LXC Service Deployment Skill

Deploy services to the Proxmox HA cluster with full infrastructure integration.

Infrastructure Inventory

Update these values if infrastructure changes. IPs are used for core infrastructure (DNS may be unavailable during configuration). DNS names are used for validation and service access.

# === CORE INFRASTRUCTURE (use IPs - DNS may not be available) ===
PROXMOX_NODES=("192.168.1.137" "192.168.1.125" "192.168.1.126")
KEA_PRIMARY="192.168.1.133"
KEA_SECONDARY="192.168.1.134"
ADGUARD_PRIMARY="192.168.1.253"
ADGUARD_SECONDARY="192.168.1.224"
TRAEFIK_IP="192.168.1.110"
HOMEPAGE_IP="192.168.1.45"

# === SERVICE ACCESS (use DNS after deployment) ===
TRAEFIK_DASHBOARD="https://traefik.internal.lakehouse.wtf"
UPTIME_KUMA="https://uptime.internal.lakehouse.wtf"
DOMAIN_SUFFIX="internal.lakehouse.wtf"

# === CONFIGURATION PATHS ===
KEA_CONFIG="/etc/kea/kea-dhcp4.conf"
ADGUARD_CONFIG="/opt/AdGuardHome/AdGuardHome.yaml"
TRAEFIK_ROUTERS="/etc/traefik/dynamic/routers.yml"
TRAEFIK_SERVICES="/etc/traefik/dynamic/services.yml"
HOMEPAGE_CONFIG="/home/homepage/homepage/config/services.yaml"

Quick Reference

Component	Primary	Secondary	Config Path
Proxmox	.137	.125, .126	-
Kea DHCP	.133	.134	/etc/kea/kea-dhcp4.conf
AdGuard DNS	.253	.224	/opt/AdGuardHome/AdGuardHome.yaml
Traefik	.110	-	/etc/traefik/dynamic/*.yml
Uptime Kuma	.132	-	Web UI
Homepage	.45	-	/home/homepage/homepage/config/services.yaml

Domain Pattern: <service>.internal.lakehouse.wtf → Traefik → Backend

DNS Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ External DNS (Cloudflare)                                   │
│   *.lakehouse.wtf → Cloudflare (tunnel/proxy)              │
│   *.internal.lakehouse.wtf → Cloudflare (needs override!)  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Internal DNS (AdGuard Rewrite) - OVERRIDES Cloudflare       │
│   service.internal.lakehouse.wtf → Traefik IP              │
│   (Per-service rewrites for flexibility with standalone HW) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Traefik Reverse Proxy                                       │
│   Routes by Host header → Backend service IP:PORT           │
│   TLS termination with Cloudflare wildcard cert            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Why per-service DNS rewrites (not wildcard):

• Allows pointing some services directly to standalone hardware, bypassing Traefik
• More explicit control over what resolves internally
• Flexibility for non-HTTP services or services with their own TLS

Deployment Workflow

Phase 1: Planning

Gather this information before starting:

Field	Value	Notes
Service name		Lowercase, hyphenated (e.g., my-service)
LXC ID		Check availability across cluster
Target IP		Verify not in use
Service port		Check app documentation
Health check path		Usually /, /health, or /api/health
CPU cores		Default: 2
RAM (MB)		Default: 2048
Disk (GB)		Default: 20

Verify availability:

SERVICE="my-service"
IP="192.168.1.XXX"
LXC_ID="XXX"

# Check IP not in use
ping -c 2 $IP

# Check LXC ID available across cluster
for node in "${PROXMOX_NODES[@]}"; do
  ssh root@$node "pct list | grep -w $LXC_ID" && echo "⚠️  ID $LXC_ID in use on $node"
done

Phase 2: Container Creation

NODE="${PROXMOX_NODES[0]}"  # Or select based on resource availability
LXC_ID="XXX"
HOSTNAME="service-name"
IP="192.168.1.XXX"

# Create container (Debian 12)
ssh root@$NODE "pct create $LXC_ID local:vztmpl/debian-12-standard_12.7-1_amd64.tar.zst \
  --hostname $HOSTNAME \
  --memory 2048 --cores 2 --rootfs local-lvm:20 \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=$IP/24,gw=192.168.1.1 \
  --onboot 1 --unprivileged 1"

ssh root@$NODE "pct start $LXC_ID"

