Configuration

Overview

This guide covers advanced configuration options for customizing your Docker deployment. Learn how to optimize resources, configure external services, and tune performance.

Environment Variables

All configuration is managed through environment variables in the .env file.

Core Configuration

string

required

Your Smallest.ai license key for validation and usage reporting

string

required

Download URL for the Lightning ASR model (provided by Smallest.ai)

API Server Configuration

integer

default:"7100"

Port for the API server to listen on

API_SERVER_PORT=8080

string

default:"http://license-proxy:6699"

Internal URL for license proxy communication

string

default:"http://lightning-asr:2233"

Internal URL for Lightning ASR communication

Lightning ASR Configuration

integer

default:"2233"

Port for Lightning ASR to listen on

ASR_PORT=2233

string

default:"redis://redis:6379"

Redis connection URL for caching and state managementFor external Redis:

REDIS_URL=redis://external-redis.example.com:6379

With password:

REDIS_URL=redis://:password@redis:6379

string

default:"0"

GPU device ID to use (for multi-GPU systems)

GPU_DEVICE_ID=0

Resource Configuration

GPU Allocation

For systems with multiple GPUs, you can specify which GPU to use:

docker-compose.yml

lightning-asr:
  deploy:
    resources:
      reservations:
        devices:
          - driver: nvidia
            device_ids: ['0']
            capabilities: [gpu]

For multiple GPUs per container:

docker-compose.yml

lightning-asr:
  deploy:
    resources:
      reservations:
        devices:
          - driver: nvidia
            count: 2
            capabilities: [gpu]

Memory Limits

Set memory limits for containers:

docker-compose.yml

api-server:
  deploy:
    resources:
      limits:
        memory: 2G
      reservations:
        memory: 512M

lightning-asr:
  deploy:
    resources:
      limits:
        memory: 16G
      reservations:
        memory: 12G

CPU Allocation

Reserve CPU cores for each service:

docker-compose.yml

lightning-asr:
  deploy:
    resources:
      limits:
        cpus: '8'
      reservations:
        cpus: '4'

Redis Configuration

Using External Redis

To use an external Redis instance instead of the embedded one:

Update Environment

Modify .env file:

REDIS_URL=redis://your-redis-host:6379
REDIS_PASSWORD=your-password

Update Docker Compose

Comment out or remove the Redis service:

docker-compose.yml

# redis:
#   image: redis:latest
#   ...

Update Dependencies

Remove Redis from depends_on:

docker-compose.yml

api-server:
  depends_on:
    - lightning-asr
    - license-proxy
    # - redis  # removed

Redis Persistence

Enable data persistence for Redis:

docker-compose.yml

redis:
  image: redis:latest
  command: redis-server --appendonly yes
  volumes:
    - redis-data:/data
  networks:
    - smallest-network

volumes:
  redis-data:
    driver: local

Redis with Authentication

Add password protection:

docker-compose.yml

redis:
  image: redis:latest
  command: redis-server --requirepass ${REDIS_PASSWORD}
  environment:
    - REDIS_PASSWORD=${REDIS_PASSWORD}

Update .env:

REDIS_PASSWORD=your-secure-password
REDIS_URL=redis://:your-secure-password@redis:6379

Scaling Configuration

Multiple ASR Workers

Run multiple Lightning ASR containers for higher throughput:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  lightning-asr-1:
    image: quay.io/smallestinc/lightning-asr:latest
    ports:
      - "2233:2233"
    environment:
      - MODEL_URL=${MODEL_URL}
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
      - PORT=2233
    deploy:
      resources:
        reservations:
          devices:
            - driver: nvidia
              device_ids: ['0']
              capabilities: [gpu]
    networks:
      - smallest-network

  lightning-asr-2:
    image: quay.io/smallestinc/lightning-asr:latest
    ports:
      - "2234:2233"
    environment:
      - MODEL_URL=${MODEL_URL}
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
      - PORT=2233
    deploy:
      resources:
        reservations:
          devices:
            - driver: nvidia
              device_ids: ['1']
              capabilities: [gpu]
    networks:
      - smallest-network

  api-server:
    environment:
      - LIGHTNING_ASR_BASE_URL=http://lightning-asr-1:2233,http://lightning-asr-2:2233

This configuration requires multiple GPUs in your system and will distribute load across workers.

Network Configuration

Custom Network Settings

Configure custom network with specific subnet:

docker-compose.yml

networks:
  smallest-network:
    driver: bridge
    ipam:
      config:
        - subnet: 172.28.0.0/16
          gateway: 172.28.0.1

Expose on Specific Interface

Bind to specific host IP:

docker-compose.yml

api-server:
  ports:
    - "192.168.1.100:7100:7100"

Use Host Network

For maximum performance (loses network isolation):

docker-compose.yml

api-server:
  network_mode: host

Host network mode bypasses Docker networking and directly uses host network stack. Use only if necessary.

