Journeys with Tech
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Self Hosting this Blog
An account of my journey to self-hosting this blog, running Hugo, and Caddy on a Raspberry Pi
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Putting the Open back in AI: RAG
Continuing our theme of running large language models (LLM) locally on your PC for free i ; in this post we build upon the local AI chatbot from part 1, improving the responses by retrieving data to make it more knowledgeable. To do this, we use a technique called retrieval augmented generation (RAG), that adds data to the prompt before it goes to the model. Conventional wisdom says RAG is a magic…
The Elephant in the AI Safety Room is…
Imagine if phone systems around the world were joined up via satellite, accidentally forming a new type of computer brain, which then wreaked havoc on an unsuspecting world.
Putting the Open back in AI with Ollama
Did you know that you can run large language models (LLM) locally on your PC, free from the walled gardens of Big Tech ? There are good reasons to do this. To start with, it’s a great way to keep your data local so it remains private. It also decentralises AI, fighting against the concentration of power into a few big players i . Better yet, you can do all this for free… ii
To docker compose and not docker-compose
Docker compose is a tool for orchestrating the deployment of multiple containers, including networking, storage, health monitoring, and much more. It is like a super-power for building experimental systems, especially since it uses a text-based configuration file that can be version controlled and is easy to share.
Linux Mint - Ready for Prime Time
Decades worth of next year being “ Year of Linux on the Desktop ” have turned it into a meme for something that never quite materialises. Now however, a significant change is happening, as factors align to make switching from Windows to Linux easier and more beneficial. To test how ready Linux is for mainstream desktop use, I converted our multi-user home PC to Linux. Read on to find out how well…
How to find me on Mastodon
Microsoft Product Recall?
Microsoft has released a new feature for Windows 11, called “Recall” [^1]. It takes screenshots of your desktop every 5 seconds, storing them locally for AI-powered search (no, I didn’t make this up)
PSA - VS Code can kill…
Public Service Announcement: Visual Studio Code can kill remote machines… I found this out the hard way. I was using a Raspberry Pi (RPi) for a home project. It would slow down then die, seemly at random. A repower always fixed it.
The Power of the Walk-Through
When Computers Hallucinate
The 2023 Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year was ‘ hallucinate ’, chosen because of a new meaning (repurposing) in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) \[1\] .
Experimenting with NiFi
Apache NiFi (see Introduction to NiFi ) is a free open-source tool for managing the flow of data between systems. In this second post, we build a working NiFi demo, with a couple of simplified use cases, allowing us to see it in action and learn by experimenting. The demo runs in a Docker container and comes with batch and real time event DataFlows and basic test data.
Introduction to NiFi
Apache NiFi facilitates the movement of data between systems. This free open-source software can ingest, manipulate and send/store data for batch and real-time use cases.
Build an ELK Stack
When I had a need to visualise telemetry data from a home project, the ELK stack was my go-to solution. The ELK stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) is an open-source-ish [^1] tool for ingesting, searching, and visualising data.
Other Uses for PlantUML
Diagrams with C4 Model
IT Architecture - A Discussion on Coupling
Beware the Perils of Audit-Driven Design
When you work in IT, security audits are par for the course. Like dental check-ups, they’re generally a good idea, but can still be painful (and expensive). They help uncover issues that need fixing, and raise senior exec visibility. There is however a dark underbelly to security audits - they can drive counterproductive behaviours leading to unintended and undesirable outcomes.…
Diagrams as Code (PlantUML)
What is a Network Traffic Flow Part 3
Emerging from the Murky Swamp of InfoSec - An Architect’s View
IP Fragmentation Lab with Vagrant
What is a Network Traffic Flow Part 2
What is a Network Traffic Flow?
NetFlow/IPFIX Exporting with pmacct
This blog post is for network experimenters who want to export flow records from an Ubuntu Linux host bridging multiple network segments. Such a network might look like this: {{< figure src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/pmacct_diagram-w.png" alt="" caption="" >}} An Ubuntu Linux host is bridges two network segments and traffic passing through the bridge is recorded as flow records.
Collecting NetFlow with nfcapd and nfdump
NetFlow on OpenWRT
This blog post is for network experimenters who want to export flow records from a small network, such as a home network using an OpenWRT router. Such a network might look like this: {{< figure src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/netflow_on_openwrt-w.png" alt="" caption="" >}} Flow records can be useful for various applications. Here is an example flow record: Date first seen Duration Proto Src IP…
Containers Part 2 - Understanding Docker
Containers Part 1 - What are Containers?
One of my 2018 learning goals is to become more familiar with containers. This blog post (first of a series) is intended to help broaden my own understanding of containers; hopefully it is also of use to others. What is a Container? # A container is a type of application virtualisation that isolates and sandboxes application processes within an operating system (OS). On Linux, a container is a…
Vagrant for SDN Labs pt2
Part 2 - Install # In part 2 of this blog post, we cover off how to install the necessary components to build virtual SDN labs with Vagrant.
Vagrant for SDN Labs
Part 1 - Introduction # I’ve been experimenting with Vagrant to automate the creation of virtual Software-Defined Networking (SDN) labs. This blog explains how create SDN labs with Vagrant. Why SDN labs? Maybe you’re a network student or engineer learning new skills. Maybe you want to develop the next killer SDN app. Perhaps you’re doing SDN research. Virtual labs are a great way…
Build a Home SDN Lab
Software-defined networking (SDN) separates network control from packet forwarding. SDN is great for experimenters, as we get to tinker with how the network runs, without having to worry about moving packets. To play with SDN in your home network you’ll need a device to do the packet forwarding, under control of your software. I’ve added instructions on how to build a home SDN lab that…