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TradeEntry VPS Recovery Guide (After VPS Reboot)

Version: 1.0  |  Server: Ubuntu 22.04 VPS  |  Application: TradeEntry  |  Date: June 2026

Objective​

This document records the complete troubleshooting process after a VPS reboot when:

  • Website (www.tradeentry.in) was inaccessible
  • PostgreSQL could not be reached
  • TradeEntry service failed
  • Docker PostgreSQL was not reachable

This can be used as a standard operating procedure (SOP).

Architecture​

Internet
      │
      ▼
Nginx (80/443)
      │
      ▼
TradeEntry Service
      │
      ├── Backend (FastAPI) → Port 8000
      ├── Frontend (Vite)   → Port 5173
      └── Docs (Docusaurus) → Port 3000

Backend
      │
      ▼
Docker PostgreSQL
Port 5432
Volume: tradeentry_pgdata

Step 1 — Check Server Health​

uptime
free -h
df -h

Verify:

  • Memory
  • Disk
  • CPU load

Step 2 — Check Docker​

docker ps

Expected running container: postgres-db

If empty:

docker ps -a

Step 3 — Check Docker Logs​

docker logs postgres-db

Typical recovery messages after reboot:

database system was not properly shut down
automatic recovery in progress
database system is ready to accept connections

Step 4 — Verify Database​

docker exec -it postgres-db psql -U postgres -l

Expected databases:

tedb
postgres
template0
template1

Step 5 — Check TradeEntry Service​

sudo systemctl status tradeentry.service

If the exit code shows 203/EXEC, possible causes:

  • start.sh not executable
  • Wrong shebang
  • Wrong ExecStart path

Step 6 — Verify start.sh​

ls -l start.sh

Correct permissions:

-rwxr-xr-x

If not executable:

chmod +x start.sh

Step 7 — Verify Service File​

sudo systemctl cat tradeentry.service

Correct entries:

WorkingDirectory=/home/kss/tradeentry
ExecStart=/home/kss/tradeentry/start.sh

Step 8 — Restart Service​

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart tradeentry.service

Verify:

sudo systemctl status tradeentry.service

Step 9 — Verify Backend​

curl http://127.0.0.1:8000/docs

Expected: Swagger HTML page

Step 10 — Verify Listening Ports​

ss -tulpn | grep -E '80|443|8000|5173|3000|5432'

All six ports should appear: 80, 443, 8000, 5173, 3000, 5432

PostgreSQL Issue Found​

Symptom​

docker ps

Showed postgres-db running but the PORTS column was blank.

Also:

docker port postgres-db

returned nothing — port 5432 was not published.

Investigation​

docker inspect postgres-db

Found:

  • HostConfig.PortBindings → 5432/tcp (binding defined in config)
  • NetworkSettings.Ports → {} (no actual binding active)

This meant:

  • Container was running
  • Database was healthy internally
  • No network attachment
  • No published ports

Verify Docker Network​

docker network ls
docker network inspect tradeentry_default

Found Containers: {} — no containers were attached to the network.

Root Cause​

The PostgreSQL container had entered an inconsistent networking state after reboot:

  • Running ✓
  • No published ports ✗
  • Not attached to Docker network ✗

Safe Recovery​

1. Verify volume is intact​

docker volume ls

Confirm tradeentry_pgdata is listed. Database files are stored safely inside this external Docker volume.

2. Recreate ONLY the PostgreSQL container​

docker-compose stop db
docker-compose rm -f db
docker-compose up -d db

This does not remove database files — the volume is preserved.

3. Verify port is now published​

docker ps

Expected PORTS column:

0.0.0.0:5432->5432/tcp
docker port postgres-db

Expected:

5432/tcp -> 0.0.0.0:5432

4. Verify database connectivity​

PGPASSWORD=tedb psql \
  -h 127.0.0.1 \
  -U postgres \
  -d tedb

Should connect successfully.

5. Verify PostgreSQL readiness​

docker exec postgres-db pg_isready

Expected: accepting connections

6. Verify website​

ComponentCheck
Backendcurl http://127.0.0.1:8000/docs
Frontendhttp://127.0.0.1:5173
Docshttp://127.0.0.1:3000
Websitehttps://www.tradeentry.in

Useful Commands Reference​

TradeEntry Service​

sudo systemctl status tradeentry.service
sudo systemctl restart tradeentry.service
journalctl -u tradeentry.service -f

Docker​

docker ps
docker ps -a
docker logs postgres-db
docker restart postgres-db
docker exec postgres-db pg_isready

PostgreSQL​

docker exec -it postgres-db psql -U postgres
docker exec -it postgres-db psql -U postgres -l

Nginx​

sudo systemctl status nginx
sudo nginx -t

Ports​

ss -tulpn

Volumes​

docker volume ls

Lessons Learned​

  1. Never run docker-compose down -v unless you intentionally want to delete database volumes.

  2. Always verify docker volume ls before recreating containers.

  3. Docker containers can be recreated safely if data is stored in named volumes.

  4. A running container does not guarantee networking is healthy.

  5. Always verify docker port postgres-db — the PORTS column in docker ps should never be empty for PostgreSQL.

  6. After every VPS reboot verify: Docker → PostgreSQL → TradeEntry Service → Nginx → Ports → Website.

Recommended Post-Reboot Health Check​

Run this sequence after every reboot:

uptime
docker ps
docker exec postgres-db pg_isready
sudo systemctl status tradeentry.service
sudo systemctl status nginx
ss -tulpn | grep -E '80|443|5432|8000|5173|3000'
curl http://127.0.0.1:8000/docs

If all checks pass, the TradeEntry server is healthy.