WirelessPhreak.com

I like to travel, f*ck with technology, and partake in the occasional tropical drink.
I am also a co-host on The NBD Show podcast.
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Self hosting apps and building out your home lab!

I wanted to create this blog post not as a step-by-step guide but as a high-level outline and links to the resources you can use to build your container environment. I have wanted to get into containers and Docker for a while. I have played with Docker in the past and had not had much success. I could get stuff running but to be able to manage the health of my containers and easily deploy and destroy them was not intuitive for a dumb network guy like myself.


So I found a better way!

A friend of mine turned me on to Portainer CE and Nginx Proxy Manger, my world was turned upside down.  Portainer and NPM streamline and simplifies container deployment and management to a level most anyone can understand. At a high level, Portainer is a universal container management tool that can work with both Docker and Kubernetes to make the deployment and management of containerized applications and services easier and more efficient.


The second piece that streamlines the home lab setup is Nginx Proxy Manager. This is a user Interface to the powerful Nginx web server. The NPM project has scripted many of the configurations you would have had to manually build out in the past and fronted it with a super intuitive user interface. NPM can even generate and manage your let's encrypt certificates. I can't say enough good things about NPM.

 

So what you need to get started

  1. You will need a computer or even a Raspberry Pi (the Pi si a little under powered though)You can run Windows, Apple OS, or Linux.  I used Linux there seems to be much more documentation running it in linux. 
  2. Own a domain name so you can manage and create your own DNS records.
  3. Set up port forwarding on your home router to roward traffci to your new container server.
  4. Allow port 443 access on your local firewall if you are running in a VPS or at home.
  5. Install Docker link to install Docker. https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ubuntu/
  6. Install Portainer here is a link their really great install docs. https://docs.portainer.io/start/install-ce/server/docker/linux
  7. Install Nignx Proxy Manager  https://nginxproxymanager.com/setup/#running-the-app

Once this has all been build out you have the basic framework to deploy containerized applications at will. 

 

High level diagram of what your environment will look like


 

Helpful Hint

  • When you deploy a container you need to add the container to the NGINX Proxy Manager Default network if you want the app to be fronted by NPM
  • When you configure NPM you need to use a fully qualified name that will route to your public IP that will in turn forward it to the server and then from NPM to the correct container. 
  • You can define the container in the NPM config by the name portainer assigns it.  You don't have to use the IP it was assigned. 
  • NPM will perform port translation (your application can be presented on port 443 even though it listens on 8080.)
  • NPM will offload SSL and force SSL redirects for apps that don't know they are behind a proxy.

 

 Some Self Hosted App Resources

 https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/

 https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted

 

Lastly if your interested in an awesome Virtual Private Server (VPS) with unlimited bandwidth check out Frantech.  They are super cheap and super reliable, and they have awesome customer service. 

FYI this is an affiliate link so I will score a little cash if you buy. :)

FranTech


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The question is “why log everything?”

Logging your local SSH sessions can provide valuable information for troubleshooting, record-keeping, security, and auditing purposes. It is recommended to enable session logging as part of your SSH client configuration. Logging can save your bacon, for instance when:

  • The telnet/SSH client buffer is full
  • Something goes wrong
  • You mistakenly close SecureCRT
  • You want to check what you have done


The original guide was posted on Ciscozine.com. It was such a good article I wanted to capture it here and add some Apple screenshots for everyone.

Below the steps to configure it:

1. Open the software.

2. On the top bar click “Options”then “Global Options”.


3. Select “Default Session”, click “Edit Default Settings…”; then select “Log File”.


There are many customization's:Log file name: where to save the log file.
Upon connect: text at the beginning of the file.
Upon disconnect: text at the end of the file.
On each line: text added on each line.

These fields accept several variables; a complete list is shown below:%H – hostname
%S – session name
%Y – four-digit year
%M – two-digit month
%D – two-digit day of the month
%h – two-digit hour
%m – two-digit minute
%s – two-digit seconds
%t – three-digit milliseconds
%% – percent (%)
%envvar% – environment variable (for instance %USERNAME%)

Note: These settings will be applied ONLY on new sessions!

4. If you would apply these settings on the current saved sessions click “File” on the top bar then “Connect…”. Select the devices or the group of devices, right click and select “Properties”. A new window will appear:

 

You can customize each field as you prefer. In my case, I have used the previous settings.

