# left4me Deployment — Historical Reference

> **Status: superseded.** Production provisioning of left4me on `ovh.left4me`
> is now driven by [ckn-bw](https://git.sublimity.de/cronekorkn/ckn-bw)
> (`bundles/left4me/`, attached via `groups/applications/left4me.py`). Run
> `bw apply ovh.left4me` from the ckn-bw repo to deploy.
>
> The contents of this directory are kept as deployment-knowledge reference:
> what was configured, what each unit/helper does, why the privileged
> boundaries are drawn the way they are. Some files are now obsolete in the
> ckn-bw architecture (CAKE moved to systemd-networkd via
> `network/<iface>/cake` metadata; nft marking moved into the central
> `nftables/output` set; the systemd units are emitted by the bundle's
> `systemd/units` reactor instead of being shipped as static files). The
> obsolete bits are kept here intact so the original choices and tradeoffs
> remain greppable.
>
> **Don't run `deploy-test-server.sh` against an ovh.left4me node managed by
> ckn-bw** — the two would fight over file ownership, sudoers, and unit
> definitions. The script remains useful as concrete documentation of the
> install steps the bundle now performs declaratively.

## What lives here (and what corresponds to it in ckn-bw)

| Path here | Status under ckn-bw |
|---|---|
| `deploy-test-server.sh` | replaced by `bw apply` |
| `files/etc/sudoers.d/left4me` | shipped verbatim by `bundles/left4me/files/etc/sudoers.d/left4me` (validated with `visudo -cf` via `test_with`) |
| `files/etc/sysctl.d/99-left4me.conf` | shipped verbatim by the bundle |
| `files/etc/left4me/sandbox-resolv.conf` | shipped verbatim by the bundle |
| `files/usr/local/libexec/left4me/{left4me-systemctl,journalctl,overlay,script-sandbox}` | shipped verbatim by the bundle |
| `files/usr/local/lib/systemd/system/left4me-web.service` | emitted by `systemd_units` reactor in `bundles/left4me/metadata.py` (intentional change: `--bind 0.0.0.0:8000` → `127.0.0.1:8000` because nginx now terminates TLS) |
| `files/usr/local/lib/systemd/system/left4me-server@.service` | emitted by the same reactor |
| `files/usr/local/lib/systemd/system/{l4d2-game,l4d2-build}.slice` | emitted by the same reactor |
| `files/usr/local/lib/systemd/system/left4me-cake.service` | **obsolete** — CAKE applied via systemd-networkd (`network/<iface>/cake` metadata in `bundles/network/`) |
| `files/usr/local/libexec/left4me/left4me-apply-cake` | **obsolete** — same as above |
| `files/etc/left4me/cake.env` | **obsolete** — bandwidth lives in node metadata under `network/external/cake/Bandwidth` |
| `files/usr/local/lib/systemd/system/left4me-nft-mark.service` | **obsolete** — central `bundles/nftables/` consumes the rules from `bundles/left4me/`'s defaults |
| `files/usr/local/lib/left4me/nft/left4me-mark.nft` | **obsolete** — same as above |
| `templates/etc/left4me/host.env` | rendered as Mako by `bundles/left4me/files/etc/left4me/host.env.mako` |
| `templates/etc/left4me/web.env.template` | rendered as Mako by `bundles/left4me/files/etc/left4me/web.env.mako` (intentional change: `SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE=false` → `true`, plus `LEFT4ME_PORT_RANGE_*` are now wired through) |
| First-run admin bootstrap (`flask create-user … --admin` near the end of `deploy-test-server.sh`) | manual one-time step after `bw apply`; the bundle deliberately doesn't seed an admin to keep credentials out of the metadata pipeline |
| CPU isolation drop-ins (`/etc/systemd/system/{system,user,l4d2-game,l4d2-build}.slice.d/99-left4me-cpuset.conf`) | **not managed by the bundle** — generated dynamically based on `nproc --all` in the script; that logic doesn't fit static bundle metadata, apply manually post-deploy if needed |

---

## Original notes (still accurate as a description of the install steps)

This directory contains the production-like test deployment for a Linux server. It installs the repository into a fixed host layout, configures a dedicated runtime user, installs systemd units, and wires the web app to host operations through privileged helper commands.

