Files
felhom.eu/documentation/operations/tailscale.md
T
admin 83c47eaf23 docs(ops): Tailscale makes the N100 (felhom-pve) location-independent
felhom-pve joins the tailnet as a host package (100.70.170.35, expiry
disabled); DooPlex already advertised 192.168.0.0/24 via its GitOps k3s
tailscale pod (100.107.87.53). ssh felhom-pve now targets the tailnet IP
(direct-over-LAN at home, tunnel when away); felhom-pve-lan = LAN fallback.
--accept-dns=false on the host. Host converted static->DHCP (reservation
keeps .162 at home). Measured: --accept-routes hairpins the local subnet
at home -> travel-only opt-in. PBS is offsite (own WireGuard tunnel), needs
none of this. Recorded not fixed: controller<->agent plane hard-pinned to
192.168.0.162 (agent listen_addr + guest bootstrap.json) -> not yet portable
off-LAN. No code changed. Full doc: documentation/operations/tailscale.md

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01XMForrE4c1wZxd9LukxYVt
2026-07-19 13:31:09 +02:00

105 lines
6.6 KiB
Markdown

# Tailscale — location-independent access to felhom-pve (the N100)
> Added 2026-07-19. Goal: the demo Proxmox host (N100, `felhom-pve`) can be taken to a different
> LAN (e.g. a vacation home) and stay reachable from DooPlex, while its own dependencies keep
> working. The `ssh felhom-pve` alias remains the interface — only its transport changed.
## Topology (who is what)
| Node | Tailnet name | Tailnet IPv4 | Transport it provides | Managed as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DooPlex (192.168.0.180) | `dooplex` | `100.107.87.53` | **subnet router** advertising `192.168.0.0/24`; expiry disabled | **k3s pod** `admin-system/tailscale` (`hostNetwork`, GitOps/ArgoCD) — 157 d old, predates this task |
| N100 (192.168.0.162) | `felhom-pve` | `100.70.170.35` | its own node; expiry disabled | **host package** `tailscale` (Debian trixie apt repo), `tailscaled.service` |
Tailnet: `nagyfenyvesi.viktor@gmail.com` (Tailscale Free). Both nodes run v1.98.x.
`ssh felhom-pve` now resolves to `100.70.170.35` (see `~/.ssh/config` on DooPlex). Tailscale takes
the **direct LAN path** when both boxes are home (measured: `pong … via 192.168.0.162:41641 in 1ms`)
and falls back to the tunnel / a DERP relay when the N100 is remote. `felhom-pve-lan`
`192.168.0.162` is the explicit LAN-only fallback.
## Hard rule: `--accept-dns=false` on the host node
The N100's `tailscaled` runs with **`--accept-dns=false`** (`CorpDNS:false`). MagicDNS must never
rewrite `/etc/resolv.conf`: the box relies on pi-hole (`192.168.0.250`) for split-horizon
(`gitea.dooplex.hu``192.168.0.180`). Verified byte-identical after `tailscale up`. (DooPlex's
containerised node runs `TS_ACCEPT_DNS=true`, but because it is a pod with its own mount namespace
that only rewrites the *container's* resolv.conf — the DooPlex host resolv.conf is untouched.)
## The accept-routes spike (measured 2026-07-19) — leave it OFF at home
`--accept-routes` is **OFF** on `felhom-pve` and should stay off **while the box is on
`192.168.0.0/24`**. Enabling it there was tested and **degraded local traffic**:
- Tailscale installed `192.168.0.0/24 dev tailscale0` into **routing table 52** with an
`ip rule 5270: from all lookup 52` that outranks `main`, so the *whole local subnet* hijacked onto
the tunnel: `ip route get 192.168.0.180` and `…0.250` flipped from `vmbr0` to `tailscale0`,
ping RTT to `.180` went `0.3 ms → ~68 ms`, and inbound SSH went asymmetric and stalled.
- **PBS was unaffected** (`10.77.0.1` stays on `wg-felhom`), because PBS does not use this subnet.
- Rollback (`tailscale set --accept-routes=false`) restored direct `vmbr0` immediately.
**When travelling**, the N100 is on a *different* subnet, so accepting `192.168.0.0/24` no longer
overlaps the local net and is safe — it lets the box reach `192.168.0.180`/gitea over the tunnel.
