diff --git a/Dockerfile-app b/Dockerfile
similarity index 90%
rename from Dockerfile-app
rename to Dockerfile
index 243d175e7..4d0761ccf 100644
--- a/Dockerfile-app
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install --no-install-recommends --no-install-sugge
     && ln -s /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libldap.so /usr/lib/libldap.so \
     && ln -s /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/liblber.so /usr/lib/liblber.so \
     && docker-php-ext-install -j$(nproc) xml gd ldap mysqli \
-    && pecl install timezonedb \
-    && docker-php-ext-enable timezonedb \
+    && pecl install timezonedb xdebug\
+    && docker-php-ext-enable timezonedb xdebug\
     && curl https://getcomposer.org/download/1.8.4/composer.phar -o /usr/local/bin/composer \
     && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/composer
 
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ COPY docker/php.ini /usr/local/etc/php/
 COPY . /var/www/html
 
 RUN cd /var/www/html \
-    && composer install --no-ansi --no-dev --no-interaction --no-plugins --no-progress --no-scripts --no-suggest --optimize-autoloader \
+    && composer install --no-ansi --no-dev --no-interaction --no-plugins --no-progress --no-suggest --optimize-autoloader \
     && mkdir -p /var/www/html/app/tmp/cache/persistent /var/www/html/app/tmp/cache/models /var/www/html/app/tmp/logs \
     && chown www-data:www-data -R /var/www/html/app/tmp/cache \
     && ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/www/html/app/tmp/logs/api.log \
diff --git a/Dockerfile-web b/Dockerfile-web
deleted file mode 100644
index b19d93955..000000000
--- a/Dockerfile-web
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-FROM nginx:1.11
-
-COPY docker/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
-COPY docker/docker-entrypoint.sh /
-COPY app/webroot/ /var/www/html/
-
-RUN chmod +x /docker-entrypoint.sh
-
-ENTRYPOINT ["/docker-entrypoint.sh"]
-
-CMD ["nginx", "-g", "daemon off;"]
diff --git a/app/controllers/components/upgrader.php b/app/controllers/components/upgrader.php
index ee4fba216..0ed7db17d 100644
--- a/app/controllers/components/upgrader.php
+++ b/app/controllers/components/upgrader.php
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ public function __construct()
         $scriptNames = glob(APP.DS.'libs'.DS.'upgrade_scripts/*.php');
         sort($scriptNames);
         foreach ($scriptNames as $script) {
-            if (basename($script) == 'upgrade_base.php') {
+            if (basename($script) == 'upgrade_base.php' || basename($script) == 'upgrade_default.php') {
                 continue;
             }
             require_once($script);
diff --git a/app/controllers/install_controller.php b/app/controllers/install_controller.php
index 641eb85c0..827bc46dc 100644
--- a/app/controllers/install_controller.php
+++ b/app/controllers/install_controller.php
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ class InstallController extends Controller
     public $components   = array(
         'Session',
         'installHelper',
+        'Upgrader'
     );
     public $helpers = array('Session', 'Html', 'Js');
     public $layout = 'installer';
@@ -158,6 +159,15 @@ function install4()
             $db = ConnectionManager::getDataSource('default');
             $db->cacheSources = false;
 
+            // Try to patch the database if needed, note that this database patching
+            // is only for small changes, not for large version changes
+            $ret = $this->Upgrader->upgrade();
+            if (!$ret) {
+                $this->Session->setFlash(__('Database patching failed - '.$ret, true));
+                $this->redirect(array('action' => 'install4'));
+                return;
+            }
+
             $this->createSuperAdmin(
                 $this->data['InstallValidationStep4']['super_admin'],
                 $this->data['InstallValidationStep4']['password'],
@@ -178,27 +188,10 @@ function install4()
                 )
             );
             $this->installHelper->updateSystemParameters($sysparams);
-            // mark this instance as installed
-            $f = fopen(TMP.'installed.txt', 'w');
-            if (!$f) {
-                $this->Session->setFlash(sprintf(__('Installation failed, unable to write to %s dir', true), CONFIGS));
-                $this->redirect(array('action' => 'install4'));
-                return;
-            }
-            fclose($f);
 
