# Phase 0: Infrastructure Dismantling & Vanilla Reset

**Date:** February 7, 2026  
**Status:** COMPLETE  
**Purpose:** Document what was removed and why during the Phase 0 vanilla reset

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## Executive Summary

On February 7, 2026, we dismantled the "Frostwall Protocol v1.0" - a complex GRE tunnel architecture that was causing more problems than it solved. This document preserves the technical details for future reference and explains the strategic decision to rebuild from a "vanilla baseline."

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## What Was Dismantled

### Command Center (63.143.34.217)

**GRE Tunnels Removed:**
- gre-nc1 - Tunnel to NC1 Charlotte (192.168.20.1/30)
- gre-tx1 - Tunnel to TX1 Dallas (192.168.10.1/30)

**Processes Killed:**
- 68 leaked tunnel-related processes
- master_restore.sh background processes
- reboot_audit.sh background processes

**Cron Jobs Disabled:**
- master_restore.sh - Auto-restore tunnel configuration
- reboot_audit.sh - Tunnel health monitoring

**iptables Rules Cleaned:**
- All GRE-related NAT rules
- All tunnel routing rules
- Reset to default firewall policy

### NC1 Charlotte (216.239.104.130)

**GRE Tunnel Removed:**
- gre-cc - Tunnel to Command Center
- Tunnel IP: 192.168.20.2/30
- Peer: 63.143.34.217

### TX1 Dallas (38.68.14.26)

**GRE Tunnel Removed:**
- gre-tx1 - Tunnel to Command Center
- Tunnel IP: 192.168.10.2/30
- Secondary IP on tunnel: 38.68.14.188/32 (Billing Portal routing)
- Peer: 63.143.34.217

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## Why It Was Removed

### Problem 1: CosmicGuard Double-Encapsulation
The original Charlotte node was behind CosmicGuard DDoS protection, which automatically creates GRE tunnels. Running our tunnel over their tunnel created double encapsulation and MTU issues.

### Problem 2: Protocol 47 Blocking
Upstream carrier was black-holing Protocol 47 (GRE) on 38.x IP ranges. Required migration to 216.239.104.x range.

### Problem 3: Complexity vs. Benefit
Constant connectivity issues, difficult troubleshooting, 68+ leaked processes, midnight emergencies.

### Problem 4: Maintenance Burden
With Michael's health and family planning goals, midnight pages were unsustainable.

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## The Decision: Vanilla Reset

**Philosophy:** "Start from a clean baseline and rebuild properly."

**Future Plan (Phase 1):**
- Design simplified DDoS protection
- Cloudflare Spectrum or simplified GRE (decision pending)
- Focus on reliability over complexity

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## Lessons Learned

1. Complexity has a cost - Every added layer is a potential failure point
2. Health matters - Infrastructure should support life, not consume it
3. Document before dismantling - This document preserves institutional knowledge
4. Vanilla baseline enables iteration - Easier to build correctly from scratch
5. Provider relationships matter - Breezehost's Jon Beard was crucial

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## Revision History

| Version | Date | Changes |
|---------|------|---------|
| 1.0 | 2026-02-09 | Initial documentation (retroactive) |

