ci: use on-prem runners for E2E tests #10

2026-02-12T13:09:17Z

cpfarhood commented

2026-02-12 13:09:17 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Problem

E2E tests are failing on all branches with DNS resolution errors:

Error: page.goto: net::ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED at https://headlamp.animaniacs.farh.net/

Root cause: GitHub-hosted runners don't have network access to headlamp.animaniacs.farh.net (private network).

Solution

Use self-hosted ARC (Actions Runner Controller) runners that run in the same network as the Headlamp instance.

Changes

Before:

jobs:
  e2e:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

After:

jobs:
  e2e:
    runs-on: k3s-animaniacs

Runner Configuration

Self-hosted runners configured via Flux:

Runner scale set: k3s-animaniacs
Config: kubernetes/base/arc-runners/helmrelease-arc-runner-set.yaml
GitHub App auth: Configured for cpfarhood/kubernetes org
Capacity: 0-4 runners (scale to zero when idle)
Container mode: Docker-in-Docker (dind)

Impact

✅ E2E tests work - Runners have network access to headlamp.animaniacs.farh.net
✅ PRs properly validated - E2E tests run on push/PR as intended
✅ Cost savings - Self-hosted runners (no GitHub Actions minutes consumed)
✅ Auto-scaling - Runners scale from 0 to 4 based on demand

Testing

E2E tests will now run:

On push to main
On pull requests
Manual workflow_dispatch

Tests use self-hosted runners with access to:

Headlamp instance: https://headlamp.animaniacs.farh.net
Authentik OIDC provider for authentication

Alternatives Considered

❌ Expose Headlamp publicly - Security concern
❌ Disable E2E on CI - Loses automated testing
✅ Use on-prem runners - Best of both worlds

References

ARC runner config: kubernetes/base/arc-runners/helmrelease-arc-runner-set.yaml
Failed E2E run (GitHub-hosted): https://github.com/cpfarhood/headlamp-polaris-plugin/actions/runs/21946461082
Error: ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED at authentication step

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

## Problem E2E tests are failing on all branches with DNS resolution errors: ``` Error: page.goto: net::ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED at https://headlamp.animaniacs.farh.net/ ``` **Root cause:** GitHub-hosted runners don't have network access to `headlamp.animaniacs.farh.net` (private network). ## Solution Use self-hosted ARC (Actions Runner Controller) runners that run in the same network as the Headlamp instance. ### Changes **Before:** ```yaml jobs: e2e: runs-on: ubuntu-latest ``` **After:** ```yaml jobs: e2e: runs-on: k3s-animaniacs ``` ### Runner Configuration Self-hosted runners configured via Flux: - **Runner scale set:** `k3s-animaniacs` - **Config:** `kubernetes/base/arc-runners/helmrelease-arc-runner-set.yaml` - **GitHub App auth:** Configured for `cpfarhood/kubernetes` org - **Capacity:** 0-4 runners (scale to zero when idle) - **Container mode:** Docker-in-Docker (dind) ## Impact ✅ **E2E tests work** - Runners have network access to `headlamp.animaniacs.farh.net` ✅ **PRs properly validated** - E2E tests run on push/PR as intended ✅ **Cost savings** - Self-hosted runners (no GitHub Actions minutes consumed) ✅ **Auto-scaling** - Runners scale from 0 to 4 based on demand ## Testing E2E tests will now run: 1. **On push to main** 2. **On pull requests** 3. **Manual workflow_dispatch** Tests use self-hosted runners with access to: - Headlamp instance: `https://headlamp.animaniacs.farh.net` - Authentik OIDC provider for authentication ## Alternatives Considered 1. ❌ **Expose Headlamp publicly** - Security concern 2. ❌ **Disable E2E on CI** - Loses automated testing 3. ✅ **Use on-prem runners** - Best of both worlds ## References - ARC runner config: `kubernetes/base/arc-runners/helmrelease-arc-runner-set.yaml` - Failed E2E run (GitHub-hosted): https://github.com/cpfarhood/headlamp-polaris-plugin/actions/runs/21946461082 - Error: `ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED` at authentication step 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Sign in to join this conversation.

1 Participants

Notifications

Due Date

No due date set.

Dependencies

No dependencies set.

Reference: privilegedescalation/headlamp-polaris-plugin#10