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5b00616f41
- README: cluster architecture, quick start, use cases - USAGE: stack topology, custom CLI reference - TROUBLESHOOTING: operational safety rules - .env.example: configuration template - Makefile: build shortcuts
325 lines
9.6 KiB
Markdown
325 lines
9.6 KiB
Markdown
# Flux CD Integration Planning — START HERE
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## What Just Happened?
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Your subagent completed **comprehensive planning documentation** for integrating Flux CD v2 with your homelab's helmfile-based infrastructure.
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**Three complete documents created:**
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1. **FLUX_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md** (1,810 lines)
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- Full technical specification with code examples
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- Phase-by-phase implementation roadmap
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- Conflict resolution & safety procedures
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- Testing strategy & risk assessment
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2. **FLUX_PLANNING_SUMMARY.md** (351 lines)
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- Executive overview for stakeholders
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- Decision matrices & quick reference
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- Timeline & effort estimates
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- Success metrics
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3. **FLUX_PLANNING_INDEX.md** (356 lines)
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- Navigation guide across all documents
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- Quick start for different audiences
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- FAQ & next steps
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**Total:** 2,517 lines of planning documentation
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---
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## The Plan in 60 Seconds
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### What Problem Are We Solving?
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Current helmfile workflow:
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- Manual `helmfile apply` required
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- No automatic drift detection
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- No Git audit trail for changes
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- No approval gates
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- Hard to scale to multi-cluster
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### What's the Solution?
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Deploy **Flux CD v2** (GitOps) to:
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- Continuously reconcile cluster state from Git
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- Auto-detect & correct drift
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- Maintain full audit trail
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- Support staged rollouts with approval gates
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- Keep helmfile.yaml.gotmpl as fallback during transition
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### How Do We Do It?
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**3 phases, 6–8 weeks, ~99 hours:**
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| Phase | Timeline | Work | Goal |
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|-------|----------|------|------|
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| **1** | Weeks 1–2 | Bootstrap Flux + helmfile bridge | Zero breaking changes |
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| **2** | Weeks 3–6 | Migrate 23 releases to HelmRelease CRDs | Parallel migration (4 streams) |
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| **3** | Weeks 7–8 | Enable auto-sync, metrics, runbooks | Full GitOps readiness |
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**Key:** No downtime. Helmfile stays functional as fallback throughout.
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---
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## Architecture Simplified
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```
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Git (Forgejo) ← Source of Truth
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└─→ Flux Reconciliation Loop (every 5 min)
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└─→ Kubernetes Cluster
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└─→ 23 Helm Releases (reconciled state)
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```
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That's it. Flux watches Git. When you push changes, Flux applies them. If someone manually changes the cluster (kubectl), Flux auto-corrects on next reconciliation.
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---
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## Key Decisions (No Surprises)
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| Decision | Choice | Reasoning |
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|----------|--------|-----------|
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| **Controller** | Flux v2 | Stable, battle-tested; v3 still beta |
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| **Helm** | HelmRelease CRDs | Preserves values-based workflow |
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| **Secrets** | SOPS + age | Git-stored, audited, simple |
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| **Rollout** | Phased (3×8 weeks) | Lower risk, easier debugging |
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All decisions explained in detail in FLUX_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md §3 (Architecture Decision Matrix).
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---
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## What You Get
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### By End of Phase 1 (Week 2)
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- ✅ Flux running in cluster
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- ✅ Git syncing every 60 seconds
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- ✅ Helmfile still works as fallback
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- ✅ Zero disruption to running workloads
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### By End of Phase 2 (Week 6)
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- ✅ All 23 releases migrated to Git-based HelmRelease CRDs
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- ✅ Helmfile no longer used for deployments
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- ✅ Every release tested & verified
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- ✅ Full test suite in place
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### By End of Phase 3 (Week 8)
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- ✅ Automatic reconciliation enabled
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- ✅ Drift detection + alerting working
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- ✅ Metrics flowing to Prometheus
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- ✅ Team trained on GitOps workflows
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- ✅ RTO < 2 hours (restore from Git if needed)
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---
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## How to Read the Documentation
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### Quick Overview (10 min)
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→ **Read:** FLUX_PLANNING_SUMMARY.md
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Start here to understand what we're doing and why. Tables, diagrams, high-level summary. Perfect for stakeholder presentations.
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### Getting Ready to Build (1 hour)
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→ **Read:** FLUX_PLANNING_INDEX.md + FLUX_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md (Executive Summary)
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Learn the full architecture, decision rationale, and how phases fit together.
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### Phase 1 Implementation (Week 1–2)
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→ **Reference:** FLUX_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md §5.1 (Phase 1: Flux Bootstrap)
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Detailed tasks:
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- 1.1: Bootstrap Flux into cluster
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- 1.2: Create Git repo structure
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- 1.3: HelmRepository CRDs (13 repos)
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- 1.4: SOPS + age setup
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- 1.5: Helmfile-bridge CronJob
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### Phase 2 Migration (Weeks 3–6)
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→ **Reference:** FLUX_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md §5.2 (Phase 2: HelmRelease Migration)
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Four parallel streams:
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- Stream A: Low-risk (reloader, prometheus)
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- Stream B: Medium-risk (cert-manager, ingress)
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- Stream C: High-risk secrets (authentik, vault)
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- Stream D: Complex stateful (minio, forgejo)
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Per-release process: generate CRD → validate → deploy → test → commit
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### Phase 3 Production Readiness (Weeks 7–8)
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→ **Reference:** FLUX_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md §5.3 (Phase 3: Continuous Reconciliation)
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Auto-sync, metrics, runbooks, team training.
