Deploy using Podman

It is recommended to use Podman Compose for deploying the NetApp Connector (Neo) using Podman. Podman Compose simplifies the deployment process by allowing you to define and manage multi-container Podman applications with a single configuration file, similar to Docker Compose.

Prerequisites

Before deploying the NetApp Connector (Neo) using Podman Compose, ensure that you have the following prerequisites in place:

Podman installed on your system. You can download Podman from the official Podman website.
Podman Compose installed. You can install it using pip: pip3 install podman-compose or refer to the Podman Compose installation instructions.
Sufficient system resources to run the NetApp Connector (Neo). Refer to the Sizing Guide in the Deployment section for recommended specifications.

Deployment Steps

Download the Docker Compose File: Download the latest docker-compose.yml file from the NetApp Neo GitHub repository to your local machine. Podman Compose uses the same YAML format as Docker Compose.
Configure Environment Variables: Open the docker-compose.yml file in a text editor and configure the necessary environment variables, such as database connection details, admin credentials, and any other required settings.
```
environment:
  - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:yourStrongPasswordHere!@db:5432/neo
```
For example, if my server’s IP address is 10.100.20.05, my username is postgres, the port is 5432 and my password is yourStrongPasswordHere!, I would set the DATABASE_URL as follows:
```
environment:
  - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:yourStrongPasswordHere!@10.100.20.05:5432/neo
```
Start the Containers: Open a terminal, navigate to the directory where the docker-compose.yml file is located, and run the following command to start the containers:
```
podman-compose up -d
```
This command will download the necessary container images and start the NetApp Connector (Neo) along with its dependencies in detached mode.

Verify the Deployment: After the containers are up and running, you can verify the deployment by checking the logs:

podman-compose logs -f

You should see logs indicating that the NetApp Connector (Neo) has started successfully as follows:

neo-1  | 2025-12-03 19:46:43.882 | INFO     | app.main:lifespan:146 - Starting up application...
neo-1  | 2025-12-03 19:46:43.882 | INFO     | app.main:lifespan:150 - 🔧 Setup mode: Skipping license validation and Graph initialization
neo-1  | 2025-12-03 19:46:43.882 | INFO     | app.main:lifespan:151 - 📋 Complete setup via /api/v1/setup endpoints to enable full functionality
neo-1  | INFO:     Application startup complete.
neo-1  | INFO:     Uvicorn running on http://0.0.0.0:8080 (Press CTRL+C to quit)

Access the Web Interface: Open your web browser and navigate to http://<your-server-ip>:8080 to access the NetApp Connector (Neo) web interface. Replace <your-server-ip> with the actual IP address of your server. For further information on using the web interface, refer to the Management section of the documentation.

Stopping the Deployment

To stop the NetApp Connector (Neo) deployment, run the following command in the terminal where the docker-compose.yml file is located:

podman-compose down

This command will stop and remove the containers and networks created by Podman Compose. Data will be preserved in the volumes defined in the docker-compose.yml file.

Podman-Specific Notes

Podman runs containers rootless by default, providing enhanced security compared to Docker.
Podman does not require a daemon to be running, unlike Docker.
If you encounter permission issues with volumes, you may need to adjust SELinux contexts or volume mount options. Refer to the Podman documentation for troubleshooting.

This concludes the steps to deploy the NetApp Connector (Neo) using Podman Compose. For more advanced configurations and management options, please refer to the Management section of the documentation.