OLA Docker with Bind Mount Configuration

This version of the OLA Docker container uses bind mounts at /opt/docker/ola/ for easy configuration management. This approach allows you to directly edit configuration files on the host system without needing to access the container or manage Docker volumes.

Key Advantages of Bind Mount Approach

• Direct File Access: Edit configuration files directly on the host with your favorite editor
• Easy Backup: Simple file-based backups using simple scripts
• Version Control: Put configuration under Git or other VCS
• Persistent: Configuration survives container recreation
• Transparent: Easily view configurations

Features In Progress

• Log File Binds: Working on logging data to the logs bind mount
• Avahi mDNS Support: Working on fixing issue where OLA can't find avahi, causing 100% cpu util (currently disabled until fix is found)

Quick Setup

1. Prepare Host System

# Run the setup script to prepare directories and permissions
chmod 755 ./setup.sh
sudo ./setup.sh

# This creates:
# - /opt/docker/ola/config/    (OLA configuration files)
# - /opt/docker/ola/logs/      (Log files)  
# - /opt/docker/ola/plugins/   (Plugin data)
# - /opt/docker/ola/scripts/   (Utility scripts)
# - /opt/docker/ola/backup/    (Configuration backup storage)

2. Build Container

# Build the bind mount version
docker build -f dockerfile -t ola:bindmount .

# Or use docker-compose
sudo docker compose build

3. Run Container

# Basic run with bind mount
docker run -d --name ola \
  --network host \
  -v /opt/docker/ola/config:/usr/lib/olad:rw \
  ola:bindmount

# Or with USB device access
docker run -d --name ola \
  --network host \
  --privileged \
  -v /dev:/dev \
  -v /opt/docker/ola/config:/usr/lib/olad:rw \
  ola:bindmount

# Or use docker-compose
sudo docker compose up -d

4. Check & Configure

Open the OLA web GUI:

http://<docker host ip>:9090

All plugins are enabled by default. To avoid conflicts, disable any plugins that are not currently being used.

Configuration Management

Direct File Editing

# Edit Art-Net configuration
sudo nano /opt/docker/ola/config/ola-artnet.conf

# Edit E1.31/sACN configuration
sudo nano /opt/docker/ola/config/ola-e131.conf

# Edit USB Pro configuration  
sudo nano /opt/docker/ola/config/ola-usbpro.conf

# Edit main daemon configuration
sudo nano /opt/docker/ola/config/ola-daemon.conf

Configuration Files Created

The setup script creates these sample configuration files:

File	Purpose
ola-artnet.conf	Art-Net protocol configuration
ola-e131.conf	E1.31/sACN protocol configuration
ola-usbpro.conf	USB Pro device configuration

After Configuration Changes

# Restart container to apply changes
docker restart ola

# Or if using docker-compose
sudo docker compose restart

Utility Scripts

The setup creates helpful scripts in /opt/docker/ola/scripts/:

Backup and Restore

# Create configuration backup
sudo /opt/docker/ola/scripts/backup-config.sh

# Restore from backup
sudo /opt/docker/ola/scripts/restore-config.sh /opt/docker/ola/backup/ola-config-20231201_143022.tar.gz

