Infrastructure and Deployment of a Multi-Vendor CS-Cart Marketplace

Client

Multi-vendor marketplace

Challenge

Revive a legacy marketplace project and migrate it from standard shared hosting to a modern cloud environment. Ensure high availability, build CI/CD infrastructure, set up test environments, integrate third-party delivery services, and automate routine operations with AI. At the final stage, prepare an on-premise server (NAS) on the client side for cold repository storage.

Solution

1. Infrastructure in Yandex Cloud (Terraform)
  • Built IaC configuration (Terraform) to provision Yandex Cloud infrastructure (virtual networks, VMs).
  • Configured separate virtual machines for production and development environments.
  • Attached and partitioned additional disks, deployed automated backups for databases and files to Yandex Object Storage (S3).
  • Used Yandex Cloud Postbox for reliable service email delivery (domain, SPF, DKIM configured).
2. Containerization and Microservices
  • Migrated the marketplace from classic hosting to a Docker-based VPS environment.
  • Built a custom Dockerfile for CS-Cart and a docker-compose stack with a microservice-oriented web server architecture.
  • Established full-featured dev and prod environments.
  • Configured deployment pipelines via a local Git server (Forgejo).
3. Marketplace Platform (CS-Cart)
  • Upgraded the CS-Cart core and optimized the database by removing obsolete, unused plugins.
  • Deployed a clean platform installation with a new commercial theme.
  • Configured multi-vendor business logic: role separation and seller dashboards.
  • Integrated and configured modules: dynamic product loading, AI capabilities, smart live search, and SEO module.
  • Integrated shipping (CDEK) and payment systems. Launched automated data exchange with 1C accounting systems.
4. Automation and n8n
  • Deployed n8n process orchestration.
  • Integrated ChatGPT API to automate repetitive operations such as content generation and normalization.
  • Configured workers and triggers for store business workflows.
5. Security and Cloudflare
  • Configured Cloudflare Proxy DNS.
  • Implemented Cloudflare Turnstile to reduce spam during sign-up and checkout flows.
  • Added bot protection: disabled direct registrations, configured strict caching, and filtered low-quality traffic.
  • Installed SSL certificates and configured proper redirects.
6. On-Premise Infrastructure and Documentation
  • Set up a dedicated subdomain with a wiki engine for technical and user documentation.
  • Implemented local infrastructure in the client’s office based on Synology NAS: Docker, S3 buckets, and backups.
  • Deployed a local Git server (Forgejo) with a CI/CD runner for version control and long-term preservation of project assets.
  • Collected a complete backup of Terraform states, passwords, codebases, and configurations.
7. Project Archival and Repositories
  • Migrated the production site to backup hosting for archival mode and disabled active synchronizations.
  • Procured and configured Synology NAS in the office: external access, Docker, S3 buckets.
  • Deployed Forgejo with a runner under the git.* domain.
  • Repositories included: website source code, theme and add-ons, documentation, n8n workflows, Telegram bots, DB backups, terraform-yandex, terraform-cloudflare, and password vault.

Technologies

Docker
Docker
Terraform
Terraform
Yandex Cloud
Yandex Cloud
Nginx
Nginx
Forgejo
Forgejo
Linux
Linux

Results

✅ Infrastructure: shared hosting → VPS in Yandex Cloud via Terraform, fully containerized with Docker
✅ Platform: clean CS-Cart Multi-Vendor installation replaced a heavily modified legacy core
✅ Theme and modules: commercial theme, live search, UX/UI improvements, SMS authentication, AJAX catalog
✅ Integrations: CDEK, Boxberry, Russian Post, Faster Payments System (SBP), and dual-environment 1C exchange
✅ Documentation: wiki on docs.* subdomain with a complete project structure
✅ Automation: n8n + ChatGPT API for routine operations
✅ Backups: Yandex Object Storage + mirrored copy on office Synology NAS
✅ Git: self-hosted Forgejo on NAS with runner and full project repositories
✅ Archival handover: project fully transferred to the client’s on-premise Synology NAS, including a private Forgejo Git server.

Architecture

graph TB Client[Users] --> CF[Cloudflare Proxy / Turnstile] CF --> YC[Yandex Cloud VPS] YC --> Nginx[Nginx Reverse Proxy] Nginx --> CSCart[CS-Cart / Docker] CSCart --> DB[(MySQL/MariaDB)] Nginx --> Docs[Wiki Docs] Nginx --> n8n[n8n Automation] n8n --> OpenAI[ChatGPT API] CSCart <--> CDEK[CDEK API] CSCart <--> 1C[1C Integration] YC --> S3[Yandex S3 Backups]

Duration

Approximately 12 months of support, ~400 hours of infrastructure, deployment, and integration work

Cost

from $3,500