I poor field report on trying to make use of Traefik in the home lab

Traefik Traefik v3 (latest)
1

Hello!

I am not completely inexperienced in IT. I've been doing it for about three decades. I've been running a Docker server with a few tools (node red, mqtt server and so on) for years and now I wanted to add baikal as a contact and calendar server, I wanted to get Traefik up and running for the SSL stuff.

Apple is pretty annoying (bad) when it comes to SSL caldav and cardav and you have to do a lot to fight that.I'am prepared and aware of that Apple stuff.

I have to admit: I just couldn't get it to work with Traefik. I tried, no success, for over 18 hours (netto). Watched YoutTube, Blogs etc. up and down try, error edit, try again and it just doesn't work.

Is that because of me? Probably. Could Traefik be made better? Sure.

  • Why does it have to work with TOML and YML and Commands in the docker YAML file? How do I find out what works when? Who comes up with such multiple mutaly configuration paths...?
  • One guide on the website prefers this config option, the other that one and I can't tell if it's due to preferences or side effects and i can not transfer one to the other...
  • There is no really clever beginner information (no, I am not a beginner, I have a clue and still fail)
  • It is not even possible to switch the dashboard to https properly because there are 5 instructions how to archvie that for two Traefik versions. Differed to Let's Encrypt or local, own certificates and of that nothing works. More than 10 options with three config languages.... hugh? And what about DNS for local Sub Domains behind Traefik. Yes, one should know... but you can find out this only the damn hard way...frustrating.

I believe that Traefik is a very, very great tool. But it is completely unnecessarily complex in terms of setting options that are also mutually exclusive.

I find one hint in TOML, another in COMMANDS and mine, which is already partly running, is in YAML and I can't get it to work together without an accident.

I'am always forced to judge: bad option, but formed config, both or simply not even to work when done right because.... you name it.

That's just bad and doesn't do the product justice. It feels like nerdware. Keep out, stay away!

I have now deleted it and will add individual self signed https certificates to my nginx containers and install the ca on the devices. That's a lot of work, but it's understandable. Straight foreward.

What a pity.

I wanted to get rid of it. I'm sorry. I appreciate it when capable people set something like this up. Thumbs up. Great work. I'am sure!

But this shows the standard problem of Lunix, Libre Office and whatever the other great things are called in OSS. Technically at the upper limit, usability? We'll do it later. Maybe.

Sorry, but i want you to know it is not sufficent to delivery state of the art tech, when only state of the art guys can make use of it.

And believe it or not: i'am an experienced developer and admin. No joke or self-overestimation.

This is not meant as a silly complain. Just a hint to adjust the markting. Is it just for absolute pros? State this. Make it clear. Fine. If not, there is a lot to do in terms of usability. Start with with the configuration options and "rules of a thumb" for the most common scenarios.

Best regards, GE

p.p: tried to tag this post with the tag "useability"... there is no tag for that...

2

Hi GE, your forgot to mention JSON, which can also be valid configuration :sweat_smile: No one really uses toml anymore, especially as Docker and k8s use yaml format.

I have the same 3 decades of experience with IT, still it took me a year to fully understand Traefik. And that is only for the Docker/Swarm side, not even k8s.

I admit Traefik is complicated. It's an enterprise product. It is complex because it can do a lot, like k8s. It's not a hobby project for beginners. And the company gives business support. It works great with Docker Swarm (and k8s). If you just have a single Docker host, I rather recommend nginx-proxy and companion, which I use for single servers.

The Traefik documentation is your friend, start by reading it :smiley: Next you could check my best practice setups on Github. I post links to the repos in like every fourth post, so reading the forums here should have led you there.

The basics: Traefik static config (entrypoints, api, certresolver, log, provider) can not be changed after Traefik is started. It can be in traefik.yml or command:, that's mutually exclusive, you have to decide for one. Traefik dynamic config (routers, middlewares, services, tls) is supplied by providers, like file, docker or http, it can change during runtime. providers.file reads the dynamic config from files, providers.docker from the labels of Docker services (used for auto config).

If you want more support, here is my usual first reply:

Share your full Traefik static and dynamic config, and docker-compose.yml if used.