if the '/dev/dri' device is present on the host! If it should not exist on your host, don't set this to true as otherwise the Nextcloud container will fail to start! See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-enable-hardware-acceleration-for-nextcloud
      # NEXTCLOUD_ENABLE_NVIDIA_GPU: true # This allows to enable the NVIDIA runtime and GPU access for containers that profit from it. ⚠️⚠️⚠️ Warning: this only works if an NVIDIA gpu is installed on the server. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-enable-hardware-acceleration-for-nextcloud.
      # NEXTCLOUD_KEEP_DISABLED_APPS: false # Setting this to true will keep Nextcloud apps that are disabled in the AIO interface and not uninstall them if they should be installed. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-keep-disabled-apps
      # SKIP_DOMAIN_VALIDATION: false # This should only be set to true if things are correctly configured. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one?tab=readme-ov-file#how-to-skip-the-domain-validation
      # TALK_PORT: 3478 # This allows to adjust the port that the talk container is using which is exposed on the host. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-adjust-the-talk-port
      # WATCHTOWER_DOCKER_SOCKET_PATH: /var/run/docker.sock # Needs to be specified if the docker socket on the host is not located in the default '/var/run/docker.sock'. Otherwise mastercontainer updates will fail. For macos it needs to be '/var/run/docker.sock'
    # security_opt: ["label:disable"] # Is needed when using SELinux

#   # Optional: Caddy reverse proxy. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/discussions/575
#   # Alternatively, use Tailscale if you don't have a domain yet. See https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/discussions/5439
#   # Hint: You need to uncomment APACHE_PORT: 11000 above, adjust cloud.example.com to your domain and uncomment the necessary docker volumes at the bottom of this file in order to make it work
#   # You can find further examples here: https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/discussions/588
#   caddy:
#     image: caddy:alpine
#     restart: always
#     container_name: caddy
#     volumes:
#       - caddy_certs:/certs
#       - caddy_config:/config
#       - caddy_data:/data
#       - caddy_sites:/srv
#     network_mode: "host"
#     configs:
#       - source: Caddyfile
#         target: /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
# configs:
#   Caddyfile:
#     content: |
#       # Adjust cloud.example.com to your domain below
#       https://cloud.example.com:443 {
#         reverse_proxy localhost:11000
#       }

volumes: # If you want to store the data on a different drive, see https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one#how-to-store-the-filesinstallation-on-a-separate-drive
  nextcloud_aio_mastercontainer:
    name: nextcloud_aio_mastercontainer # This line is not allowed to be changed as otherwise the built-in backup solution will not work
  # caddy_certs:
  # caddy_config:
  # caddy_data:
  # caddy_sites:

Sorry it looks so terrible in WordPress. In the editor it should look better; something like this:

Couple of things to talk about in this file.

• Always a good idea to check the original source to see if the files been updated. Specifically, this file here.
• Comment out the line with port 80. We will be using a reverse proxy.
• Comment out the line with port 8443. Again, we will be using the reverse proxy.
• In the original file they use Apache_port 11000. That conflicts with Virtualmin’s email spam filter. So change this port to 11100 and things will work better.
• Because we will be using Apache as a reverse proxy, we need to set Apache_IP_binding as shown.
• Lastly, I upped the upload limit and the memory limit as shown below.

Everything else is left the same. But feel free to make any changes you deem necessary.

Then, scroll down on the page and click on the Deploy the Stack button.

Once deployed, navigate over to the Containers page which will look like this:

When the orange “starting” turns green you will be able to navigate to the IP address of your machine at port 8080.

In our case, were going to use the IP address of the server built at Digital Ocean: https://192.241.129.17:8080/

You should get a screen like this:

Make sure you save that passphrase in a safe place, then click on the open button.

Enter the passphrase and login.

Here you want to enter the domain – not the URL – just the fully qualified domain name that you added to Virtualmin.

Go ahead and click on the Submit Domain button.

If everything goes well, the domain will check out. Meaning that the DNS records are correct and the domain is reachable on port 443.

On the next screen you can choose optional containers to install, and also change the time zone.

On this installation I’m electing to go with the default options. So I just click on the Download and start Containers button.

… This is gonna take a little while. Find yourself a refreshing beverage and relax.

When it’s all done you will get a screen like this:

You’re going to want to save that password someplace safe.

Go ahead and click on the Open your Nextcloud button to login. The default administrative user is “admin” and the password is right there.

You are going to get a couple of splash-screens the first time you login. Once you get past that you will be at the dashboard.

Congratulations!

You have installed Nextcloud AIO.

In the next post will walk through setting up daily backups and arranging for backups to be moved off the server and into the cloud.