Raspberry Pi Installation & Deployment

📦 Pi 5 Optimized Configuration

Resource Limits (Pi 5: 8GB RAM)

• PostgreSQL: 2GB limit, 512MB reservation
• Backend: 1GB limit, 512MB reservation
• Frontend: 512MB limit, 256MB reservation
• Grafana: 1GB limit, 512MB reservation
• Total: ~4.5GB (leaves 3.5GB for system + Docker overhead)

Directory Structure on Pi

/opt/solarlog/
├── docker-compose.pi.yml      # Pi-optimized Docker Compose
├── .env                        # Generated secrets
├── backend/                    # Backend source
├── frontend-web/               # Frontend source
├── data/
│   ├── postgres/              # PostgreSQL data
│   └── grafana/               # Grafana data
└── logs/
    ├── nginx/                 # Nginx access logs
    └── backend.log            # Backend logs

systemd Auto-Start

Service: /etc/systemd/system/solarlog.service

# Status
systemctl status solarlog

# Start
systemctl start solarlog

# Stop
systemctl stop solarlog

# Restart
systemctl restart solarlog

# Logs
journalctl -u solarlog -f

🚀 Installation Methods

Method 1: One-Command Install (Recommended)

# On Raspberry Pi 5 with Raspberry Pi OS
sudo ./scripts/install-pi.sh

What it does: 1. Updates system packages 2. Installs Docker + Docker Compose 3. Creates /opt/solarlog/ directory structure 4. Copies application files 5. Generates random passwords (PostgreSQL, Grafana) 6. Installs systemd service 7. Starts all services 8. Displays access information

Installation Time: ~10-15 minutes (depending on internet speed)

Method 2: Manual Installation

# 1. Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start docker

# 2. Install Docker Compose
sudo apt-get install -y docker-compose-plugin

# 3. Create directory structure
sudo mkdir -p /opt/solarlog/{data/{postgres,grafana},logs/nginx}

# 4. Copy application files
sudo cp -r . /opt/solarlog/

# 5. Generate secrets
cat > /opt/solarlog/.env <<EOF
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
GRAFANA_ADMIN_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 16)
TZ=Europe/Berlin
LOG_LEVEL=INFO
EOF

sudo chmod 600 /opt/solarlog/.env

# 6. Install systemd service
sudo cp deployment/pi/solarlog.service /etc/systemd/system/
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable solarlog
sudo systemctl start solarlog

# 7. Check status
sudo systemctl status solarlog

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables (.env)

# PostgreSQL
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<auto-generated-32-chars>

# Grafana
GRAFANA_ADMIN_PASSWORD=<auto-generated-16-chars>

# Timezone (Unterfranken = Europe/Berlin)
TZ=Europe/Berlin

# Log Level (INFO | DEBUG | WARNING | ERROR)
LOG_LEVEL=INFO

Network Configuration

Static IP (Recommended for Production):

Edit /etc/dhcpcd.conf:

interface eth0
static ip_address=192.168.1.100/24
static routers=192.168.1.1
static domain_name_servers=192.168.1.1 8.8.8.8

Restart networking:

sudo systemctl restart dhcpcd

Port Forwarding (Optional - Remote Access)

If you want to access SolarLog from outside your local network:

1. Router Configuration:
2. Forward port 8080 → Pi IP:80 (Dashboard)

3. Forward port 3001 → Pi IP:3001 (Grafana)

4. DynDNS Setup (Optional):

5. Use services like DuckDNS, No-IP for dynamic IP

6. Example: solarlog.duckdns.org → Your router IP

7. Security Warning:

8. Use strong passwords (auto-generated by installer)
9. Consider VPN (WireGuard, Tailscale) instead of port forwarding
10. Enable HTTPS with Let's Encrypt for production

📊 Access Information

After installation completes:

📊 Dashboard:    http://<Pi-IP>
📈 Grafana:      http://<Pi-IP>:3001

Grafana Credentials:
  Username: admin
  Password: <see /opt/solarlog/.env>

Find Pi IP address:

hostname -I | awk '{print $1}'

🐛 Troubleshooting

Services Not Starting

# Check service status
sudo systemctl status solarlog

# Check Docker logs
cd /opt/solarlog
sudo docker compose -f docker-compose.pi.yml logs -f

# Check individual service
sudo docker compose -f docker-compose.pi.yml ps

High Memory Usage

# Check Docker stats
sudo docker stats

# Check system memory
free -h

# Restart services to clear cache
sudo systemctl restart solarlog

Database Connection Errors

# Check PostgreSQL health
sudo docker compose -f docker-compose.pi.yml exec postgres pg_isready -U solarlog

# Reset database (⚠️ destroys all data!)
sudo systemctl stop solarlog
sudo rm -rf /opt/solarlog/data/postgres/*
sudo systemctl start solarlog