             // congratulate the user for a successful install
             $this->redirect(array('action' => 'install5'));
-        } /*else {
-            // Try to patch the database if needed, note that this database patching
-            // is only for small changes, not for large version changes
-            $ret = $this->patchDB();
-            if ($ret) {
-                $this->Session->setFlash(__('Database patching failed - '.$ret, true));
-                $this->redirect(array('action' => 'install3'));
-                return;
-            }
-        }*/
+        }
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_330.php b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_330.php
index 9d0082207..03ff49863 100644
--- a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_330.php
+++ b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_330.php
@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ class Upgrade330 extends UpgradeBase
 	 */
 	public function __construct()
 	{
-		$this->fromVersions = array(null, '3.2.0');
+		$this->fromVersions = array(null, '3.1.9', '3.2.0');
 		$this->toVersion = '3.3.0';
-		$this->dbVersion = Configure::read('DATABASE_VERSION');
+		$this->dbVersion = 14;
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -55,4 +55,4 @@ public function up()
 
 		return true;
 	}
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_331.php b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_331.php
index b74e4ae21..d87241aab 100644
--- a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_331.php
+++ b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_331.php
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ public function __construct()
 	{
 		$this->fromVersions = array(null, '3.3.0');
 		$this->toVersion = '3.3.1';
-		$this->dbVersion = Configure::read('DATABASE_VERSION');
+		$this->dbVersion = 15;
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -55,4 +55,4 @@ public function up()
 
 		return true;
 	}
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_332.php b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_332.php
index 91e5dbbf5..57d355d4c 100644
--- a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_332.php
+++ b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_332.php
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ public function __construct()
     {
         $this->fromVersions = array(null, '3.3.1');
         $this->toVersion = '3.3.2';
-        $this->dbVersion = Configure::read('DATABASE_VERSION');
+        $this->dbVersion = 15;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -46,4 +46,4 @@ public function up()
         // nothing to patch
         return true;
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_334.php b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_334.php
index cf45eec3f..a3f2ed507 100644
--- a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_334.php
+++ b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_334.php
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ public function __construct()
     {
         $this->fromVersions = array(null, '3.3.2', '3.3.3');
         $this->toVersion = '3.3.4';
-        $this->dbVersion = Configure::read('DATABASE_VERSION');
+        $this->dbVersion = 15;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -55,4 +55,4 @@ public function up()
 
         return true;
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_340.php b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_340.php
index 3e39e539b..af41b3231 100644
--- a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_340.php
+++ b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_340.php
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ public function __construct()
     {
         $this->fromVersions = array(null, '3.3.4', '3.3.5');
         $this->toVersion = '3.4.0';
-        $this->dbVersion = Configure::read('DATABASE_VERSION');
+        $this->dbVersion = 16;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -55,4 +55,4 @@ public function up()
 
         return true;
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_344.php b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_344.php
index d53c646af..d6119f1c7 100644
--- a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_344.php
+++ b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_344.php
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ public function __construct()
     {
         $this->fromVersions = array(null, '3.4.0', '3.4.1', '3.4.2', '3.4.3');
         $this->toVersion = '3.4.4';
-        $this->dbVersion = Configure::read('DATABASE_VERSION');
+        $this->dbVersion = 17;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -55,4 +55,4 @@ public function up()
 
