# Prefect Operations

This guide covers deploying, monitoring, and maintaining the IRSOL Data Pipeline's Prefect orchestration in a production environment.

## Operating Model

The pipeline runs as four long-lived processes under a dedicated Unix user (e.g., `irsol-prefect`):

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    subgraph "sirius server"
        SERVER["Prefect Server<br/>(port 4200)"]
        FF["Flow Runner:<br/>flat-field-correction"]
        SLIT["Flow Runner:<br/>slit-images"]
        WEB["Flow Runner:<br/>web-assets-compatibility"]
        MAINT["Flow Runner:<br/>maintenance"]
    end

    SERVER --> FF
    SERVER --> SLIT
    SERVER --> WEB
    SERVER --> MAINT
    DASH["Web Dashboard<br/>http://sirius:4200"] --> SERVER
```

| Process | Command | Purpose |
|---------|---------|---------|
| Prefect Server | `idp prefect start` | API server and web dashboard |
| Flat-field runner | `idp prefect flows serve flat-field-correction` | Scheduled + manual flat-field correction |
| Slit images runner | `idp prefect flows serve slit-images` | Scheduled + manual slit image generation |
| Web asset compatibility runner | `idp prefect flows serve web-assets-compatibility` | Scheduled + manual web asset compatibility generation |
| Maintenance runner | `idp prefect flows serve maintenance` | Cache cleanup and run history pruning |

## Deployment

### Bootstrap Checklist

1. **Install the pipeline:**
   ```bash
   uv tool install irsol-data-pipeline-cli --no-cache-dir --python 3.10
   ```
   Note: we recommend installing `irsol-data-pipeline-cli` instead of the `irsol-data-pipeline` pip package. The CLI flavour of the package will come with pinned dependencies, including a compatible Prefect version, and will receive updates on a more stable cadence. The CLI package is designed for managing the Prefect server and flows in production, while the main package is intended for development and local usage.

2. **Verify installation:**
   ```bash
   idp --version
   idp info
   ```

3. Install auto-completion for your shell (optional but recommended):
   ```bash
   idp --install-completion
   ```
   and restart your shell or source the completion script.

4. **Configure the default Prefect profile for the pipeline:**
   ```bash
   idp setup server
   ```
   This command creates or updates a `default` Prefect profile and sets:
   - `PREFECT_API_DATABASE_CONNECTION_URL`
   - `PREFECT_API_URL=http://127.0.0.1:4200/api`
   - `PREFECT_SERVER_ANALYTICS_ENABLED=false`

   During setup, you are prompted to:
   - confirm the database path (default: `/dati/.prefect/prefect.db`). This is the path where the prefect flows are stored and made visible in the dashboard. It should be on a persistent volume with sufficient space (a few hundred MB to a few GB depending on run history retention). When the default database path is accepted, its parent directory is created automatically.

   - select the API port (default: `4200`, from the pipeline Prefect config). This is the port where the Prefect server will be accessible from.

   You only need to configure Prefect once. The resulting profile is stored in
   `~/.prefect/profiles.toml` and will be used by all `idp prefect` commands.

5. **Start the Prefect server:**
   ```bash
   idp prefect start
   ```
   The server port is inferred from the active profile's `PREFECT_API_URL`.


6. **Configure variables and secrets:**
   ```bash
   idp prefect variables configure
   idp prefect secrets configure
   ```
   Required variables:
   - `data-root-path` — Path to the dataset root directories, you can set multiple root directories, comma separated.
   - `jsoc-email` — Email registered with JSOC for SDO data queries.
   - `jsoc-data-delay-days` — Minimum age (days) for observation-day folders processed by `slit-images-full` (default: 14).
   - `cache-expiration-hours` — Cache file retention (default: 672 hours = 28 days).
   - `flow-run-expiration-hours` — Prefect run history retention (default: 672 hours).

   Required secrets:
   - `piombo-password` — SFTP password for Piombo uploads (used by web asset compatibility flows).

   You will be prompted to enter the value for each secret. Secrets are stored securely in Prefect Secret blocks and are not shown in plaintext after entry.


7. **Verify configuration:**
   ```bash
   idp info
   idp prefect variables list
   idp prefect secrets list
   idp prefect flows list
   ```

8. **Upgrade the package:**
   ```bash
   uv tool upgrade irsol-data-pipeline-cli --no-cache-dir --python 3.10
   ```

Now the `idp` command line tool is ready to manage the Prefect server and flow runners globally for the current user.

### systemd Services

Use the built-in installer command to generate and write systemd service unit files:

```bash
idp install service
```

This interactive command will guide you through selecting the Unix user, `idp` executable
path, and which services to install. It detects existing services and prompts before
overwriting. See [CLI Usage — `idp install service`](../cli/cli_usage.md#idp-install-service) for full details.

Alternatively, you can create the unit files manually. Example for the Prefect server:

```ini
# /etc/systemd/system/irsol-prefect-server.service
[Unit]
Description=IRSOL Prefect Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=irsol-prefect
ExecStart=/home/irsol-prefect/.local/bin/idp prefect start
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```

Example for a flow runner:

```ini
# /etc/systemd/system/irsol-prefect-serve-flatfield.service
[Unit]
Description=IRSOL Flat-Field Correction Runner
After=irsol-prefect-server.service
Requires=irsol-prefect-server.service

[Service]
Type=simple
User=irsol-prefect
ExecStart=/home/irsol-prefect/.local/bin/idp prefect flows serve flat-field-correction
Environment=PREFECT_ENABLED=1
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```

Repeat for `slit-images` and `maintenance` runners.

Enable and start all services:

```bash
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now irsol-prefect-server
sudo systemctl enable --now irsol-prefect-serve-flatfield
sudo systemctl enable --now irsol-prefect-serve-slitimages
sudo systemctl enable --now irsol-prefect-serve-maintenance
```

## Monitoring

### Health Check

```bash
# CLI health check
idp prefect status

# With deep analysis (running flows and tasks)
idp prefect status --deep-analysis

# JSON output for automation
idp prefect status --format json
```

### Service Status

```bash
# Check all services
systemctl status irsol-prefect-server
systemctl status irsol-prefect-serve-flatfield
systemctl status irsol-prefect-serve-slitimages
systemctl status irsol-prefect-serve-maintenance
```

### Logs

```bash
# Prefect server logs
journalctl -u irsol-prefect-server -n 200 --no-pager

# Flow runner logs
journalctl -u irsol-prefect-serve-flatfield -n 200 --no-pager

# Pipeline application log (rotating)
tail -f irsol-data-pipeline.log
```

## Database Reset

> **⚠️ Destructive operation.** This deletes all Prefect run history.

```bash
idp prefect reset-database
```

Use this only as a last resort when the Prefect database is corrupted.

## Upgrade Procedure

1. **Stop flow runner services** (keep the Prefect server running):
   ```bash
   sudo systemctl stop irsol-prefect-serve-flatfield
   sudo systemctl stop irsol-prefect-serve-slitimages
   sudo systemctl stop irsol-prefect-serve-maintenance
   ```

2. **Upgrade the package:**
   ```bash
   uv tool upgrade irsol-data-pipeline-cli --no-cache-dir --python 3.10
   ```

3. **Verify the new version:**
   ```bash
   idp --version
   idp info
   ```

4. **Restart the flow runners:**
   ```bash
   sudo systemctl start irsol-prefect-serve-flatfield
   sudo systemctl start irsol-prefect-serve-slitimages
   sudo systemctl start irsol-prefect-serve-maintenance
   ```


## Dashboard

In order to access the Prefect dashboard, you need to have the Prefect server running on sirius (see instructions above) and a port forwarding setup from sirius to your local machine.

Ensure a port is forwarded from sirius to your local environment:
```bash
ssh -L 4200:localhost:4200 <username>@sirius
```

This command will open an SSH connection from your local environment to sirius (where the prefect server is running) and forward the prefect server port (4200) to your local machine. You can then access the Prefect dashboard at `http://localhost:4200` in your web browser:

- **Deployments** tab — view registered deployments and their schedules.
- **Flow Runs** tab — inspect completed, running, and failed runs.
- **Tasks** tab — drill into individual task execution.
- **Logs** — view Prefect-captured log output.

## Best Practices

- **One user per stack** — run all processes under a single dedicated Unix user.
- **systemd for lifecycle** — let systemd handle restarts and boot ordering.
- **Monitor the dashboard** — check daily for failed runs and unexpected patterns.
- **Keep maintenance active** — ensure the maintenance flow runner is always serving to prevent cache and run history accumulation.
- **Test upgrades** — always run a smoke test after upgrading before relying on scheduled runs.
- **Back up Prefect variables and secrets** — document your variable and secret configuration in case of database reset. Use `idp prefect variables list` and `idp prefect secrets list` to export current values (secrets will be redacted).

## Related Documentation

- [Prefect Integration](../pipeline/prefect_integration.md) — flow architecture and technical details
- [CLI Usage](../cli/cli_usage.md) — CLI command reference
- [Installation](../user/installation.md) — initial setup