Frontend Not Loading

# Check Nginx logs
sudo tail -f /opt/solarlog/logs/nginx/access.log
sudo tail -f /opt/solarlog/logs/nginx/error.log

# Rebuild frontend
cd /opt/solarlog
sudo docker compose -f docker-compose.pi.yml build frontend
sudo systemctl restart solarlog

Grafana Not Accessible

# Check Grafana logs
sudo docker compose -f docker-compose.pi.yml logs grafana

# Reset Grafana admin password
sudo docker compose -f docker-compose.pi.yml exec grafana grafana-cli admin reset-admin-password <new-password>

Disk Space Issues

# Check disk usage
df -h

# Clean Docker images
sudo docker system prune -a --volumes

# Rotate logs
sudo truncate -s 0 /opt/solarlog/logs/*.log

🔄 Updates

Update SolarLog

# Stop services
sudo systemctl stop solarlog

# Backup data
sudo tar -czf /home/pi/solarlog-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /opt/solarlog/data/

# Pull new version (if using Git)
cd /opt/solarlog
sudo git pull

# Rebuild containers
sudo docker compose -f docker-compose.pi.yml build

# Start services
sudo systemctl start solarlog

📦 Backup & Restore

Manual Backup

# Backup data directory
sudo tar -czf solarlog-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
    /opt/solarlog/data/ \
    /opt/solarlog/.env

# Copy to external storage
scp solarlog-backup-*.tar.gz user@backup-server:/backups/

Automated Daily Backup (Cron)

# Create backup script
sudo nano /opt/solarlog/scripts/backup-daily.sh

#!/bin/bash
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
BACKUP_DIR="/mnt/external-usb/backups"
tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR/solarlog-$DATE.tar.gz" /opt/solarlog/data/ /opt/solarlog/.env
# Keep only last 7 days
find "$BACKUP_DIR" -name "solarlog-*.tar.gz" -mtime +7 -delete

# Make executable
sudo chmod +x /opt/solarlog/scripts/backup-daily.sh

# Add to crontab (run daily at 3 AM)
sudo crontab -e
0 3 * * * /opt/solarlog/scripts/backup-daily.sh

Restore from Backup

# Stop services
sudo systemctl stop solarlog

# Restore data
sudo tar -xzf solarlog-backup-20251026.tar.gz -C /

# Start services
sudo systemctl start solarlog

🔐 Security Hardening

1. Firewall (ufw)

# Install ufw
sudo apt-get install -y ufw

# Allow SSH (important!)
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp

# Allow Dashboard (local network only)
sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 80

# Allow Grafana (local network only)
sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 3001

# Enable firewall
sudo ufw enable

2. Change Default Passwords

# Change Pi user password
passwd

# Change Grafana password (after first login)
# Settings → Users → admin → Change Password

3. Disable Unused Services

# Disable Bluetooth (if not needed)
sudo systemctl disable bluetooth

# Disable WiFi (if using Ethernet)
sudo rfkill block wifi

📈 Performance Optimization

1. Disable Swap (SD-Card Wear)

# Disable swap
sudo dphys-swapfile swapoff
sudo dphys-swapfile uninstall
sudo systemctl disable dphys-swapfile

2. Mount /tmp to RAM

Edit /etc/fstab:

tmpfs /tmp tmpfs defaults,noatime,nosuid,size=100M 0 0

3. Disable Journal Logging to Disk

sudo nano /etc/systemd/journald.conf

# Change:
Storage=volatile
RuntimeMaxUse=50M

4. PostgreSQL Tuning

Edit docker-compose.pi.yml:

postgres:
  environment:
    POSTGRES_INITDB_ARGS: "-E UTF8 --wal-buffers=256kB --checkpoint-timeout=15min"

🌡️ Temperature Monitoring

# Check CPU temperature
vcgencmd measure_temp

# Monitor continuously
watch -n 1 vcgencmd measure_temp

# Add to Dashboard (optional)
sudo apt-get install -y lm-sensors
sensors

Safe Operating Temperature: Below 80°C
Recommended: Add heatsink or fan if temperature > 70°C under load

📝 Logs Location

/opt/solarlog/logs/nginx/access.log    # Frontend access logs
/opt/solarlog/logs/nginx/error.log     # Frontend error logs
/opt/solarlog/logs/backend.log         # Backend application logs
journalctl -u solarlog                 # Systemd service logs
docker logs solarlog-backend           # Backend container logs
docker logs solarlog-frontend          # Frontend container logs
docker logs solarlog-postgres          # PostgreSQL logs
docker logs solarlog-grafana           # Grafana logs

🎯 Next Steps

After successful installation:

1. ✅ Access Dashboard at http://<Pi-IP>
2. ✅ Login to Grafana at http://<Pi-IP>:3001
3. ✅ Configure data sources (Wechselrichter, Battery)
4. ✅ Test monitoring with demo data
5. ✅ Setup automated backups
6. ✅ Configure alerts (Grafana)
7. ✅ Document your specific hardware configuration

📚 Related Documentation

• Hardware Integration Guide
• Grafana Dashboards
• Backup & Disaster Recovery
• Troubleshooting Guide