Internal Networking

Instantly.run supports internal networking to simplify communication between containers. This guide explains how internal hostnames are configured and how to use them.

Internal Hostnames

Each container deployed through Instantly.run is assigned an internal hostname based on its configured domain name. The internal hostname is derived by replacing dots (.) with hyphens (-).

Examples

Public Domain: db.example.com
Internal Hostname: db-example-com

This internal hostname is accessible to other containers within the same network.

Using Internal Hostnames

Internal hostnames can be used to connect to services that are not exposed to the public (e.g., databases, caching servers, etc.).

Example: Connecting to a MongoDB Instance

Deploy the MongoDB Container:

docker run --context=instantly --name mongo-db --domainname db.example.com \
-e MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=admin -e MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD=securepassword \
-p 27017:27017 -v ssd:/data/db

Access the MongoDB Service from Another Container: Use the internal hostname to connect:
```
mongodb://admin:securepassword@db-example-com:27017
```

Networking for Non-HTTP Services

Non-HTTP services like databases and messaging queues are accessible internally using their internal hostname and respective port.

Example: Redis Instance

Deploy the Redis Container:

docker run --context=instantly --name redis-cache --domainname cache.example.com \
-p 6379:6379 -v ssd:/data

Access Redis from Another Container: Use the internal hostname:
```
redis://cache-example-com:6379
```

Limitations

Internal hostnames are only resolvable by other containers within the same network.
Public access to non-HTTP services is not supported. These services are limited to internal use.