Django App & PostgreSQL Database Connectivity Between Two Droplets

Question

Dear DigitalOcean Support Team,

I am planning to set up two separate droplets on DigitalOcean and need guidance on connecting them securely:

Droplet 1: Django application
Droplet 2: PostgreSQL database

I want the Django app to connect to the PostgreSQL database on the other droplet. Could you please provide guidance or best practices on:

Configuring PostgreSQL for remote access between droplets
Firewall and security recommendations
Any DigitalOcean-specific settings to allow smooth and secure connectivity

I would appreciate any sample configurations or documentation links that can help me set this up efficiently.

Thank you for your support.

KFSys · Answer

Heya, Here is a guide on how to achieve that, hope it helps! 1. Use DigitalOcean VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) The most secure approach is to place both droplets in the same VPC with private networking: When creating your droplets, select the same VPC Each droplet gets a private IP address (10.x.x.x range) Traffic between droplets stays within DigitalOcean’s private network Never expose PostgreSQL to the public internet 2. PostgreSQL Configuration On your PostgreSQL droplet, edit the configuration files: /etc/postgresql/[version]/main/postgresql.conf: # Listen on private IP only (not 0.0.0.0) listen_addresses = 'localhost,10.x.x.x' # Replace with your DB droplet's private IP /etc/postgresql/[version]/main/pg_hba.conf: # Allow Django droplet's private IP to connect host all all 10.x.x.x/32 scram-sha-256 # Replace with Django droplet's private IP Restart PostgreSQL: sudo systemctl restart postgresql 3. Firewall Configuration Option A: DigitalOcean Cloud Firewall (Recommended) Create a Cloud Firewall in the DigitalOcean control panel Attach it to your PostgreSQL droplet Add inbound rule: Type: PostgreSQL (or Custom TCP) Protocol: TCP Port: 5432 Sources: Select your Django droplet (by tag or specific droplet) Option B: UFW (Ubuntu Firewall) On the PostgreSQL droplet: sudo ufw allow from 10.x.x.x to any port 5432 # Django droplet's private IP sudo ufw enable 4. Django Database Configuration In your Django settings.py: DATABASES = { 'default': { 'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql', 'NAME': 'your_database_name', 'USER': 'your_db_user', 'PASSWORD': 'strong_password', 'HOST': '10.x.x.x', # PostgreSQL droplet's PRIVATE IP 'PORT': '5432', } } 5. Security Best Practices ✅ DO: Use strong passwords or certificate-based authentication Create a dedicated database user for Django (not postgres superuser) Use SSL/TLS for connections (configure sslmode='require' in Django settings) Keep PostgreSQL updated with security patches Use environment variables for credentials (python-decouple or django-environ) Enable automatic backups on the PostgreSQL droplet ❌ DON’T: Expose PostgreSQL to 0.0.0.0 (public internet) Use default passwords Grant unnecessary privileges to the Django database user 6. SSL/TLS Encryption (Optional but Recommended) For encrypted connections, configure PostgreSQL SSL: # postgresql.conf ssl = on ssl_cert_file = '/path/to/server.crt' ssl_key_file = '/path/to/server.key' Update Django settings: 'OPTIONS': { 'sslmode': 'require', } 7. Testing the Connection From your Django droplet, test connectivity: # Install PostgreSQL client sudo apt-get install postgresql-client # Test connection using private IP psql -h 10.x.x.x -U your_db_user -d your_database_name Helpful DigitalOcean Documentation VPC Documentation Cloud Firewalls PostgreSQL on Ubuntu

alexdo · Answer

Heya, @4ae272398ee6445a9bf73f4cd632b5 You can put both droplets (Django app and PostgreSQL) in the same VPC and region. Then use the PostgreSQL droplet’s private VPC IP as HOST in your Django DATABASES settings. On the PostgreSQL server, allow connections only on that private IP and open port 5432 only to the app droplet (via Cloud Firewall and/or UFW). That way, all DB traffic stays on the private VPC network (never touches the public internet), and only your Django droplet can reach the database. Regards

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Django App & PostgreSQL Database Connectivity Between Two Droplets

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Report this

Django App & PostgreSQL Database Connectivity Between Two Droplets

Related questions

Is CA_CERT available via the connection pool variable syntax in App Platform?

Managed PostgresQL in ATL1 Timeline

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How to create a schema in a Dev Database?

When can we expect Postgres 15.14 Managed Database support to be available?

DO Managed Postgresql doadmin password automatically changing after manually changed.

Postgresql: terminating connection due to administrator command

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