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System Overview

  • Runtime Stack: Django REST Framework application served from Docker containers, backed by PostgreSQL, with analytics powered by a custom modelling module.
  • Hosting Pattern: Container stack deployed on AWS EC2, fronted by Nginx for TLS termination, caching, and static asset delivery.
  • Automation: Cron-driven background jobs create surveys, execute modelling pipelines, and issue alerts without blocking API requests.
  • Observability: Application logs streamed via Docker, PostgreSQL introspection through pgAdmin, and health endpoints ready for integration into CloudWatch or Datadog.

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Infrastructure Topology

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Full Stack Request Flow

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Nginx Responsibilities

  • Terminate HTTPS and enforce secure headers (HSTS, CSP).
  • Reverse proxy API traffic to web container on port 8000.
  • Serve cached static files from /var/www/luna/static/ for low latency.
  • Expose /admin and /api under the same domain for simplicity; consider subdomains when scaling.

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Application Layer

LayerResponsibilitiesKey Components
API GatewayREST routing, serializers, authentication, permission enforcementAPI endpoints, DRF views
Domain LayerUser management, course modules, surveys, and formsCore business logic, data models
Modelling LayerKalman filter computations, analytics persistence, exportsStatistical analysis engine
Cron & SchedulingPeriodic job orchestration for surveys and analyticsBackground job scheduler

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Request Lifecycle Flow

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Data Model Overview

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Entity Relationship Diagram

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Core Entities

University
  • Represents educational institutions
  • Contains multiple faculties and departments
  • Supports multi-tenant platform architecture
User
  • Email-based authentication system
  • Three roles: Student, Lecturer, Administrator
  • Linked to university affiliation
Student
  • Extended user profile for student participants
  • Stores demographic and academic background
  • Tracks language preferences and financial support
Module (Course)
  • Represents academic courses/subjects
  • Configurable semester periods (Winter/Summer)
  • Password-protected enrollment system
  • Scheduled survey deployment days
  • Active/Inactive status management
Enrollment
  • Links students to their enrolled courses
  • Prevents duplicate enrollments
  • Tracks enrollment timeline
Survey
  • Time-series survey instances for longitudinal data collection
  • Auto-incremented sequence numbers per student
  • Flexible JSON structure for diverse question types
  • Completion tracking (Completed/Not Completed)
  • Lifecycle status (Active/Archived)
Form Template
  • Reusable questionnaire blueprints
  • JSON-based flexible structure
  • Created by lecturers and administrators
Form Response
  • Student submissions to forms
  • Tracks completion status and timestamps
  • JSON storage for answers
Faculty
  • Organizational units within universities
  • Groups related departments and programs

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Technology Stack

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Backend Framework

  • Django 4.2.5 - Model-View-Template architecture
  • Django REST Framework 3.14.0 - RESTful API design
  • Custom authentication - Email-based user system

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Database

  • PostgreSQL - ACID-compliant relational storage
  • JSON fields - Flexible survey and form content
  • Database adapter - psycopg2-binary

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API & Documentation

  • OpenAPI/Swagger - Interactive API documentation (drf-yasg)
  • CORS support - Cross-origin resource sharing (django-cors-headers)

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Task Scheduling

  • django-cron - Periodic job execution
  • Survey automation - Scheduled deployment system

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Configuration & Deployment

  • Environment management - python-decouple, python-dotenv
  • Containerization - Docker, Docker Compose
  • Web server - Nginx (reverse proxy, SSL termination)

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Cloud Infrastructure

  • Compute - AWS EC2 instances
  • Deployment - Dockerized application on EC2
  • Networking - Nginx reverse proxy with SSL/TLS

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Deployment Architecture

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Background Processing

  1. Survey Generation - Runs twice daily; creates upcoming survey records based on module schedule and student enrollment.
  2. Analytics Pipeline - Ingests completed surveys, executes Kalman smoothing, writes metrics to analytics tables for dashboards.

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Security Architecture

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Authentication & Authorization

  • Email-based authentication (no username required)
  • Secure password hashing using Django’s PBKDF2 algorithm
  • Role-based access control (Student, Lecturer, Administrator)
  • Session-based authentication framework

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Data Protection

  • Environment-based configuration (no hardcoded secrets)
  • CORS policy enforcement for API security
  • SQL injection prevention via ORM parameterization
  • XSS protection through template auto-escaping

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Infrastructure Security

  • Container isolation and separation
  • Docker bridge network segmentation
  • HTTPS/TLS encryption in production (Nginx)
  • Database access restricted to internal network