Docker - issue command from one linked container to another - jenkins

Question

I'm trying to set up a primitive CI/CD pipeline using 2 Docker containers -- I'll call them jenkins and node-app. My aim is for the jenkins container to run a job upon commit to a GitHub repo (that's done). That job should run a deploy.sh script on the node-app container. Therefore, when a developer commits to GitHub, jenkins picks up the commit, then kicks off a job including automated tests (in the future) followed by a deployment on node-app.
The jenkins container is using the latest image (Dockerfile).
The node-app container's Dockerfile is:
FROM node:latest
EXPOSE 80
WORKDIR /usr/src/final-exercise
ADD . /usr/src/final-exercise
RUN apt-get update -y
RUN apt-get install -y nodejs npm
RUN cd /src/final-exercise; npm install
CMD ["node", "/usr/src/final-exercise/app.js"]
jenkins and node-app are linked using Docker Compose, and that docker-compose.yml file contains (updated, thanks to #alkis):
node-app:
container_name: node-app
build: .
ports:
- 80:80
links:
- jenkins
jenkins:
container_name: jenkins
image: jenkins
ports:
- 8080:8080
volumes:
- /home/ec2-user/final-exercise:/var/jenkins
The containers are built using docker-compose up -d and start as expected. docker ps yields (updated):
CONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES
69e52b216d48 finalexercise_node-app "node /usr/src/final-" 3 hours ago Up 3 hours 0.0.0.0:80->80/tcp node-app
5f7e779e5fbd jenkins "/bin/tini -- /usr/lo" 3 hours ago Up 3 hours 0.0.0.0:8080->8080/tcp, 50000/tcp jenkins
I can ping jenkins from node-app and vice versa.
Is this even possible? If not, am I making an architectural mistake here?
Thank you very much in advance, I appreciate it!
EDIT:
I've stumbled upon nsenter and easily entering a container's shell using this and this. However, these both assume that the origin (in their case the host machine, in my case the jenkins container) has Docker installed in order to find the PID of the destination container. I can nsenter into node-app from the host, but still no luck from jenkins.

Answer 1

node-app:
build: .
ports:
- 80:80
links:
- finalexercise_jenkins_1
jenkins:
image: jenkins
ports:
- 8080:8080
volumes:
- /home/ec2-user/final-exercise:/var/jenkins
Try the above. You are linking by image name, but you must use container name.
In your case, since you don't specify explicitly the container name, it gets auto-generated like this
finalexercise : folder where your docker-compose.yml is located
node-app : container configs tag
1 : you only have one container with the prefix finalexercise_node-app. If you built a second one, then its name will be finalexercise_node-app_2
The setup of the yml files:
node-app:
build: .
container_name: my-node-app
ports:
- 80:80
links:
- my-jenkins
jenkins:
image: jenkins
container_name: my-jenkins
ports:
- 8080:8080
volumes:
- /home/ec2-user/final-exercise:/var/jenkins
Of course you can specify a container name for the node-app as well, so you can use something constant for the communication.
Update
In order to test, log to a bash terminal of the jenkins container
docker exec -it my-jenkins bash
Then try to ping my-node-app, or even telnet for the specific port.
ping my-node-app:80
Or you could
telnet my-node-app 80
Update
What you want to do is easily accomplished by the exec command.
From your host you can execute this (try it so you are sure it's working)
docker exec -i <container_name> ./deploy.sh
If the above works, then your problem delegates to executing the same command from a container. As it is you can't do that, since the container that's issuing the command (jenkins) doesn't have access to your host's docker installation (which not only recognises the command, but holds control of the container you need access to).
I haven't used either of them, but I know of two solutions
Use this official guide to gain access to your host's docker daemon and issue docker commands from your containers as if you were doing it from your host.
Mount the docker binary and socket into the container, so the container acts as if it is the host (every command will be executed by the docker daemon of your host, since it's shared).
This thread from SO gives some more insight about this issue.