## Target Layout

The deployment uses these paths:

- `/etc/left4me/host.env`: host library environment configuration.
- `/etc/left4me/web.env`: web app environment configuration.
- `/opt/left4me/.venv`: Python virtual environment for deployed commands.
- `/opt/left4me`: deployed repository contents.
- `/var/lib/left4me/left4me.db`: SQLite database used by the web app.
- `/var/lib/left4me/installation`: shared L4D2 installation.
- `/var/lib/left4me/overlays`: overlay directories. Each overlay lives at `${overlay_id}` under here.
- `/var/lib/left4me/workshop_cache`: deduplicated cache of `.vpk` files downloaded for workshop overlays. One file per Steam item, named `{steam_id}.vpk`. Workshop overlays symlink into this tree.
- `/var/lib/left4me/global_overlay_cache`: cache of non-Steam map archives and extracted `.vpk` files used by managed global map overlays.
- `/var/lib/left4me/instances`: rendered instance specifications and per-instance state.
- `/var/lib/left4me/runtime`: per-instance runtime mount directories.
- `/var/lib/left4me/tmp`: temporary files used by deployment/runtime operations.
- `/usr/local/lib/systemd/system`: global systemd unit files, including `left4me-server@.service`.
- `/usr/local/libexec/left4me`: privileged helper commands, including `left4me-systemctl`, `left4me-journalctl`, and `left4me-overlay` (the latter mounts the per-instance kernel overlay in PID 1's mount namespace via `nsenter`).
- `/etc/sudoers.d/left4me`: sudoers rules allowing the web/runtime commands to call the helpers non-interactively.

Static units are generated for `/var/lib/left4me`. If `LEFT4ME_ROOT` changes, regenerate and reinstall the unit files instead of reusing the existing static units.

## Runtime User

The deployment creates and runs host operations as the dedicated runtime user:

- Username: `left4me`
- Home: `/var/lib/left4me`
- Shell: `/usr/sbin/nologin`

## Running A Test Deployment

Run the deployment from the repository root:

```bash
deploy/deploy-test-server.sh deploy-user@example-host
```

The SSH user must be able to run `sudo` on the target host. The deployment configures system packages, directories, environment files, helper scripts, sudoers rules, Python dependencies, and systemd units.

## Admin Bootstrap

Set the bootstrap credentials in the environment when creating the first admin user:

```bash
LEFT4ME_ADMIN_USERNAME=admin \
LEFT4ME_ADMIN_PASSWORD='change-me' \
flask create-user "$LEFT4ME_ADMIN_USERNAME" --admin
```

Use a strong one-time password and rotate it after first login if needed.

## Overlay References

Overlay references are relative paths below `${LEFT4ME_ROOT}/overlays`. With the default deployment root, they resolve under `/var/lib/left4me/overlays`. New overlays use `${overlay_id}` as their path; the digit-only form is the only one created by the web app.

Invalid references are rejected:

- Absolute paths such as `/srv/overlay`.
- Parent traversal such as `../other` or `competitive/../../base`.
- Empty path components such as `competitive//base`.
- Symlink escapes that resolve outside `${LEFT4ME_ROOT}/overlays`.

The web app currently supports two overlay surfaces:

- `workshop` overlays (user-owned) — populated by downloading `.vpk` files from the public Steam Web API into `${LEFT4ME_ROOT}/workshop_cache/{steam_id}.vpk` and creating absolute symlinks under `${LEFT4ME_ROOT}/overlays/{overlay_id}/left4dead2/addons/{steam_id}.vpk`.
- `script` overlays — populated by an arbitrary user-authored bash script that runs inside `bubblewrap` + `systemd-run --scope` as the unprivileged `l4d2-sandbox` UID, with the overlay directory bind-mounted RW at `/overlay`. Resource caps: 1h walltime, 4 GB RAM, 512 tasks, 200% CPU, 20 GB post-build disk cap.

