# Goals When I set about making this lab I had a number of goals - I wonder how well I will do :thinking:? A master list of ideas/goals/etc can be found at :octicons-issue-tracks-16: [Issue #1](https://github.com/truxnell/nix-config/issues/1)
- __:material-sword: Stability__
NixOS stable channel for core services unstable for desktop apps/non-mission critical where desired. Containers with SHA256 pinning for server apps - __:kiss: KISS__
Keep it Simple, use boring, reliable, trusted tools - not todays flashy new software repo - __:zzz: Easy Updates__
Weekly update schedule, utilizing Renovate for updating lockfile and container images. Autoupdates enabled off main branch for mission critical. Aim for 'magic rollback' on upgrade failure - __:material-cloud-upload: Backups__
Nightly restic backups to both cloud and NAS. All databases to have nightly backups. _Test backups regulary_ - __:repeat: Reproducability__
Flakes & Git for version pinning, SHA256 tags for containers. - __:alarm_clock: Monitoring__
Automated monitoring on failure & critical summaries, using basic tools. Use Gatus for both internal and external monitoring - __:clipboard: Continuous Integration__
CI against main branch to ensure all code compiles OK. Use PR's to add to main and dont skip CI due to impatience - __:material-security: Security__
Dont use containers with S6 overlay/root (i.e. LSIO :grey_question:{ title="LSIO trades security for convenience with their container configuration" }). Expose minimal ports at router, Reduce attack surface by keeping it simple, review hardening containers/podman/NixOS - __:fontawesome-solid-martini-glass-citrus: Ease of administration__
Lean into the devil that is SystemD - and have one standard interface to see logs, manipulate services, etc. Run containers as podman services, and webui's for watching/debugging - __:simple-letsencrypt: Secrets__ _~ssshh~.._
[Sops-nix](https://github.com/Mic92/sops-nix) for secrets, living in my gitrepo. Avoid cloud services like I used in k8s (i.e. [Doppler.io](https://doppler.io))