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From Docker image

Installing SonarQube Server's Data Center Edition (DCE) from Docker image.

Don't start this journey alone! As a DCE subscriber, Sonar will assist with the setup and configuration of your cluster. Get in touch with your account manager to receive appropriate onboarding resources.

Overview

The Data Center Edition allows SonarQube to run in a clustered configuration to make it resilient to failures. When using Docker, the general setup principles remain the same but use Docker-specific terminology and configurations.

The default configuration for the Data Center Edition comprises:

  • Three application nodes responsible for handling web requests from users (WebServer process) and handling analysis reports (ComputeEngine process)

  • Three search nodes that host the Elasticsearch process

  • A reverse proxy / load balancer

  • A database server (PostgreSQL, Oracle, or Microsoft SQL Server)

Important considerations

You should install SonarQube Server DCE on a single Docker host only for test purposes. Sonar recommends running the database, application, and search containers on different Docker hosts for production workloads.

Requirements

Network

All containers should be in the same network. This includes search and application nodes. For the best performance, check for low latency between the database and the cluster nodes.

Container limits

The limits of each container depend on the workload that each container has. A good starting point is:

  • cpus: 0.5

  • mem_limit: 4096M

  • mem_reservation: 4096M

The 4 GB mem_limit is the minimum value for Elasticsearch and shouldn't be lower.

Scalability

Application nodes can be scaled using replicas. This isn't the case for the search nodes, as Elasticsearch won't become ready.

Volumes

You'll use the following volumes in your configuration:

  • sonarqube_data — volumes are shared between replicas in the application nodes, so you don't need a sonarqube_data volume on your application nodes. In the search nodes, the sonarqube_data volume contains the Elasticsearch data and helps reduce startup time, so Sonar recommends having a sonarqube_data volume on each search node. It should be mounted at /opt/sonarqube/data.

  • sonarqube_extensions — for application nodes, Sonar recommends sharing a common sonarqube_extensions volume which contains any plugins you install and the Oracle JDBC driver if necessary. It should be mounted at /opt/sonarqube/extensions.

  • sonarqube_temp — for application and search nodes, Sonar suggests using a sonarqube_temp volume (mounted at /opt/sonarqube/temp) that collects temporary files outputted by SonarQube. Sonar recommends having a sonarqube_temp volume on each search node.

  • sonarqube_logs — for both application and search nodes, Sonar recommends sharing a common sonarqube_logs volume which contains SonarQube logs. It should be mounted at /opt/sonarqube/logs. The volume is populated with a new folder depending on the container's hostname and all logs of that container are put into that folder. This behavior also happens when a custom log path is specified via environment variables. Sonar recommends having a sonarqube_logs volume on each search node.

Database server

Supported database systems are available on the Installing database page.

Load balancer

The installing organization must supply the load balancer. The general requirements are:

  • Ability to balance HTTP requests (load) between the application nodes configured in the cluster

  • If terminating HTTPS, meets the requirements set out in the operating documentation

  • No requirement to preserve or sticky sessions; this is handled by the built-in JWT mechanism

  • Ability to check for node health for routing

License

You need a dedicated license to activate the Data Center Edition. If you don't have one yet, contact the Sonar Sales Team.

Docker Compose configuration

If you're using Docker Compose, use this yml file example as a reference for evaluation purposes.

To use the 2026 LTA version of SonarQube, for example, change the following image tags in the yml file example:

  • sonarqube:datacenter-app to sonarqube:2026-lta-datacenter-app

  • sonarqube:datacenter-search to sonarqube:2026-lta-datacenter-search

Key configuration elements

When configuring your Docker Compose file, ensure you include the following.

For application nodes:

  • Use the appropriate Data Center Edition application image (for example, sonarqube:datacenter-app for the latest release)

  • Mount the shared sonarqube_extensions and sonarqube_logs volumes

  • Configure database connection via environment variables (SONAR_JDBC_URL, SONAR_JDBC_USERNAME, SONAR_JDBC_PASSWORD)

  • Set cluster-related environment variables

  • Configure the JWT secret for session management (SONAR_AUTH_JWTBASE64HS256SECRET)

For search nodes:

  • Use the appropriate Data Center Edition search image (for example, sonarqube:datacenter-search for the latest release)

  • Mount individual sonarqube_data volumes for each search node

  • Mount the shared sonarqube_logs volume

  • Configure cluster-related environment variables for Elasticsearch communication

Installing using Docker Compose

  1. In the folder where your docker-compose.yml is stored, run docker-compose up -d.

  2. To check the health of all nodes, run docker-compose ps.

  3. Verify the installation:

    • Access SonarQube through the load balancer.

    • Check that all nodes appear healthy on the System Info page.

    • Apply your Data Center Edition license.

Environment variables

The following environment variables are commonly used in DCE Docker deployments.

Database connection

  • SONAR_JDBC_URL — JDBC URL for the database connection

  • SONAR_JDBC_USERNAME — database username

  • SONAR_JDBC_PASSWORD — database password

Web server

  • SONAR_WEB_HOST — web server host (default: 0.0.0.0)

  • SONAR_WEB_PORT — web server port (default: 9000)

  • SONAR_WEB_CONTEXT — web context path

Cluster configuration

  • SONAR_CLUSTER_ENABLED — enable cluster mode (true/false)

  • SONAR_CLUSTER_NODE_TYPE — node type (application or search)

  • SONAR_CLUSTER_HOSTS — comma-separated list of application node hosts

  • SONAR_CLUSTER_SEARCH_HOSTS and SONAR_CLUSTER_ES_HOSTS — comma-separated list of search node hosts

  • SONAR_CLUSTER_NODE_NAME — name of the search node

  • SONAR_CLUSTER_KUBERNETES — set to true to enable application node autodiscovery

  • SONAR_AUTH_JWTBASE64HS256SECRET — JWT secret for session management

Limitations

  • IPv6 isn't officially supported for the Docker images of the Data Center Edition.

  • Search nodes can't be scaled using Docker replicas due to Elasticsearch requirements.

  • Production deployments should use separate Docker hosts for database, application, and search containers.

Related pages

PreviousPre-installation stepsNextInstalling on Kubernetes or Openshift

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