Below an example of a saved session:
19:19:58.965 $ Start recording Test_Switch (192.168.0.10) - 19:19:58
19:19:58.983 $ C
19:19:58.983 $ *
19:19:58.984 $ *
19:19:58.984 $ * Test_Switch
19:19:58.984 $ *
19:19:58.985 $
19:20:00.950 $ Username: Cisco
19:20:00.980 $ Password:
19:20:00.980 $
19:20:48.403 $ Test_Switch#sh ver
19:20:48.620 $ Cisco IOS Software, s72033_rp Software (s72033_rp-ADVENTERPRISEK9-M), Version 15.1(2)SY, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc4) 19:20:48.620 $ Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
19:20:48.620 $ Copyright (c) 1986-2013 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
19:20:48.620 $ Compiled Wed 04-Sep-13 13:05 by prod_rel_team
19:20:48.620 $
19:20:48.621 $ ROM: System Bootstrap, Version 12.2(17r)SX7, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
19:20:48.621 $ 19:20:48.621 $ SW-6500-VSS uptime is 23 weeks, 2 hours, 8 minutes
19:20:48.621 $ Uptime for this control processor is 23 weeks, 2 hours, 0 minutes
19:20:48.621 $ System returned to ROM by reload at 12:16:02 UTC Fri May 23 2014 (SP by reload)
19:20:48.622 $ System restarted at 14:20:04 CST Fri May 23 2014
19:20:48.622 $ System image file is "sup-bootdisk:s72033-adventerprisek9-mz.151-2.SY.bin"
19:20:48.622 $ Last reload reason: Admin reload CLI
19:20:48.622 $
19:20:48.622 $
19:20:48.624 $
19:20:48.624 $ This product contains cryptographic features and is subject to United
19:20:48.625 $ States and local country laws governing import, export, transfer and
19:20:48.625 $ use. Delivery of Cisco cryptographic products does not imply
19:20:48.625 $ third-party authority to import, export, distribute or use encryption.
19:20:48.625 $ Importers, exporters, distributors and users are responsible for
19:20:48.626 $ compliance with U.S. and local country laws. By using this product you
19:20:48.626 $ agree to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If you are unable
19:20:48.626 $ to comply with U.S. and local laws, return this product immediately.
19:20:48.626 $
19:20:48.626 $ A summary of U.S. laws governing Cisco cryptographic products may be found at:
19:20:48.626 $ http://www.cisco.com/wwl/export/crypto/tool/stqrg.html
19:20:48.626 $
19:20:48.627 $ If you require further assistance please contact us by sending email to
19:20:48.627 $ [email protected].
19:20:48.627 $
19:20:48.627 $ cisco WS-C6509-E (R7000) processor (revision 1.6) with 983008K/65536K bytes of memory.
19:20:48.627 $ Processor board ID SMC17330086
19:20:48.957 $ SR71000 CPU at 600Mhz, Implementation 0x504, Rev 1.2, 512KB L2 Cache 19:20:48.958 $ Last reset from s/w reset
19:20:48.958 $ 12 Virtual Ethernet interfaces
19:20:48.958 $ 216 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
19:20:48.958 $ 36 Ten Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
19:20:48.958 $ 1917K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.
19:20:48.958 $ 19:20:48.959 $ 65536K bytes of Flash internal SIMM (Sector size 512K).
19:20:48.959 $ Configuration register is 0x2102
19:20:48.960 $ 19:20:59.632 $ Test_Switch#
19:22:23.284 $ Test_Switch#exit
19:22:23.585 $ Stop recording Test_Switch (192.168.0.10) - 19:22:23

As you can see, each line start with the time. The “$” is used for two reasons:If you import the log file in Excel or similar, you can use this symbol as a delimiter.
I use the “$” and not the “,” because in some configuration the “,” is present, so it would not be possible to use this symbol like a delimiter.



 

The following was a blog post generated by ChatGPT using the prompt "write me a blog post about ChatGPT." 

ChatGPT is a variant of the popular GPT-3 language model developed by OpenAI. It was specifically designed to improve the performance of conversation-based language models, such as chatbots and virtual assistants.

One of the key features of ChatGPT is its ability to generate coherent and realistic responses to a wide range of prompts. This is achieved through the use of a large and diverse training dataset, which allows the model to learn about various topics and language patterns.

One of the main benefits of using ChatGPT is its ability to handle long-form conversations and maintain context over multiple turns. This is in contrast to traditional chatbots, which often rely on simple rules or pattern matching to generate responses, and are prone to breaking down when faced with more complex or unexpected inputs.

Another advantage of ChatGPT is its ability to handle a wide range of tasks and respond appropriately to different types of prompts. This includes tasks such as answering questions, providing information, and engaging in casual conversation.

One potential application of ChatGPT is in the development of virtual assistants or chatbots for customer service. These systems can handle a wide range of tasks and queries, freeing up human agents to focus on more complex or urgent issues.

Overall, ChatGPT is a powerful tool for improving the performance of conversation-based language models, and has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with chatbots and virtual assistants.

 

 

SC Hot Buttered Rum Batter

1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground anise seed
2 cups salted butter
4 cups packed golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons Brer Rabbit Mild Molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the spices in a small bowl and set aside. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, add sugar and stir constantly. Add molasses and vanilla extract and stir. Finally, stir in the spice mixture. Continue to stir on lowest possible heat until all items mix thoroughly and butter does not create a separate layer, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly and while still soft, pour batter into storage containers. Seal airtight after batter has cooled completely. It will keep until the expiration date of the butter used.

Now that you've done the hard work, make yourself a Smuggler's Cove Hot Buttered Rum by combining 3 barspoons of the above batter and 1 1/2 ounces of blended aged rum in an Irish Coffee glass, top with 6 ounces of hot water and stir. Serve with a cinnamon stick, but feel free to garnish with whipped cream and some freshly grated nutmeg if you so desire. I'm sure Martin, Rebecca, and the Trader wouldn't mind.