System Architecture

Overview

This system was designed and deployed using a modular containerised architecture hosted on a Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro running Proxmox VE. The platform consists of multiple Linux containers (LXC), each handling a specific part of the system including data access, analysis, frontend, and routing. This structure supports independent development, scalability, and reliability across services.

Container Boot Order

• 1️⃣ PostgreSQL – Internal configuration DB and audit log storage
• 2️⃣ Abstraction Layer – ODBC/REST bridging between external databases and backend
• 3️⃣ Backend – Handles analysis engine and Redis caching
• 4️⃣ Frontend – Dash interface for data selection and result display
• 5️⃣ NGINX Proxy Manager – Routes user requests internally to each service

Software Stack

• Proxmox VE: Hypervisor for managing LXC containers
• Python: Used across backend, frontend, and abstraction layer
• Redis: In-memory caching layer to reduce repeated queries
• PostgreSQL: Internal configuration and audit logging database
• FastAPI: Backend REST API for routing and analysis endpoints
• Dash: Web-based interface for data interaction and visualisation
• WSGI & ASGI: Application servers for running Python web apps (Gunicorn, Uvicorn)
• NGINX Proxy Manager: Reverse proxy for request routing and domain binding

Deployment Environment

The project was developed and deployed on a local Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro, configured with 8 CPU threads, 16GB RAM, and Ubuntu-based containers. Each container includes a Python virtual environment (venv) and is managed via systemd service scripts to ensure clean startup, shutdown, and isolation.

System Diagram

Below is a high-level diagram outlining how each container communicates with one another through internal HTTP and shared resources.