Both the caches and the overlay directories are owned by the `left4me` runtime user; if the web service ever runs as a different uid, ensure it shares a group with the host process and that both trees are group-readable.

## Performance Tuning

The deployment ships a host-side perf baseline (slices, unit directives, sysctls). See `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-05-09-l4d2-server-host-perf-baseline-design.md` for design rationale.

The following knobs are documented escape hatches — they are **not** auto-applied. Apply only if you have measured a need and understand the failure modes.

### Network shaping

The deploy ships three things that affect player-experience network behaviour:

1. **Per-flow marking.** `left4me-nft-mark.service` loads a small nftables
   table (`inet left4me_mark`) that marks every UDP packet from uid `left4me`
   with DSCP EF and `skb->priority` 6. srcds doesn't set these itself, so
   without this rule its UDP is indistinguishable from any other flow.
2. **Sysctl baseline.** `99-left4me.conf` sets `udp_rmem_min=16384`,
   `udp_wmem_min=16384`, `default_qdisc=fq_codel`, and
   `tcp_congestion_control=bbr`. Reduces head-of-line blocking when bulk
   TCP egress (backups, package fetches, web responses) coexists with
   game UDP.
3. **CAKE egress shaping.** `left4me-cake.service` runs
   `tc qdisc replace dev <iface> root cake bandwidth Xmbit internet
   diffserv4 dual-dsthost` from `/etc/left4me/cake.env`. CAKE only shapes
   if its declared bandwidth is **below** the real bottleneck, so set
   `LEFT4ME_UPLINK_MBIT` to ≈95% of measured uplink:

       sudoedit /etc/left4me/cake.env
       # set LEFT4ME_UPLINK_MBIT=480 (or whatever ~95% of your uplink is)
       sudo systemctl restart left4me-cake.service

   `LEFT4ME_UPLINK_IFACE` is auto-detected from the IPv4 default route;
   override only on hosts with multi-homed setups.

   At idle 500 Mbit with no competing egress, CAKE shapes nothing — that's
   expected, not a bug. The win materialises when bulk traffic on the
   same uplink would otherwise bufferbloat the link the players share.

**Production hosts running `systemd-networkd`** should NOT use the
`left4me-cake.service` oneshot. Instead, configure the equivalent in the
matching `.network` file, which systemd-networkd reapplies across iface
lifecycle events:

    # /etc/systemd/network/<your-uplink>.network
    [CAKE]
    Bandwidth=480M
    OverheadKeyword=internet
    PriorityQueueingPreset=diffserv4
    EgressHostIsolation=yes

The nftables marking from (1) is qdisc-installer-agnostic and ships
unchanged on production.

**Disabling network shaping.** To turn the whole feature off on a deployed
host:

    sudo systemctl stop left4me-cake.service left4me-nft-mark.service
    sudo systemctl disable left4me-cake.service left4me-nft-mark.service

The sysctl baseline (`99-left4me.conf`) and the BBR/fq_codel defaults stay
applied; revert those by removing the file and running `sysctl --system`
if needed.

### CPU governor

The performance governor squeezes a few percent off jitter under bursty load. `schedutil` is acceptable for sustained UDP workloads.

```sh
sudo cpupower frequency-set -g performance
```

Install via `sudo apt install linux-cpupower` if the binary isn't present.

Persist via your distro's CPU-frequency tooling (e.g. `/etc/default/cpufrequtils`).

### CPU isolation (cores)

The deploy script writes four `AllowedCPUs=` drop-ins so that, by default, only `l4d2-game.slice` is allowed to run on cores 1..N-1; `system.slice`, `user.slice`, and `l4d2-build.slice` are pinned to core 0. Game servers thus get the host minus core 0 exclusively, the build sandbox and the web app stay on core 0, and a logged-in admin running CPU-heavy work in their shell can't steal cycles from a live match.