Logging Configuration

Custom Log Drivers

Use JSON file logging with rotation:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  api-server:
    logging:
      driver: "json-file"
      options:
        max-size: "10m"
        max-file: "3"

Syslog Integration

Send logs to syslog:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  api-server:
    logging:
      driver: "syslog"
      options:
        syslog-address: "tcp://192.168.1.100:514"
        tag: "smallest-api-server"

Centralized Logging

Forward logs to external logging service:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  api-server:
    logging:
      driver: "fluentd"
      options:
        fluentd-address: "localhost:24224"
        tag: "docker.{{.Name}}"

Volume Configuration

Persistent Model Storage

Avoid re-downloading models on container restart:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  lightning-asr:
    volumes:
      - model-cache:/app/models

volumes:
  model-cache:
    driver: local

Custom Model Location

Use a specific host directory:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  lightning-asr:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/models:/app/models
    environment:
      - MODEL_CACHE_DIR=/app/models

Health Checks

Custom Health Check Intervals

Adjust health check timing:

docker-compose.yml

redis:
  healthcheck:
    test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
    interval: 10s
    timeout: 5s
    retries: 3
    start_period: 30s

API Server Health Check

Add health check for API server:

docker-compose.yml

api-server:
  healthcheck:
    test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:7100/health"]
    interval: 30s
    timeout: 10s
    retries: 3
    start_period: 60s

Security Configuration

Run as Non-Root User

Add user specification:

docker-compose.yml

api-server:
  user: "1000:1000"

Read-Only Filesystem

Increase security with read-only root filesystem:

docker-compose.yml

api-server:
  read_only: true
  tmpfs:
    - /tmp
    - /var/run

Resource Limits

Prevent resource exhaustion:

docker-compose.yml

api-server:
  deploy:
    resources:
      limits:
        cpus: '2'
        memory: 2G
        pids: 100

Example: Production Configuration

Here’s a complete production-ready configuration:

docker-compose.yml

version: "3.8"

services:
  lightning-asr:
    image: quay.io/smallestinc/lightning-asr:latest
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:2233:2233"
    environment:
      - MODEL_URL=${MODEL_URL}
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}
      - REDIS_URL=redis://:${REDIS_PASSWORD}@redis:6379
      - PORT=2233
    volumes:
      - model-cache:/app/models
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 16G
          cpus: '8'
        reservations:
          memory: 12G
          cpus: '4'
          devices:
            - driver: nvidia
              count: 1
              capabilities: [gpu]
    restart: unless-stopped
    logging:
      driver: "json-file"
      options:
        max-size: "10m"
        max-file: "3"
    networks:
      - smallest-network

  api-server:
    image: quay.io/smallestinc/self-hosted-api-server:latest
    container_name: api-server
    ports:
      - "7100:7100"
    environment:
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}
      - LIGHTNING_ASR_BASE_URL=http://lightning-asr:2233
      - API_BASE_URL=http://license-proxy:6699
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 2G
          cpus: '2'
        reservations:
          memory: 512M
          cpus: '0.5'
    restart: unless-stopped
    logging:
      driver: "json-file"
      options:
        max-size: "10m"
        max-file: "3"
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:7100/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
    networks:
      - smallest-network
    depends_on:
      - lightning-asr
      - license-proxy
      - redis

  license-proxy:
    image: quay.io/smallestinc/license-proxy:latest
    container_name: license-proxy
    environment:
      - LICENSE_KEY=${LICENSE_KEY}
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 512M
          cpus: '1'
    restart: unless-stopped
    logging:
      driver: "json-file"
      options:
        max-size: "10m"
        max-file: "3"
    networks:
      - smallest-network

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    command: redis-server --requirepass ${REDIS_PASSWORD} --appendonly yes
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:6379:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis-data:/data
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 1G
          cpus: '1'
    restart: unless-stopped
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "--raw", "incr", "ping"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5
    networks:
      - smallest-network

networks:
  smallest-network:
    driver: bridge
    name: smallest-network

volumes:
  model-cache:
    driver: local
  redis-data:
    driver: local

​Overview

​Environment Variables

​Core Configuration

​API Server Configuration

​Lightning ASR Configuration

​Resource Configuration

​GPU Allocation

​Memory Limits

​CPU Allocation

​Redis Configuration

​Using External Redis

​Redis Persistence

​Redis with Authentication

​Scaling Configuration

​Multiple ASR Workers

​Network Configuration

​Custom Network Settings

​Expose on Specific Interface

​Use Host Network

​Logging Configuration

​Custom Log Drivers

​Syslog Integration

​Centralized Logging

​Volume Configuration

​Persistent Model Storage

​Custom Model Location

​Health Checks

​Custom Health Check Intervals

​API Server Health Check

​Security Configuration

​Run as Non-Root User

​Read-Only Filesystem

​Resource Limits

​Example: Production Configuration

​What’s Next?

STT Services Overview

STT Troubleshooting

Overview

Environment Variables

Core Configuration

API Server Configuration

Lightning ASR Configuration

Resource Configuration

GPU Allocation

Memory Limits

CPU Allocation

Redis Configuration

Using External Redis

Redis Persistence

Redis with Authentication

Scaling Configuration

Multiple ASR Workers

Network Configuration

Custom Network Settings

Expose on Specific Interface

Use Host Network

Logging Configuration

Custom Log Drivers

Syslog Integration

Centralized Logging

Volume Configuration

Persistent Model Storage

Custom Model Location

Health Checks

Custom Health Check Intervals

API Server Health Check

Security Configuration

Run as Non-Root User

Read-Only Filesystem

Resource Limits

Example: Production Configuration

What’s Next?