fix(vpn): disable vpn-egress — tunnel blocked by home network (env), config kept

Phase-3 VPN config is complete + correct (OpenVPN-UDP, SE Stockholm), but the
OpenVPN UDP/1197 handshake to PIA never gets a reply. Traced with tcpdump: packets
leave pod→node→host→WiFi (SNAT 192.168.2.103) fine, but 0 replies return to the
host, while host UDP/53 works. The 192.168.2.x home router/ISP drops OpenVPN UDP —
upstream of everything in this repo. Reverted to disabled to avoid a crashloop
firing false KubePodCrashLooping alerts; one-line re-enable once the network is
fixed. Full trace in DECISIONS-LOG.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <[email protected]>

DECISIONS-LOG.md

@@ -484,3 +484,26 @@ breaks the SOPS MAC); cosmetic.
 
 **Next:** confirm the OpenVPN tunnel comes up + correct egress IP, then egress-steering validation (README
 option 1, `tun0`) + kill-switch conformance (R-NET-06).
+
+### Phase 3 VPN — tunnel BLOCKED by home network (2026-08-22)
+After deploying OpenVPN + fixing the region (`SE Stockholm`), gluetun goes **Running** and OpenVPN dials
+PIA Sweden servers over **UDP/1197**, but the handshake never completes — no `TLS: Initial packet from`
+the server, gluetun healthcheck restarts it in a loop. **Not auth** (no `AUTH_FAILED`), **not a k8s
+NetworkPolicy** (vpn-egress is `app-namespace=false`, no policies touch it), **not the cluster/host path**.
+
+Traced with tcpdump end-to-end:
+- On the node (k3s-dev-3): pod `10.0.2.161` → Cilium SNAT → `ens3 Out 10.73.0.13 > 46.246.x:1197`. Leaves fine.
+- On the host: `virbr1 In 10.73.0.13 > 46.246.x:1197` → `wlp4s0 Out 192.168.2.103 > 46.246.x:1197`. Host
+  NATs it out the **WiFi** onto the `192.168.2.x` home LAN. Leaves fine.
+- On the host `wlp4s0`, filtering `src net 46.246.0.0/16`: **0 reply packets in 20s.** Meanwhile host
+  UDP/53 (`dig @9.9.9.9`) works. → OpenVPN UDP replies never return to the host.
+
+**Conclusion:** the break is UPSTREAM of the host — the home router/ISP on the `192.168.2.x` WiFi network
+is dropping/not-returning OpenVPN UDP/1197 (TCP egress + UDP/53 both work; only the VPN UDP is affected;
+this box is on 192.168.2.x via WiFi, not the main 192.168.1.x LAN). **Environmental, outside the repo.**
+
+**Action → operator:** fix at the network (check the 192.168.2.x router for outbound UDP/1197 or VPN
+filtering; try a wired connection to the main 192.168.1.x LAN; or a different port/provider). No in-config
+workaround — the user requires non-TCP, and WireGuard (the fallback) is also UDP so likely blocked the same
+way. `vpn-egress` reverted to disabled meanwhile (config is complete + correct; one-line re-enable once the
+network passes OpenVPN UDP).

platform/kustomization.yaml

@@ -17,8 +17,13 @@ resources:
   - cert-manager       # Let's Encrypt DNS-01 wildcard — needs SOPS `cloudflare-api-token`
   - externaldns        # auto DNS records — needs SOPS `cloudflare-api-token`
   - gateway            # Gateway API listeners (ingress; replaces Traefik)
-  # ---- Phase 3 — Egress / VPN (PIA creds provisioned via SOPS; OpenVPN-UDP per ADR-0013 amendment) ----
-  - vpn-egress         # shared Gluetun PIA/OpenVPN-UDP egress gateway + kill-switch (ADR-0013)
+  # ---- Phase 3 — Egress / VPN — config COMPLETE + CORRECT (OpenVPN-UDP, SE Stockholm), but the tunnel
+  #      is BLOCKED by the ENVIRONMENT: gluetun's OpenVPN UDP/1197 packets to PIA leave the cluster
+  #      correctly (pod→node→host→WiFi, SNAT 192.168.2.103) but NO replies ever return to the host,
+  #      while host UDP/53 works — so the home router/ISP on the 192.168.2.x WiFi net drops OpenVPN
+  #      UDP. Disabled to avoid a crashloop firing false alerts. Re-enable once the network is fixed
+  #      (see DECISIONS-LOG "Phase 3 VPN — tunnel BLOCKED by home network"). ----
+  # - vpn-egress       # shared Gluetun PIA/OpenVPN-UDP egress gateway + kill-switch (ADR-0013)
   # ---- Phase 4 — Observability (creds provisioned via SOPS: grafana-admin, alertmanager-smtp) ----
   - monitoring         # kube-prometheus-stack + Loki + Alloy + Alertmanager
   # ---- Later phases: enabled when their phase opens ----