This is a POC on implementing multi-tenancy in LoopBack using isolated processes and isolated data sources.
A proxy (Gateway) sits in front of the individual tenant apps. Using the first segment of the URL path as the tenant identifier, Gateway forwards requests to the corresponding tenant app.
Tenant apps are complete LoopBack apps with their own configurations and application files, with a shared node_modules directory.
In the actual implementation tenants will be exposed to limited configurability of their apps via an API - mainly the ability to configure datasources and define models. For the POC, please edit the tenant app files manually.
Gateway starts the tenant apps, and requests are mapped using their port numbers. In this POC, this allows easy access to the apps' explorer app. Unix sockets might be a better option in the actual implementation.
Gateway is aware about new tenants being added and existing tenants being removed.
PS: The code is modularly organized and well commented, please browse through it to better understand the implementation.
We want to create two tenants with their own datasources and models.
Tenant one, named foo, will use MySQL as the datasource and have the models Customer and Order. Tenant two, named bar, will use MongoDB as the data source and have the models Customer, Product, and Review.
Clone this repo
$ git clone git@github.com:strongloop/loopback-multitenant-poc.git
Install dependencies
cd to the repo directory and install the dependencies.
$ npm install
Install commandline tools
$ [sudo] npm link
This will install two commandline tools - mtm (multi-tenant manager) and mtg (multi-tenant gateway). mtm is used for managing tenants, mtg is the Gateway manager.
In the actual implementation, the functionality of these two tools will be also be exposed as APIs.
NOTE: Only the very basic functionality of mtm and mtg are implemented in the POC as of 15th Feb, 2016.
Create tenant "foo"
$ mtm add foo
Create "Customer" model for tenant "foo"
$ mtm model foo:Customer
This will create a directory named foo under the tenants directory.
Create "Order" model for tenant "foo"
$ mtm model foo:Order
Make the necessary changes in the datasources.json, model-config.json, and the model files for tenant "foo".
Similarly, add tenant "bar", and create and edit the necessary files.
Start the Gateway
$ mtg start
The Gateway will start the tenant apps, and accept connections on behalf of them. Gateway will be listening for connections on localhost at port 9000.
The tenant "foo" will be accessible at http://localhost:9000/foo, and so on.
A separate app for Gateway can be served at http://localhost:9000/.
- Customize
model-config.jsonanddatasources.jsonfor each tenant - A tenant's
model-config.jsonanddatasources.jsoncan be updated without having to restart other tenants - Each tenant can have custom middleware, components, and boot scripts, if required
The gateway manager works as the front facing proxy for the tenant apps. It is available as the mtg command on the command line.
Gateway must be started before the tenant apps can be accessed.
Start Gateway
$ mtg start
Restart Gateway
Not supported currently.
$ mtg restart
Stop Gateway
Not supported currently. To stop, press ctl+c.
$ mtg stop
The tenant manager is used for managing tenants and their models. It is available as the mtm command on the command line.
Use a tenant id composed of alphanumerical characters only.
The tenant config files must be manually configured in the POC.
Add tenant
$ mtm add <tenant id>
Remove tenant
$ mtm remove <tenant id>
Start tenant app
Not supported currently.
$ mtm start <tenant id>
Stop tenant app
Not supported currently.
$ mtm stop <tenant id>
Restart tenant app (after making configuration changes)
Not supported currently.
$ mtm restart <tenant id>
Create model for tenant
$ mtm model <tenant id:model name>