Treat it as an **opt-in, travel-only** toggle you turn on only if you need a home-LAN service (e.g. a
new controller-image pull), and **turn back OFF before the box returns home**. Management SSH over
`100.x` is immune to the hairpin either way (that path was used to perform the rollback).
## PBS does NOT depend on the home LAN
Contrary to the original assumption, PBS is **offsite**: `storage.cfg` targets `10.77.0.1` over the
**WireGuard** interface `wg-felhom` whose endpoint is a public Hetzner address (`…:443`). It works
from any location with internet and needs neither the subnet router nor `--accept-routes`. This is
why the subnet router is *nice-to-have* (gitea image pulls while away), not load-bearing.
## Key expiry
Disabled on **both** nodes in the admin console (a node whose key expires mid-trip drops off the
tailnet). Confirm on the Machines page: each row shows an *Expiry disabled* badge.
## Rollback / uninstall (host node)
```bash
ssh felhom-pve "tailscale set --accept-routes=false" # undo the travel toggle
ssh felhom-pve "tailscale down" # leave the tailnet (reversible: tailscale up)
ssh felhom-pve "systemctl disable --now tailscaled && apt-get purge -y tailscale" # full removal
# then repoint ~/.ssh/config Host felhom-pve back to 192.168.0.162 (or use felhom-pve-lan)
```
## Portability of the N100 itself
- **Host network is DHCP** (converted 2026-07-19; `iface vmbr0 inet dhcp`). At home a DHCP
**reservation** pins MAC `68:1d:ef:5d:a6:64``192.168.0.162` so home behaviour is unchanged.
Revert on the box: `cp /root/interfaces.static-revert-20260719 /etc/network/interfaces && ifreload -a`.
- **Guest 9201** is already DHCP.
### ⚠️ Known blocker — the controller↔agent plane is pinned to `192.168.0.162` (NOT fixed)
`felhom-agent` binds `listen_addr: 192.168.0.162:8443` (in `/etc/felhom-agent/agent.json`) and guest
9201's `/etc/felhom-bootstrap/bootstrap.json` points its controller at `192.168.0.162:8443`. On a
foreign LAN the host will not *have* `192.168.0.162`, so the agent cannot bind it (agent down) and
the guest cannot reach it. **Tailscale and host-DHCP do not fix this** (guests bridge at L2). Making
the box fully functional off-LAN needs a design change — bind `0.0.0.0:8443` and give the guest a
stable way to reach the host (e.g. a host-only bridge with a fixed private IP). **Until then the N100
is reachable and backs up off-LAN, but its local operator plane is not portable.**
### Off-LAN DNS note
At a foreign LAN, DHCP repoints the host's resolv.conf at the local resolver, so `gitea.dooplex.hu`
(pi-hole split-horizon) will not resolve. To pull a controller image while away, either turn on the
travel `--accept-routes` toggle *and* add a temporary `192.168.0.180 gitea.dooplex.hu` line to
`/etc/hosts`, or point DNS at `192.168.0.250` over the subnet route. External customer access is via
Cloudflare Tunnel and is unaffected.
## Vacation-day checklist (for the operator)
1. At the destination, connect the N100 by **wired ethernet**, power on, wait ~2 min.
2. From DooPlex: `tailscale`-side — check the pod: `sudo kubectl -n admin-system exec deploy/tailscale -- tailscale status` shows `felhom-pve` **online** (likely *relayed*/DERP at first — fine).
3. `ssh felhom-pve pveversion` — management reachable over the tailnet.
4. `ssh felhom-pve "pvesm status | grep -i pbs"`**the real off-LAN PBS test** (could not be
validated at home; PBS rides its own WireGuard tunnel, so it should be green).
5. Demo URL via Cloudflare Tunnel loads (customer-facing path, independent of all the above).
6. If you need a home-LAN service (gitea image pull): `ssh felhom-pve "tailscale set --accept-routes=true"`
+ `/etc/hosts` entry as above — then set it back to `false` before the box comes home.
7. Expect the controller↔agent plane to be **down** off-LAN until the pinned-`.162` blocker above is
fixed.