EZ-Homelab/ROUND_7_PREP.md

Round 7 Testing - Preparation and Safety Guidelines

Mission Context

Test AI-Homelab deployment scripts with focus on safe cleanup and recovery procedures. Round 6 revealed that aggressive cleanup operations caused system crashes requiring hard reboots and BIOS recovery.

Critical Safety Requirements - NEW for Round 7

⚠️ SYSTEM CRASH PREVENTION

Issue from Round 6: Aggressive cleanup operations caused system crashes requiring power cycles and BIOS recovery attempts.

Root Causes Identified:

1. Removing directories while Docker containers were actively using them
2. Aggressive rm -rf operations on Docker volumes while containers running
3. No graceful shutdown sequence before cleanup
4. Docker volume operations causing filesystem corruption

Safe Testing Procedure

Before Each Test Run

1. Always use the new reset script instead of manual cleanup
2. Never run cleanup commands while containers are running
3. Always stop containers gracefully before removing files
4. Monitor system resources during operations

Using the Safe Reset Script

cd ~/AI-Homelab/scripts
sudo ./reset-test-environment.sh

This script:

• ✅ Stops all containers gracefully (proper shutdown)
• ✅ Waits for containers to fully stop
• ✅ Removes Docker volumes safely
• ✅ Cleans directories only after containers stopped
• ✅ Preserves system packages and settings
• ✅ Does NOT touch Docker installation
• ✅ Does NOT modify system files

What NOT to Do (Dangerous Operations)

# ❌ NEVER do these while containers are running:
rm -rf /opt/stacks/core/traefik  # Can corrupt active containers
rm -rf /var/lib/docker/volumes/*  # Filesystem corruption risk
docker volume rm $(docker volume ls -q)  # Removes volumes containers need
find /var/lib/docker -exec rm -rf {} +  # EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

# ❌ NEVER force remove running containers:
docker rm -f $(docker ps -aq)  # Can cause state corruption

# ❌ NEVER use pkill on Docker processes:
pkill -9 docker  # Can corrupt Docker daemon state

Safe Cleanup Sequence (Manual)

If you need to clean up manually:

# 1. Stop services gracefully
cd /opt/stacks/core
docker compose down  # Waits for clean shutdown

# 2. Wait for full stop
sleep 5

# 3. Then and only then remove files
rm -rf /opt/stacks/core/traefik
rm -rf /opt/stacks/core/authelia

# 4. Remove volumes after containers stopped
docker volume rm core_authelia-data

Round 7 Objectives

Primary Goals

1. ✅ Verify safe reset script works without system crashes
2. ✅ Test full deployment after reset (round-trip testing)
3. ✅ Validate no file system corruption occurs
4. ✅ Ensure containers start cleanly after reset
5. ✅ Document any remaining edge cases

Testing Checklist

Pre-Testing Setup

• System is stable and responsive
• All previous containers stopped cleanly
• Disk space sufficient (5GB+ free)
• No filesystem errors: dmesg | grep -i error
• Docker daemon healthy: systemctl status docker

Round 7 Test Sequence

1. Clean slate using reset script

   sudo ./scripts/reset-test-environment.sh
   

   • Script completes without errors
   • System remains responsive
   • No kernel panics or crashes
   • All volumes removed cleanly

2. Fresh deployment with improved scripts

   sudo ./scripts/setup-homelab.sh
   

   • Completes successfully
   • No permission errors
   • Password hash generated correctly
   • Credentials saved properly

3. Deploy infrastructure

   sudo ./scripts/deploy-homelab.sh
   

   • Containers start cleanly
   • No file conflicts
   • Authelia initializes properly
   • Credentials work immediately

4. Verify services

   • Traefik accessible and routing
   • Authelia login works
   • Dockge UI accessible
   • SSL certificates generating

5. Test reset again (idempotency)

   sudo ./scripts/reset-test-environment.sh
   

   • Stops everything gracefully
   • No orphaned containers
   • No volume leaks
   • System stable after reset

Changes Made for Round 7

New Files

• scripts/reset-test-environment.sh - Safe cleanup script with proper shutdown sequence

Modified Files

• scripts/deploy-homelab.sh:
  • Added graceful container stop before config file operations
  • Removed automatic database cleanup (now use reset script instead)
  • Added safety checks before rm operations
  • Better warnings about existing databases

Removed Dangerous Operations

# REMOVED from deploy-homelab.sh:
docker compose up -d authelia 2>&1 | grep -q "encryption key" && {
    docker compose down authelia
    sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker/volumes/core_authelia-data/_data/*
}
# This was causing crashes - containers couldn't handle abrupt volume removal

# REMOVED blind directory removal:
rm -rf /opt/stacks/core/traefik /opt/stacks/core/authelia
# Now checks if containers are running first

System Health Monitoring

Before Each Test Run

# Check system health
free -h  # Memory available
df -h    # Disk space
dmesg | tail -20  # Recent kernel messages
systemctl status docker  # Docker daemon health
docker ps  # Running containers

During Testing

• Monitor system logs: journalctl -f
• Watch Docker logs: docker compose logs -f
• Check resource usage: htop or top

After Issues

# If system becomes unresponsive:
# 1. DO NOT hard power off immediately
# 2. Try to SSH in from another machine
# 3. Gracefully stop Docker: systemctl stop docker
# 4. Wait 30 seconds for disk writes to complete
# 5. Then reboot: systemctl reboot

# Check for filesystem corruption after boot:
sudo dmesg | grep -i error
sudo journalctl -xb | grep -i error

Recovery Procedures

If Deploy Script Hangs

# In another terminal:
cd /opt/stacks/core
docker compose ps  # See what's running
docker compose logs authelia  # Check for errors
docker compose down  # Stop gracefully
# Then re-run deploy

If Authelia Won't Start (Encryption Key Error)

# Use the reset script:
sudo ./scripts/reset-test-environment.sh
# Then start fresh deployment

If System Crashed During Testing

# After reboot:
# 1. Check Docker state
systemctl status docker
docker ps -a  # Look for crashed containers

# 2. Clean up properly
cd /opt/stacks/core
docker compose down --remove-orphans

# 3. Remove corrupted volumes
docker volume prune -f

# 4. Start fresh with reset script
sudo ./scripts/reset-test-environment.sh

Success Criteria for Round 7

Must Have

• ✅ Reset script completes without system crashes
• ✅ Can deploy and reset multiple times safely
• ✅ No filesystem corruption after any operation
• ✅ System remains responsive throughout testing
• ✅ All containers stop gracefully

Should Have

• ✅ Clear warnings before destructive operations
• ✅ Confirmation prompts for cleanup
• ✅ Progress indicators during long operations
• ✅ Health checks before and after operations

Nice to Have

• ⭐ Automatic backup before reset
• ⭐ Rollback capability
• ⭐ System health validation
• ⭐ Detailed logging of all operations

Emergency Contacts / References

• Docker best practices: https://docs.docker.com/config/daemon/
• Linux filesystem safety: man sync, man fsync
• systemd service management: man systemctl

Post-Round 7 Review

Document These

• Any new crash scenarios discovered
• System resource usage patterns
• Time required for clean operations
• Any remaining unsafe operations
• User experience improvements needed

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Remember: System stability is more important than testing speed. Always wait for clean shutdowns and never force operations.