Override the split by setting either env var when running the deploy:

```sh
LEFT4ME_SYSTEM_CPUS="0,1" LEFT4ME_GAME_CPUS="2-7" deploy/deploy-test-server.sh deploy-user@host
```

On single-core hosts the deploy skips the cpuset drop-ins entirely and prints a warning to stderr; the rest of the perf baseline (cgroup weights, sysctls, OOM scores) still applies. To force isolation on a single-core host anyway (rarely useful), set either env var explicitly.

Per-instance `CPUAffinity=` (next subsection) composes on top of this — the per-instance value must be a subset of `l4d2-game.slice`'s `AllowedCPUs=`, which the kernel enforces.

### Per-instance CPU affinity

`srcds` is single-threaded per instance. On a multi-core host, pinning each instance to its own core can cut jitter under contention. Drop in `/etc/systemd/system/left4me-server@<name>.service.d/affinity.conf`:

```ini
[Service]
CPUAffinity=2
```

This pins the instance to CPU 2 specifically; per-instance values would typically be 1, 2, 3, ... so each server has its own core.

A reasonable strategy on an N-core host: leave core 0 for the kernel + IRQs + system services, then pin one instance per remaining core.

### NIC tuning

Hardware-specific (install via `sudo apt install ethtool` if not present). On a host with a single primary interface (replace `eth0`):

```sh
sudo ethtool -G eth0 rx 4096 tx 4096
sudo ethtool -K eth0 gro on lro off
```

If you run a high instance count, also pin the NIC's interrupts off the cores that game servers occupy (see `/proc/interrupts` and `/proc/irq/<n>/smp_affinity`).

### Real-time scheduling (advanced, opt-in)

Source-engine servers do not need real-time scheduling, and a misbehaving `srcds` at any RT priority can starve kernel threads — even with the default `kernel.sched_rt_runtime_us=950000` throttling 5% of CPU back. Use only if you have a measured jitter problem that the baseline does not solve.

`/etc/systemd/system/left4me-server@.service.d/realtime.conf`:

```ini
[Service]
CPUSchedulingPolicy=fifo
CPUSchedulingPriority=10
LimitRTPRIO=10
AmbientCapabilities=CAP_SYS_NICE
```

The `AmbientCapabilities=CAP_SYS_NICE` line is needed because the service runs as `User=left4me` with `NoNewPrivileges=true`; without it some kernels/systemd combinations refuse to apply the RT policy.

### Additional opt-in network knobs

- **Ingress shaping via IFB.** Egress CAKE alone does not protect srcds
  receive against ingress saturation (large workshop downloads, package
  fetches arriving at line rate). One-liner:

      sudo modprobe ifb && sudo ip link set ifb0 up
      sudo tc qdisc add dev <uplink> handle ffff: ingress
      sudo tc filter add dev <uplink> parent ffff: protocol ip u32 \
          match u32 0 0 action mirred egress redirect dev ifb0
      sudo tc qdisc add dev ifb0 root cake bandwidth Xmbit ingress \
          diffserv4 dual-srchost

  Worth flipping only when measurement shows ingress hurting receive.

- **`net.core.busy_poll = 50` / `net.core.busy_read = 50`.** Reduces UDP
  receive median latency by polling for incoming packets briefly at
  syscall boundaries. Cost: measurable CPU per syscall under load. Worth
  flipping if a host is dedicated to game serving and CPU headroom is
  plentiful.

- **`ethtool -K <iface> gro off`.** Some Source-engine ops disable
  generic receive offload to avoid receive-side coalescing latency.
  Hardware/driver dependent; document only.

### Applying changes to running servers

Unit-file changes do not apply to already-running services. After any change:

```sh
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
# Restart each game server via the web UI's stop + start, or:
sudo systemctl restart 'left4me-server@*.service'
```