homelab/setup_todo.md

Proxmox Homelab CI/CD & Application Hosting Setup

This document outlines the setup for a comprehensive homelab environment on a Dell PowerEdge R720 (24 Cores / 96GB RAM) running Proxmox VE. The goal is to establish a fully open-source CI/CD pipeline for Docker images and host various applications.

I. Proxmox VE Host (Dell PowerEdge R720)

• Install Proxmox VE: Latest stable version.
• Configure Storage:
  • OS/Proxmox: Fast SSDs (e.g., 2x SSDs in ZFS mirror).
  • VM/CT Storage: Larger capacity SSDs (e.g., 2-4 SSDs in ZFS RAIDZ1 or RAID10).
  • ISO/Templates/Backups: Larger HDDs (e.g., 2x HDDs in ZFS mirror or NAS share).
• Configure Networking:
  • Bond NICs (LACP) if switch supports.
  • Setup VLANs (e.g., Management, VMs/CTs, DMZ).
• System Updates: Ensure Proxmox VE is fully updated.
• Create Base Templates:
  • Ubuntu Server LTS VM Template.
  • Ubuntu Server LTS CT Template.

II. Management & Core Infrastructure VMs/CTs

• CT 1: Ad Blocker / DNS Server (e.g., Pi-hole/AdGuard Home)
  • Deploy from Ubuntu CT template.
  • Install Pi-hole or AdGuard Home.
  • Configure DNS settings.
  • Point network clients to this DNS.
  • Resources: 1-2 vCPUs, 512MB-1GB RAM, 8GB Disk
• CT 2: Reverse Proxy & SSL Management (e.g., Nginx Proxy Manager)
  • Deploy from Ubuntu CT template.
  • Install Docker & Docker Compose.
  • Deploy Nginx Proxy Manager (Docker container).
  • Configure initial access and SSL.
  • Resources: 2 vCPUs, 1-2 GB RAM, 16GB Disk

III. CI/CD & DevOps Stack VMs/CTs

• VM 1: Git & CI/CD Orchestration Server (Gitea & Drone Server)
  • Deploy from Ubuntu VM template.
  • Install Gitea (binary or Docker).
    • Configure Gitea (database, admin user).
    • Create initial repositories.
  • Install Docker & Docker Compose.
  • Deploy Drone CI Server (Docker container).
    • Configure Drone Server (connect to Gitea, secrets).
  • Resources: 4-6 vCPUs, 8-16 GB RAM, 50-100GB Disk
• VM 2 (or CTs): Drone CI Runner(s)
  • Deploy from Ubuntu VM/CT template(s).
  • Install Docker Engine.
  • Deploy Drone Docker Runner (Docker container).
    • Register runner(s) with Drone Server.
  • Resources (per runner): 2-4 vCPUs, 4-8 GB RAM, 30-50GB Disk
• VM 3: Artifact & Container Registry Server (Harbor)
  • Deploy from Ubuntu VM template.
  • Install Docker & Docker Compose.
  • Deploy Harbor using its install.sh script (which uses Docker Compose).
    • Configure Harbor (hostname, admin password, storage).
    • (Optional) Configure vulnerability scanning.
  • Resources: 4-6 vCPUs, 8-16 GB RAM, 100GB+ Disk
  • (Alternative) Configure Gitea's built-in container registry (if skipping dedicated Harbor).

IV. Application Hosting / Deployment Target VMs/CTs

• VM 4 (or CT 3): Docker Application Host 1 ("Prod-like")
  • Deploy from Ubuntu VM/CT template.
  • Install Docker Engine & Docker Compose.
  • (Optional) Install Watchtower (pointing to Harbor).
  • (Optional) Install Portainer.
  • Resources: 4-8 vCPUs, 8-16 GB RAM, 50-100GB Disk
• VM 5 (or CT 4): Docker Application Host 2 ("Staging/Dev")
  • Deploy from Ubuntu VM/CT template.
  • Install Docker Engine & Docker Compose.
  • Resources: 2-4 vCPUs, 4-8 GB RAM, 50GB Disk
• (Optional) Kubernetes Cluster (e.g., K3s)
  • Deploy 1x Master K3s VM.
  • Deploy 2x Worker K3s VMs.
  • Initialize K3s cluster.
  • (Optional) Install Argo CD / Flux CD for GitOps.

V. Monitoring & Logging (Optional)

• CT 5: Monitoring Stack (Prometheus, Grafana, Loki)
  • Deploy from Ubuntu CT template.
  • Install Docker & Docker Compose.
  • Deploy Prometheus (Docker container).
  • Deploy Grafana (Docker container).
  • (Optional) Deploy Loki (Docker container).
  • Configure data sources and basic dashboards.
  • Resources: 2-4 vCPUs, 4-8 GB RAM, 50GB Disk

VI. General Configuration & Best Practices

• Proxmox Backups:
  • Configure scheduled backups for all critical VMs/CTs.
  • Verify backup storage location and retention.
• Security Hardening:
  • Strong passwords for all services and OS accounts.
  • Regular system updates (Proxmox host & guests).
  • Configure host firewalls (ufw on Ubuntu guests).
  • Minimize exposed ports.
• Documentation:
  • Keep notes on configurations, IP addresses, credentials (securely stored).
• CI/CD Pipeline Setup:
  • Create a sample application with a Dockerfile.
  • Push to Gitea.
  • Create .drone.yml pipeline:
    • Build step.
    • Push to Harbor step.
    • Deployment step (e.g., SSH + docker-compose up).
  • Test the full pipeline.

VII. Future Enhancements

• Centralized Authentication (e.g., FreeIPA, Keycloak).
• More advanced GitOps with ArgoCD/Flux.
• Distributed storage (e.g., Ceph - if you have enough nodes/disks).
• Automated SSL certificate management for internal services.