# Get MAC address (needed for DHCP)
MAC=$(ssh root@$NODE "pct config $LXC_ID | grep hwaddr | awk '{print \$2}'")
echo "MAC Address: $MAC"

Phase 3: DHCP Reservation (Kea)

⚠️ Both servers must be updated for HA failover:

SERVICE="service-name"
IP="192.168.1.XXX"
MAC="XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX"

# Backup configs on both servers
ssh root@$KEA_PRIMARY "cp $KEA_CONFIG ${KEA_CONFIG}.backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
ssh root@$KEA_SECONDARY "cp $KEA_CONFIG ${KEA_CONFIG}.backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)"

# Add reservation to primary (edit the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet's reservations array)
# Format: {"hw-address": "$MAC", "ip-address": "$IP", "hostname": "$SERVICE"}

# Copy config to secondary
scp root@$KEA_PRIMARY:$KEA_CONFIG /tmp/kea-dhcp4.conf
scp /tmp/kea-dhcp4.conf root@$KEA_SECONDARY:$KEA_CONFIG

# Reload both servers
ssh root@$KEA_PRIMARY "systemctl reload isc-kea-dhcp4-server"
ssh root@$KEA_SECONDARY "systemctl reload isc-kea-dhcp4-server"

# Verify
ssh root@$KEA_PRIMARY "grep -A2 '$MAC' $KEA_CONFIG"

Phase 4: DNS Rewrite (AdGuard)

⚠️ Both servers must be updated for HA failover:

SERVICE="service-name"
DOMAIN="${SERVICE}.${DOMAIN_SUFFIX}"

# Backup and add rewrite to BOTH AdGuard servers
for AG in $ADGUARD_PRIMARY $ADGUARD_SECONDARY; do
  ssh root@$AG "cp $ADGUARD_CONFIG ${ADGUARD_CONFIG}.backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
  
  # Add rewrite entry (append to rewrites section)
  ssh root@$AG "cat >> $ADGUARD_CONFIG << EOF
  - domain: $DOMAIN
    answer: $TRAEFIK_IP
EOF"
  
  ssh root@$AG "systemctl restart AdGuardHome"
done

# Verify DNS resolution (should return Traefik IP)
echo "Testing DNS resolution..."
dig +short $DOMAIN @$ADGUARD_PRIMARY
dig +short $DOMAIN @$ADGUARD_SECONDARY

Note on standalone hardware: If deploying to hardware outside Proxmox that should bypass Traefik, point the DNS rewrite directly to the hardware IP instead of Traefik.

Phase 5: Traefik Configuration

Add router to $TRAEFIK_ROUTERS:

    service-name-router:
      rule: "Host(`service-name.internal.lakehouse.wtf`)"
      entryPoints:
        - websecure
      service: service-name-service
      tls:
        certResolver: cloudflare

Add service to $TRAEFIK_SERVICES:

    service-name-service:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
          - url: "http://192.168.1.XXX:PORT"
        healthCheck:
          path: /health
          interval: 30s
          timeout: 5s

# Apply changes
ssh root@$TRAEFIK_IP "systemctl reload traefik"

# Verify via API (uses DNS - confirms full chain works)
curl -sk "$TRAEFIK_DASHBOARD/api/http/routers" | grep -q "service-name" && echo "✅ Router configured"
curl -sk "$TRAEFIK_DASHBOARD/api/http/services" | grep -q "service-name" && echo "✅ Service configured"

Phase 6: Monitoring & Dashboard

Uptime Kuma (access via $UPTIME_KUMA):

1. Add New Monitor
2. Type: HTTP(s)
3. URL: https://service-name.internal.lakehouse.wtf
4. Interval: 60s
5. Expected status: 200 (or 302 if redirects)

Homepage (edit on $HOMEPAGE_IP):

ssh root@$HOMEPAGE_IP "cat >> $HOMEPAGE_CONFIG << 'EOF'
- Service Name:
    icon: service-icon
    href: https://service-name.internal.lakehouse.wtf
    description: Service description
EOF"