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### Troubleshooting & Rollback
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→ **Reference:** FLUX_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md §7 (Rollback & Safety Guardrails)
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How to recover if something breaks:
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- Suspend Flux + manual rollback
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- Git revert + auto-reconciliation
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- Disaster recovery from Git
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### Testing Strategy
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→ **Reference:** FLUX_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md §8 (Testing Strategy)
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Unit tests, integration tests, chaos tests, production deployment strategy.
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---
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## Risk Summary
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### Main Risks & How We Handle Them
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| Risk | Mitigation |
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|------|-----------|
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| **Flux + helmfile conflict** | Stagger reconciliation (helmfile 30min, Flux 5min) |
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| **Secret injection breaks** | Three-tier approach (SOPS + ConfigMaps + .env fallback) |
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| **Secrets leak in Git** | SOPS encryption from start + pre-commit hooks |
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| **Cluster recovery fails** | Keep helmfile as fallback; test quarterly |
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All risks detailed with specific mitigations in FLUX_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md §9 (Risk Assessment).
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---
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## Timeline Reality Check
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```
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Week 1–2: Phase 1 bootstrap (20 hrs)
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├─ 1 DevOps engineer + 1 Security engineer
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└─ 0 downtime to running workloads
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Week 3–6: Phase 2 migration (40 hrs)
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├─ 4 parallel streams (DevOps + Ops + Security)
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└─ Release-by-release (low risk)
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Week 7–8: Phase 3 hardening (16 hrs)
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├─ DevOps + QA
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└─ Runbooks + training
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Total: ~99 hours (~2.5 FTE-weeks)
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6–8 calendar weeks (with parallelization)
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```
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Actual timeline depends on:
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- Team size (4 engineers = 8 weeks; 2 engineers = 12 weeks)
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- Experience with Flux (learning curve ~40 hours)
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- Testing rigor (each phase adds 1–2 weeks)
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---
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## Next Actions
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### Immediately (Today)
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1. **Review FLUX_PLANNING_SUMMARY.md** (15 min)
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- Understand the approach
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- Check decision matrix
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- Confirm timeline is acceptable
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2. **Share with stakeholders**
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- Security team: review SOPS approach
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- Ops team: review rollback procedures
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- Management: confirm timeline & resources
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3. **Get approval** for:
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- Phased approach (6–8 weeks)
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- Flux v2 + HelmRelease CRDs
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- SOPS encryption for secrets
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- ~99 hours effort
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### Week 1 (Phase 1 Kickoff)
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1. **Assign team members**
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- DevOps lead
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- Security engineer (SOPS)
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- Ops engineer (testing)
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2. **Bootstrap Flux**
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- `flux bootstrap git` command
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- Set up Git repo structure
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- Deploy HelmRepository CRDs
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3. **Start helmfile-bridge development**
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- CronJob to run `helmfile apply` every 30 min
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- Test alongside Flux (staggered intervals)
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### Weeks 3–8 (Phases 2 & 3)
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Follow the phase roadmap in FLUX_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md with weekly syncs.
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---
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## Files Created
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All in `/Users/rockliang/workplace/homelab/`:
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1. **FLUX_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md** (55 KB)
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- Complete technical specification
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- Phase-by-phase breakdown
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- Code examples & detailed procedures
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2. **FLUX_PLANNING_SUMMARY.md** (13 KB)
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- Executive overview
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- Decision matrices
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- Quick reference tables
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3. **FLUX_PLANNING_INDEX.md** (13 KB)
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- Navigation guide
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- Quick start by audience
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- FAQ & related docs
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4. **_FLUX_START_HERE.md** (this file)
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- Quick orientation
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- Next actions
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---
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## Questions to Ask
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Before Phase 1 starts, clarify:
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1. **Team capacity?** How many FTE can we dedicate?
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- 4 FTE → 8 weeks
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- 2 FTE → 12 weeks
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2. **Timeline flexibility?** Hard deadline or can we adjust?
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- If hard: compress with more parallel streams
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- If flexible: add more testing/validation
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3. **Flux experience on team?** Anyone used Flux before?
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- If no: add 1–2 weeks for learning curve
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- If yes: can reduce onboarding time
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4. **Multi-cluster plans?** Will you add more clusters after homelab?
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- If yes: design for portability from start
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- If no: homelab-specific is fine
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5. **SOPS comfort?** Any concerns about secret encryption in Git?
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- If yes: alternative is store in Vault (referenced from HelmRelease)
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- If no: SOPS is recommended
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---
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## Document Quality Checklist
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The planning documentation includes:
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- ✅ **Executive summary** — problem & solution in 1 page
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- ✅ **Current state analysis** — what we're migrating from
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- ✅ **Architecture decisions** — Flux v2, HelmRelease, SOPS (with reasoning)
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- ✅ **Detailed design** — GitRepository, Kustomization, HelmRelease CRDs
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- ✅ **3-phase roadmap** — specific tasks, timelines, deliverables, success criteria
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- ✅ **Conflict resolution** — helmfile + Flux, .env → SOPS, kubectl drift
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- ✅ **Rollback procedures** — what to do if something breaks
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- ✅ **Safety guardrails** — RBAC, audit logging, validation webhooks, approval gates
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- ✅ **Testing strategy** — unit, integration, chaos, production deployment
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- ✅ **Risk assessment** — probability, impact, mitigation for each risk
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- ✅ **Timeline & effort** — 99 hours, 6-8 weeks, team composition
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- ✅ **Useful commands** — Flux CLI cheatsheet
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- ✅ **FAQ** — downtime, rollback, recovery, cost
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Ready for review and implementation kickoff.
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---
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**Status:** Planning phase complete. Ready for team discussion & approval.
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**Next:** Review FLUX_PLANNING_SUMMARY.md, approve approach, assign Phase 1 team.
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