left4me: per-slice AllowedCPUs= driven by system_core_count

First N cores pin system/user/build (inline on owned slices, drop-ins
on upstream system.slice and user.slice via the systemd/units
'<parent>.d/<basename>.conf' convention). Remainder pins
l4d2-game.slice. Reactor raises on hosts with <2 threads or
system_core_count that leaves no cores for games.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

bundles/left4me/README.md

@@ -79,12 +79,18 @@ from defaults. None of these need to be declared per-node.
   metadata pipeline. The same `left4me` wrapper accepts any other flask
   subcommand: `sudo left4me seed-script-overlays <dir>`,
   `sudo left4me routes`, `sudo left4me shell`, etc.
-- **CPU isolation drop-ins are not managed by this bundle.** The
-  upstream shell deploy generated `/etc/systemd/system/system.slice.d/
-  99-left4me-cpuset.conf` (and siblings for user/build/game slices)
-  dynamically based on `nproc --all`. That logic is incompatible with
-  static bundle metadata and is out of scope here. Apply CPU isolation
-  manually post-deploy if needed.
+- **CPU isolation is managed by this bundle**, driven by one knob:
+  `left4me/system_core_count` (default `1`). The first N cores starting
+  at 0 are pinned to `system.slice` / `user.slice` / `l4d2-build.slice`;
+  the rest (up to `vm/threads - 1`) are pinned to `l4d2-game.slice`.
+  `l4d2-game.slice` and `l4d2-build.slice` carry `AllowedCPUs=` inline
+  on their unit definitions; `system.slice` and `user.slice` are pinned
+  via drop-ins registered under `systemd/units` with the
+  `'<parent>.d/<basename>.conf'` key convention (same shape nginx and
+  autologin use), landing at
+  `/usr/local/lib/systemd/system/<slice>.d/99-left4me-cpuset.conf`.
+  The reactor raises if `vm/threads < 2` or if `system_core_count`
+  leaves no cores for games.
 - **Kernel feature requirement:** kernel-overlayfs (`CONFIG_OVERLAY_FS`).
   Standard on debian-13.
 - **Game ports** open by the web app on demand in the range 27015-27115

bundles/left4me/items.py

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 # Items for the left4me bundle.
 # Systemd units come from metadata via bundles/systemd/ — there are no
-# .service or .slice files in this bundle's files/ tree.
+# .service or .slice files in this bundle's files/ tree. Cpuset drop-ins
+# for system.slice / user.slice are likewise emitted via systemd/units
+# in metadata.py (key: '<parent>.d/<basename>.conf').
 
 directories = {
     '/opt/left4me': {

bundles/left4me/metadata.py

@@ -11,8 +11,18 @@ defaults = {
         'gunicorn_workers': 1,
         'gunicorn_threads': 32,
         'job_worker_threads': 4,
-        'port_range_start': 27015,
-        'port_range_end': 27115,
+        # Whole 27000-block: covers Steam's defaults (27015 game, 27005
+        # client/RCON) plus headroom for ad-hoc ports without further
+        # nftables changes. Mirrored into LEFT4ME_PORT_RANGE_{START,END}
+        # by web.env.mako and into the nftables input rule by the
+        # nftables_input reactor below.
+        'port_range_start': 27000,
+        'port_range_end': 27999,
+        # Cgroup-v2 cpuset isolation. The first `system_core_count` cores
+        # (starting at 0) go to system / user / l4d2-build; the rest (up to
+        # vm/threads - 1) go to l4d2-game. Bundle refuses to apply on hosts
+        # with < 2 cores or when system_core_count leaves none for games.
+        'system_core_count': 1,
     },
     'apt': {
         'packages': {
@@ -120,6 +130,26 @@ def systemd_units(metadata):
     workers = metadata.get('left4me/gunicorn_workers')
     threads = metadata.get('left4me/gunicorn_threads')
 
+    # cgroup-v2 cpuset. First `system_core_count` cores → system/user/build;
+    # the rest → game. Refuse to apply if there's no useful split.
+    vm_threads = metadata.get('vm/threads', metadata.get('vm/cores', 1))
+    if vm_threads < 2:
+        raise Exception(
+            f'left4me cpu isolation needs at least 2 cores/threads, host has {vm_threads}'
+        )
+    system_core_count = metadata.get('left4me/system_core_count')
+    game_core_count = vm_threads - system_core_count
+    if system_core_count < 1 or game_core_count < 1:
+        raise Exception(
+            f'left4me/system_core_count={system_core_count} on {vm_threads}-thread host '
+            f'leaves {game_core_count} cores for games; both must be >= 1'
+        )
+    system_cpus = '0' if system_core_count == 1 else f'0-{system_core_count - 1}'
+    game_cpus = (
+        str(system_core_count) if game_core_count == 1
+        else f'{system_core_count}-{vm_threads - 1}'
+    )
+
     web_service = {
         'Unit': {
             'Description': 'left4me web application',
@@ -222,6 +252,7 @@ def systemd_units(metadata):
         'Slice': {
             'CPUWeight': '1000',
             'IOWeight': '1000',
+            'AllowedCPUs': game_cpus,
         },
     }
 
@@ -233,16 +264,25 @@ def systemd_units(metadata):
         'Slice': {
             'CPUWeight': '10',
             'IOWeight': '10',
+            'AllowedCPUs': system_cpus,
         },
     }
 
-    return {
-        'systemd': {
-            'units': {
+    units = {
         'left4me-web.service':       web_service,
         'left4me-server@.service':   server_template,
         'l4d2-game.slice':           game_slice,
         'l4d2-build.slice':          build_slice,
-            },
+    }
+    # Drop-ins on the upstream system.slice / user.slice (units we don't
+    # own). Same '<parent>.d/<basename>.conf' convention as nginx and
+    # autologin use elsewhere in this repo.
+    cpuset_dropin = {'Slice': {'AllowedCPUs': system_cpus}}
+    units['system.slice.d/99-left4me-cpuset.conf'] = cpuset_dropin
+    units['user.slice.d/99-left4me-cpuset.conf'] = cpuset_dropin
+
+    return {
+        'systemd': {
+            'units': units,
         },
     }