Phase 7: Validation Checklist

Run all checks - all should pass before marking deployment complete:

SERVICE="service-name"
IP="192.168.1.XXX"
PORT="XXXX"
MAC="XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX"
DOMAIN="${SERVICE}.${DOMAIN_SUFFIX}"

echo "=== Deployment Validation ==="

# 1. Container accessible
ssh root@$IP "hostname" &>/dev/null && echo "✅ Container accessible via SSH" || echo "❌ Container SSH failed"

# 2. Service listening on expected port
ssh root@$IP "ss -tlnp | grep -q ':$PORT'" && echo "✅ Service listening on port $PORT" || echo "❌ Service not listening"

# 3. DNS resolving to Traefik
dig +short $DOMAIN | grep -q "$TRAEFIK_IP" && echo "✅ DNS resolves to Traefik" || echo "❌ DNS misconfigured"

# 4. HTTPS accessible through Traefik
curl -skI "https://$DOMAIN" | grep -qE "HTTP/[12]" && echo "✅ HTTPS working via Traefik" || echo "❌ HTTPS failed"

# 5. DHCP reservation exists
ssh root@$KEA_PRIMARY "grep -q '$MAC' $KEA_CONFIG" && echo "✅ DHCP reservation on primary" || echo "❌ DHCP missing on primary"
ssh root@$KEA_SECONDARY "grep -q '$MAC' $KEA_CONFIG" && echo "✅ DHCP reservation on secondary" || echo "❌ DHCP missing on secondary"

# 6. Traefik health check passing
curl -sk "$TRAEFIK_DASHBOARD/api/http/services" | grep -A5 "$SERVICE" | grep -q '"status":"UP"' && echo "✅ Traefik health check passing" || echo "⚠️  Check Traefik health status"

echo "=== Validation Complete ==="

Standalone Hardware Deployment

For services running on dedicated hardware (not LXC), skip Phase 2 (container creation) and adjust:

• Phase 3 (DHCP): Use the hardware's actual MAC address
• Phase 4 (DNS):
  • Point to Traefik IP if proxying through Traefik (recommended)
  • Point directly to hardware IP if bypassing Traefik
• Phase 5 (Traefik): Backend URL points to hardware IP

Common Issues

Issue	Diagnosis	Solution
502 Bad Gateway	curl -I http://$IP:$PORT fails	Service not running or wrong port in Traefik
DNS returns Cloudflare IP	dig +short $DOMAIN shows 104.x.x.x	AdGuard rewrite missing - add to both servers
IP Conflict	ping $IP responds before container created	Choose different IP
DHCP not assigning IP	Container gets random IP	Check MAC in reservation matches pct config
Traefik 404	Route exists but 404	Check Host() rule matches exactly

Rollback Procedure

# 1. Stop and destroy container
ssh root@$NODE "pct stop $LXC_ID && pct destroy $LXC_ID"

# 2. Remove DHCP reservation (restore backup or edit manually)
ssh root@$KEA_PRIMARY "cp ${KEA_CONFIG}.backup-* $KEA_CONFIG && systemctl reload isc-kea-dhcp4-server"
ssh root@$KEA_SECONDARY "cp ${KEA_CONFIG}.backup-* $KEA_CONFIG && systemctl reload isc-kea-dhcp4-server"

# 3. Remove Traefik config (edit files to remove router/service entries)
ssh root@$TRAEFIK_IP "systemctl reload traefik"

# 4. Remove DNS rewrite (restore backup or edit manually)
ssh root@$ADGUARD_PRIMARY "cp ${ADGUARD_CONFIG}.backup-* $ADGUARD_CONFIG && systemctl restart AdGuardHome"
ssh root@$ADGUARD_SECONDARY "cp ${ADGUARD_CONFIG}.backup-* $ADGUARD_CONFIG && systemctl restart AdGuardHome"

# 5. Remove from Uptime Kuma (manual via web UI)
# 6. Remove from Homepage (edit $HOMEPAGE_CONFIG)

References

• references/infrastructure.md - Full inventory with all IPs and paths
• references/traefik-templates.md - Router/service YAML templates and middleware examples