         return true;
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_base.php b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_base.php
index 86fbd8114..7fcab5683 100644
--- a/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_base.php
+++ b/app/libs/upgrade_scripts/upgrade_base.php
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ class UpgradeBase
     public function isUpgradable()
     {
         $sysparameter = ClassRegistry::init('SysParameter');
+        # make sure to get the value from DB
+        $sysparameter->reload();
         $this->currentVersion = $sysparameter->get('system.version');
         return in_array($this->currentVersion, $this->fromVersions);
     }
@@ -66,6 +68,7 @@ public function upgrade() {
             // because there's no pre-existing database.version entry,
             // upgrade_310 should properly add this back
             $sysparameter->setValue('database.version', $this->dbVersion);
+            $sysparameter->setValue('system.version', $this->toVersion);
             if (!$sysparameter->get('system.absolute_url')) {
                 $sysparameter->setValue('system.absolute_url', Router::url('/', true));
             }
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 190fd5f91..0fcc614f7 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,15 +1,13 @@
-version: '2'
+version: '3'
 services:
   db:
-    image: mariadb:10.1
+    image: mariadb:10.4
     container_name: ipeer_db
     environment:
       - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=randompassword
       - MYSQL_DATABASE=ipeer
       - MYSQL_USER=ipeer
       - MYSQL_PASSWORD=ipeer
-    ports:
-      - "13306:3306"
     volumes:
       - ./.data:/var/lib/mysql
     ports:
@@ -18,12 +16,11 @@ services:
     image: ubcctlt/ipeer-app
     build:
       context: .
-      dockerfile: Dockerfile-app
     container_name: ipeer_app
     volumes:
       - .:/var/www/html
-    ports:
-      - "9000:9000"
+      # uncomment to enable xdebug remote debugging
+      #- ./docker/xdebug.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/xdebug.ini
     environment:
       - IPEER_DB_HOST=db
       - IPEER_DB_USER=ipeer
@@ -39,6 +36,8 @@ services:
       #- IPEER_AUTH=Ldap
       #- IPEER_AUTH_LDAP_host=ldap.example.com
       #- IPEER_AUTH_LDAP_port=636
+      # uncomment to enable xdebug remote debugging
+      #- PHP_IDE_CONFIG=serverName=docker
     depends_on:
       - db
   worker: &worker
@@ -48,15 +47,11 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "9002:9000"
   web:
-    image: ubcctlt/ipeer-web
-    build:
-      context: .
-      dockerfile: Dockerfile-web
+    image: nginx:1.19-alpine
     container_name: ipeer_web
     volumes:
       - ./app/webroot:/var/www/html
-    environment:
-      - NGINX_FASTCGI_PASS=ipeer_app:9000
+      - ./docker/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
     ports:
       - "8080:80"
     depends_on:
@@ -91,15 +86,11 @@ services:
       - db
   # for running unit tests
   web-unittest:
-    image: ubcctlt/ipeer-web
-    build:
-      context: .
-      dockerfile: Dockerfile-web
+    image: nginx:1.19-alpine
     container_name: ipeer_web_unittest
     volumes:
       - ./app/webroot:/var/www/html
-    environment:
-      - NGINX_FASTCGI_PASS=ipeer_app_unittest:9000
+      - ./docker/nginx-unittest.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
     ports:
       - "8081:80"
     depends_on:
diff --git a/docker/nginx-unittest.conf b/docker/nginx-unittest.conf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0d884da42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/nginx-unittest.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+server {
+    listen  80;
+
+    # this path MUST be exactly as docker-compose.fpm.volumes,
+    # even if it doesn't exists in this dock.
+    root /var/www/html;
+
+    location / {
+        try_files $uri /index.php$is_args$args;
+    }
+
+    location ~ ^/.+\.php(/|$) {
+        fastcgi_pass ipeer_app_unittest:9000;
+        include fastcgi_params;
+        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/docker/nginx.conf b/docker/nginx.conf
index 403842bdd..3cf842781 100644
--- a/docker/nginx.conf
+++ b/docker/nginx.conf
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ server {
     }
 
     location ~ ^/.+\.php(/|$) {
-        fastcgi_pass NGINX_FASTCGI_PASS;
+        fastcgi_pass ipeer_app:9000;
         include fastcgi_params;
         fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
     }
diff --git a/docker/xdebug.ini b/docker/xdebug.ini
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..80522f581
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/xdebug.ini
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+; This file is intended to supplement the auto-generated "docker-php-ext-xdebug.ini" that gets created by the
+; "docker-php-ext-enable xdebug" command. That ini file will contain the path to the dynamically built extension file
+; (which is why they should remain separate).
+
+[XDebug]
+; Allow remote hosts to enable debugging, in this case connecting back to the automatically maintained DNS
+; name referencing our workstation: host.docker.internal
+xdebug.remote_enable = true
+xdebug.remote_host = host.docker.internal
+xdebug.remote_port = 9000
+xdebug.remote_handler = dbgp
+
+; Profiling (enable via cookie or GET/POST variable: XDEBUG_PROFILE=1).
+xdebug.profiler_enable = 0
+xdebug.profiler_enable_trigger = 1
+xdebug.profiler_output_dir = /tmp/xdebug-profiling/
+
+; var_dump() settings.
+xdebug.overload_var_dump = 1
+xdebug.cli_color = 1
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index 9c3d94e5c..e0df479a5 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -48,7 +48,6 @@ Running with Docker
 Note: if you are planning to do development, you can skip this step.
 ```
 docker pull ubcctlt/ipeer-app
-docker pull ubcctlt/ipeer-web
 ```
 
 #### Edit docker-compose.yml