Log Management

# View available logs
sudo /opt/docker/ola/scripts/view-logs.sh

# View specific log file
sudo /opt/docker/ola/scripts/view-logs.sh ola.log

# Follow live logs
sudo /opt/docker/ola/scripts/view-logs.sh live

## Directory Structure
```bash
/opt/docker/ola/
├── config/                      # OLA configuration files
│   ├── ola-daemon.conf         # Main daemon configuration
│   ├── ola-artnet.conf         # Art-Net settings
│   ├── ola-e131.conf           # E1.31/sACN settings
│   ├── ola-usbpro.conf         # USB Pro device settings
│   └── ola-*.conf              # Other plugin configurations
├── logs/                        # Log files (linked from container)
│   ├── ola.log                 # Main OLA log
│   └── plugin-*.log            # Plugin-specific logs
├── plugins/                     # Plugin data and state
├── scripts/                     # Utility scripts
│   ├── backup-config.sh        # Backup configuration
│   ├── restore-config.sh       # Restore configuration
│   ├── view-logs.sh            # Log viewer
│   └── quick-start.sh          # Quick start wizard
├── backup/                      # Configuration backups
└── README.md                    # Local documentation

Common Configuration Examples

Art-Net Setup

# Edit Art-Net configuration
sudo nano /opt/docker/ola/config/ola-artnet.conf

Example Art-Net configuration:

# Art-Net Plugin Configuration
enabled = true
ip = 
short_name = OLA-Pi
long_name = OLA Raspberry Pi Node
net = 0
subnet = 0
universe_1 = 1:0
universe_2 = 2:0
always_broadcast = false
use_limited_broadcast = true

E1.31/sACN Setup

# Edit E1.31 configuration
sudo nano /opt/docker/ola/config/ola-e131.conf

Example E1.31 configuration:

# E1.31 (sACN) Plugin Configuration
enabled = true
ip = 
universe_1 = 1
universe_2 = 2
source_name = OLA-Pi
priority = 100
preview_mode = false
use_multicast = true

USB Device Setup

# Edit USB Pro configuration
sudo nano /opt/docker/ola/config/ola-usbpro.conf

Example USB Pro configuration:

# USB Pro Plugin Configuration
enabled = true
device = /dev/ttyUSB0
universe = 1
dmx_frame_rate = 25
break_time = 176
mab_time = 12

Advanced Usage

Multiple Universe Configuration

Create multiple universe mappings by editing the relevant configuration files:

# In ola-artnet.conf
universe_1 = 1:0
universe_2 = 2:0
universe_3 = 3:0

# In ola-e131.conf  
universe_1 = 1
universe_2 = 2
universe_3 = 3

Custom Plugin Configuration

Add new plugin configurations by creating additional .conf files:

# Create custom plugin config
sudo nano /opt/docker/ola/config/ola-custom.conf

Environment-Specific Configurations

Use different configuration sets for different environments:

# Create environment-specific configs
sudo mkdir /opt/docker/ola/config/production
sudo mkdir /opt/docker/ola/config/testing

# Copy base configs
sudo cp /opt/docker/ola/config/*.conf /opt/docker/ola/config/production/
sudo cp /opt/docker/ola/config/*.conf /opt/docker/ola/config/testing/

# Modify for each environment
sudo nano /opt/docker/ola/config/production/ola-artnet.conf
sudo nano /opt/docker/ola/config/testing/ola-artnet.conf

Troubleshooting

Permission Issues

# Check file ownership
ls -la /opt/docker/ola/config/

# Fix permissions if needed
sudo chown -R 888:888 /opt/docker/ola/
sudo chmod -R 755 /opt/docker/ola/

Configuration Not Loading

# Check configuration syntax
sudo docker exec ola olad --help

# View container logs
docker logs ola

# Check if files are properly mounted
docker exec ola ls -la /opt/docker/ola/config/

USB Device Access

# Check USB devices on host
lsusb
ls -la /dev/ttyUSB*

# Verify container can see device
docker exec ola ls -la /dev/

Network Protocol Issues

# Test Art-Net reception
sudo tcpdump -i any port 6454

# Test E1.31 reception  
sudo tcpdump -i any port 5568

# Check if OLA web interface is accessible
curl -I http://localhost:9090

Backup and Migration

Creating Backups

# Automated backup
sudo /opt/docker/ola/scripts/backup-config.sh

# Manual backup
sudo tar -czf ola-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz -C /opt/docker/ola config/ logs/

Migrating to Another System

# On source system
sudo tar -czf ola-migration.tar.gz -C /opt/docker/ola .

# On target system
sudo mkdir -p /opt/docker/ola
sudo tar -xzf ola-migration.tar.gz -C /opt/docker/ola/
sudo chown -R 999:999 /opt/docker/ola/

Integration with External Tools

Version Control

# Initialize Git repository for configuration
cd /opt/docker/ola/config
sudo git init
sudo git add .
sudo git commit -m "Initial OLA configuration"

Monitoring

# Add to crontab for regular log rotation
echo "0 0 * * * root find /opt/docker/ola/logs -name '*.log' -mtime +7 -delete" | sudo tee -a /etc/crontab

Starting Over

Clean bind mount files

# remove all OLA data on docker host
sudo rm /opt/docker/ola -rd

Rebuild container

# Rebuild from scratch and recreate images
sudo docker compose up -d --build --force-recreate