Maintenance

Maintenance is essential for server reliability. Several tasks should be performed regularly, some of them facilitated by scripts in the jobs directory and automated via cronjobs.

Jobs

Overview

Predefined jobs are available in the jobs directory. Some require ENV variables to be configured in jobs/.env.

Script	Action	ENV
jobs/backup	Create compressed backup	$SOURCE_FOLDER, $BACKUP_FOLDER, $USER
jobs/reboot	Initiate reboot
jobs/check_public_ip	Inform about public IP change	$DNS_PROVIDER
jobs/on_startup	Inform about server start	$DRIVE_PATH
jobs/notify	Send out notification	$TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID, $TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN

Backup

Copies and compresses the /homeserver directory, saving it to $BACKUP_FOLDER. Notifications are sent before and after backup creation. Recommended frequency: at least weekly.

Reboot

Sends notification and shuts down the server. Recommended to run: after backup.

Check public IP

Verifies if the server's public IP has changed and notifies if so. Recommended frequency: daily.

Startup

Notifies upon server startup regarding running Docker containers and mounted drives specified by $DRIVE_PATH.

Notify

Telegram Bot

To enable this feature, you need to create a Telegram bot and obtain its token. The process is straightforward, with numerous online guides available.

This script serves as a notification dispatcher that is called from other scripts (and is generally callable). Currently, it dispatches a Telegram message to a designated $TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID but can be adjusted to use another notification provider.

Cronjobs

To schedule jobs efficiently, use cron with its intuitive syntax. It's best to schedule jobs using crontab -e and execute them as a user rather than as root (avoiding permission issues). However, you can still use sudo within the scripts if needed. The crontab might contain:

# On startup
@reboot /homeserver/jobs/on_startup
# Every day, 0:00 AM
0 0 * * * /homeserver/jobs/check_public_ip
# Fridays, 4:00 AM
0 4 * * FRI /homeserver/jobs/backup
# Saturdays, 4:00 AM
0 4 * * SUN /homeserver/jobs/reboot

Updates

System updates

Regularly update the host OS for stability and security. Manual review and application of updates is recommended to avoid system issues. On Debian:

sudo apt update

# use this to review the new versions
apt list --upgradable
sudo apt upgrade -y

Docker image updates

Keeping Docker images updated is crucial. While manual updates are an option, an automated solution like Watchtower can be convenient. Critical or experimental images should be updated manually to avoid potential issues.