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Infrastructure Checklist

Use this checklist to verify infrastructure readiness before deploying Chatty AI.

Host Preparation​

  • Server provisioned with adequate resources
  • Operating system installed (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS recommended)
  • OS updated to latest patches 
    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y
  • Hostname configured properly
  • Time synchronization (NTP) configured and running 
    timedatectl status

Docker Installation​

  • Docker Engine installed (version 20.10+) 
    docker --version
  • Docker Compose installed (version 2.0+) 
    docker compose version
  • Docker service running 
    sudo systemctl status docker
  • User added to docker group (if not using root) 
    sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
  • Docker daemon configured with appropriate settings

Storage Preparation​

  • Adequate disk space available (minimum 100 GB, recommended 500 GB+) 
    df -h
  • SSD/NVMe storage for production deployments
  • Filesystem is ext4, xfs, or btrfs
  • Mount points created for volumes (if using custom locations)
  • Permissions set correctly on volume directories

Network Configuration​

  • Static IP assigned (recommended for production)
  • DNS resolution working 
    nslookup google.com
  • Firewall configured to allow required ports
  • Outbound HTTPS access available (for LLM endpoints)
  • Internal network connectivity verified

Access and Permissions​

  • SSH access configured for administrators
  • SSH key-based authentication enabled (recommended)
  • Sudo access available for deployment user
  • Firewall rules allow SSH from admin networks
  • Backup of SSH keys stored securely

Deployment Repository Access​

For Docker Compose Deployment​

  • GitHub deploy token obtained from vendor
    • Token provides read-only access to private deployment repository
    • Repository URL: https://github.com/chattyai-org/chatty-app-deploy.git
  • Git installed on deployment server 
    git --version
  • Deploy token tested (can clone repository) 
    git clone https://<DEPLOY_TOKEN>@github.com/chattyai-org/chatty-app-deploy.git
  • Deployment files reviewed in repository:
    • docker-compose.yaml
    • .env.example
    • ENV_DOCUMENTATION.md
    • README.md

For Portainer Deployment​

  • Deployment package obtained from vendor (if applicable)
  • Package integrity verified (checksums, signatures)
  • Package extracted to appropriate location

Portainer (if using Portainer deployment)​

  • Portainer Server accessible
  • Portainer credentials available
  • Edge Agent deployment command obtained
  • Network path to Portainer Server verified
  • Firewall allows outbound HTTPS to Portainer Server

Certificates​

  • SSL/TLS certificates obtained for all domains
    • Chatty AI domain
    • n8n domain
    • Databases domain
  • Certificates in PEM format
  • Certificate files named correctly:
    • fullchain.pem
    • privkey.pem
  • Certificates not expired
  • Certificate chain complete
  • Certificate directory structure created 
    /etc/nginx/certs/
    ├── chattyai/
    ├── n8n/
    └── databases/
  • Certificates copied to appropriate directories
  • File permissions set (readable by Docker)

DNS Configuration​

  • DNS records created for all domains
  • DNS propagation verified 
    nslookup chat.yourdomain.com
    nslookup n8n.yourdomain.com
    nslookup db.yourdomain.com
  • DNS points to correct IP address
  • Internal DNS configured (if applicable)

Environment Variables​

  • .env file created from .env.example
  • All required variables set:
    • Domain names
    • URLs
    • Database password
    • JWT secret
    • API keys
    • Admin password
  • Secrets generated (not using example values)
  • .env file permissions set to 600 
    chmod 600 .env

External Connectivity​

  • LLM endpoint accessible (if using external LLM) 
    curl -I https://llm.vendor.com
  • LDAP server accessible (if using LDAP)
  • SSO provider accessible (if using SSO)
  • Firewall rules allow outbound to external services

VPN (if applicable)​

  • VPN connection established
  • VPN routes configured
  • VPN allows required traffic
  • VPN stability verified

Monitoring and Logging​

  • Log aggregation configured (optional but recommended)
  • Monitoring tools installed (optional but recommended)
  • Alerting configured for critical metrics
  • Log rotation configured

Backup Infrastructure​

  • Backup storage available
  • Backup scripts reviewed
  • Backup schedule planned
  • Restore procedure documented
  • Backup testing planned

Security​

  • Firewall enabled and configured
  • SSH hardened (key-only, non-standard port, etc.)
  • Fail2ban or similar installed (optional)
  • Security updates enabled
  • Audit logging configured
  • Secrets management strategy defined

Documentation​

  • Deployment plan documented
  • Network diagram created
  • Access procedures documented
  • Escalation contacts identified
  • Runbook prepared for common operations

Team Readiness​

  • Deployment team identified
  • Roles and responsibilities assigned
  • Deployment window scheduled
  • Rollback plan prepared
  • Communication plan established

Final Verification​

  • All prerequisites met
  • Deployment checklist reviewed
  • Stakeholders notified
  • Go/no-go decision made

Quick Verification Script​

#!/bin/bash
# Quick infrastructure verification

echo "=== Infrastructure Verification ==="

echo -n "Docker installed: "
docker --version && echo "✓" || echo "✗"

echo -n "Docker Compose installed: "
docker compose version && echo "✓" || echo "✗"

echo -n "Docker running: "
systemctl is-active docker && echo "✓" || echo "✗"

echo -n "Disk space (root): "
df -h / | awk 'NR==2 {print $4 " available"}'

echo -n "NTP synchronized: "
timedatectl | grep "synchronized: yes" && echo "✓" || echo "✗"

echo -n "DNS resolution: "
nslookup google.com > /dev/null 2>&1 && echo "✓" || echo "✗"

echo -n "Outbound HTTPS: "
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://www.google.com | grep -q 200 && echo "✓" || echo "✗"

echo "=== End Verification ==="

Next Steps​

Once all items are checked:

  1. Configure Environment Variables
  2. Begin Portainer Installation or Docker Compose Installation

Troubleshooting​

If any checklist items fail: