Linux Containers (LXC) on Slackware
I went to a trip for replacing my $HOME FreeBSD server with loads of jails and Linux containers with some Slackware Linux server with… isolated applications; $REASONS don’t matter much.
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Connect FreeBSD to OpenBSD using WireGuard
I have deployed a monitoring VPS somewhere on someone else’s computer and I want all my other servers to send it their metrics and logs and alerts etc. But in order to cruise the Wild Wild Web in a safer way, I connect all those nodes using WireGuard. Recently I deployed a FreeBSD instance in such a way that it has to initiate the connection to the OpenBSD monitoring server using WireGuard.…
dhcpd and unbound in FreeBSD jails
The other day, I used FreeBSD on a Raspberry Pi card to get a redundant DHCP server and DNS resolver working together with an OpenBSD server. It works great. But another FreeBSD server is available and I don’t really need yet another gadget powered on. So I moved both the DHCP and DNS services to this machine. While I was there, I took the opportunity to put them into their own jails.…
Redundant DHCP server and DNS Resolver using OpenBSD and FreeBSD
Some time ago, I set up Redundant DHCP server and DNS Resolver using OpenBSD . Time has past and one of the Raspberry Pi board I own is now running FreeBSD while the ODROID HC4 is running OpenBSD . I secured both my DHCP server and DNS resolver services running on those boards so that I can perform maintenance on one machine without turning down the whole services set.
FreeBSD 14.4 on Raspberry Pi Zero 2W
Not convinced lately with OpenBSD on this board , I went searching for another BSD OS to run on the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. According to the documentation, FreeBSD should do fine. Let’s have a look.
*BSD discovery on the PINE64 ROCKPro64
I’ve been lurking on the PINE64 ROCKPro64 for a long time but its price compared to other options has always kept me from buying one. But being very happy with my ODROID HC4, I went hunting for a ROCKPro64 and found one. I have (a small) ZFS NAS plans for it. But before I get all the hardware, let’s take a quick look at it running various BSD systems.
OpenBSD 7.8 on Raspberry Pi Zero 2W
A few years ago, I ran OpenBSD 7.4 on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W . It was working quite nice as a DHCP and DNS server. But it froze too often for my linkings and I stopped using it. These days, that particular board is still not referenced on the official OpenBSD arm64 supported hardware list. Still, I gave it a try on OpenBSD 7.8.
Running OpenBSD 7.8 on ODROID HC4
Some times ago, I acquired an ODROID HC4 arm64 board and installed OpenBSD 7.2 on it. I used it for a moment but there were issues when running with two disks so I stopped using it. For $reasons, I took it out of its box and gave it another try using OpenBSD 7.8.
Stop Logitech from waking up Slackware Linux
Because of recent elbow issues, I purchased a Logitech Lift, so-called vertical ergonomic mouse . Not sure if it will solve my elbow issues but I’m sure it brought issue to my laptop suspend process.
Generative AI using Linuxulator and eGPU on FreeBSD
Not so long ago, I experimented on so-called Generative AI using an external eGPU and Slackware Linux . Because I’m a BSD fanboy, I started looking at doing the same on FreeBSD. But I faced a lot of missing dependencies issues and Python compilation errors. As a non fluent Python person, I couldn’t solve all the errors I encountered and decided to see if the FreeBSD Linux Binary…
Multiple keyboard layouts on OpenBSD
My ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 AMD has a French (ISO AZERTY). But it is connected to a dock and I mainly use an external (USB) keyboard with an ANSI US layout. Because I’d rather not type with an US layout on an FR keyboard, and vice-versa, I have configured my OpenBSD OS to deal with both, nearly automagically.
Exploring Docker containers on FreeBSD
When it comes to running (Linux) Docker containers on BSD hosts, I usually end up popping an Alpine or Debian virtual machine with the Docker engine. But I read that podman was available on FreeBSD and able to run Docker containers. Here’s what I learned, so far.
Slackware on encrypted ZFS root
My Slackware laptop was doing well with LUKS/LVM/EXT4 but after some Fediverse discussion, I decided using ZFS would be safer for my data. The problem is OpenZFS is not integrated into the Linux kernel and not that well integrated into Linux distribution in general. That said, Ubuntu offers an integrated option and other distros have documentation about such cases. Those are my notes dedicated to…
Software-control a Dell monitor KVM from Linux
I own a DELL U2723QE 4K monitor that ships with a KVM so that I can connect two computers. One via an USB-c connection and one via either an HDMI or a DisplayPort connector. Switch to either is controlled by a physical button on the back of the screen. But it can also be done software-wise.
Check your IP infos using nginx
There are a few times when I want to check which public IP I am browsing from… I used to use the WhatsMyIP sites but the Internet being what it is these days, I switched to using my SearXNG instance which has the IP plugin enabled. Still, there are times I need to get my IP from a script and want a dead simple option for this. So I switched to using nginx and GeoLite2.
Migrate a KVM virtual machine to OmniOS bhyve
Because I am replacing my Linux KVM machine with an OmniOS bhyve server, and I don’t want to reinstall all my VMs, I went for migrating those. And because I am not aware of vMotion-like feature between those two platforms, I just used the shell.
Quick look on performance and power usage of Aoostar R1 N150
I bought a noname 2 bays NAS that looks like the Aoostar R1 N150. And before putting it into production, I had a quick look on how it performs on various OSes and how many watts it eats.
Redundant DHCP and DNS Resolver using OpenBSD
One of my OpenBSD server provides DHCP and DNS resolving for my home LAN. But it sometimes has to go into maintenance mode. And if an IoT or phone requires an IP address or an FQDN at the precise moment, I hear screaming throughout the whole house. So I decided to have fully redundant network services using two OpenBSD servers.
Migrate a Peertube instance from Debian to FreeBSD
Not matter how hard I try, I can’t stand and learn those systemd and ip censored swearing stuff on Linux. Call me an old fart with muscle memory amnesia but I just want to manage my servers using rc scripts, ifconfig and route commands, and read my logs in syslog flat format. Anyway, my Peertube instance was running on Debian and I wanted to use some BSD instead of Linux.
Why are you (still) using OpenBSD?
Last week-end, I was invited to the UNIX Social Camp in Dijon, France to talk about the reasons I still use OpenBSD these days and why should others do so; or at least, have a look at OpenBSD . This post is an English transcription of the original French slides that are available here .
GoToSocial Adventures: migrate from Pixelfed
When I decided to stop publishing on Instagram, I seeked for alternatives and Pixelfed looked like a nice one. The fact that it had a migration feature from IG made me go for it. But for reasons, I don’t want to use this software anymore. And now that GoToSocial features the Gallery / Gram-style layout , it is time to migrate the account and its data to GtS.
GoToSocial Adventures: migrate from Mastodon
I already used a Mastodon account but wanted to migrate it to my brand new GoToSocial instance while keeping as much data as possible.
GoToSocial Adventures: run on OpenBSD
I used to run GoToSocial on OpenBSD but, one day, the port was marked BROKEN and I switched to using Mastodon on Linux. Still, I kept testing running GoToSocial on NetBSD, Illumos, FreeBSD and Linux. Not so long ago, GoToSocial started to compile and work pretty nice again on OpenBSD. After using it for about a year on a SearXNG side project , I decided that I would also use it as my primary…
Tinkering with Fujitsu FUTRO S930
After watching Wolfgang’s review of the S920 , I went for chasing one and found a refurbished Fujitsu FUTRO S930 for 54€. I bought it with a few extra electronics parts and tested it with a few FOSS operating systems I know.
Monitoring GoToSocial using collectd and VictoriaMetrics
Some time ago, I adopted VictoriaMetrics as a replacement for Prometheus; which was already replacing InfluxDB. And recently, I realized that GoToSocial was exposing metrics in Prometheus format . So I decided to build a Grafana dashboard to keep an eye on my GtS instance.
Install and isolate apps using Firejail on Slackware
Since I started using other Desktop OS than OpenBSD, I’m obsessed with limiting filesystem resources access from applications; especially Web browsers. This already applied to FreeBSD Web browsers here and there . This now has to be applied to Linux.
Rendering static images from Grafana
When it comes to rendering graphical representation of all the metrics I gather, I generally use RRDtool . Yes, I’m that old ;-) But I also have a Grafana instance from which I render stuff that can’t be done using RRDgraph. But, so far, I couldn’t generate a static PNG file from a panel to insert in a static web page. But this was until I found the Grafana Image Rendered…
OpenBSD and Thunderbolt issue on ThinkPad T480s
As I was testing OpenBSD on my refurbished ThinkPad T480s, I noticed that the fan kept blowing even though the laptop was IDLE. Given that I am a vigilant reader of misc@ , I already knew a few ThinkPads had been reported to be sluggish because of some BIOS settings regarding Thunderbolt.
Web Browser in FreeBSD Jail: Librewolf
While discovering FreeBSD Jails, I wrote on how to run a web browser inside a FreeBSD jail . Time has passed and a couple of testing later, I ended up changing a bit the way I use my Web Browser jails.
Lazy UEFI multiboot for Slackware Linux and OpenBSD
For reasons, I have a laptop running both Slackware Linux or OpenBSD. To have both available, I split the storage space in two and installed both systems. But if mainstream Linux distros use GRUB, Slackware has an historical love for LILO; and elilo when it comes to EFI-based computers.
Modify an OmniOS service parameters
I was today years old when I needed to change some of the parameters of my Prometheus service on OmniOS. It runs via pkgsrc and the provided SMF. And modifying the running parameters is not as simple as editing an rc.d file.
Cruising a VPS at OpenBSD Amsterdam
When it comes to getting an OpenBSD virtual machine, you can go to your preferred Linux VPS provider and hack its rescue mode to install OpenBSD. Or you can go to a VPS provider that offers booting from an ISO file and getting access to the console. In that case, you’d probably get an OpenBSD VM running on KVM. Which is not that bad. But you can also book your VM from OpenBSD Amsterdam and…
WindowMaker 2024 - Graphite Light theme
It is 2024 and people are still using Window Maker, the X11 window manager that reproduces the elegant look and feel of the NeXTSTEP user interface . One of them does not live in 1997 any more and has an irresistible love for flat themes.
Printing on HP Color Laser 150nw from OpenBSD
I got an HP Color Laser 150nw wireless printer some time ago and never really tried to use it with OpenBSD. Mostly because printers are… printers. But after discovering that it works well on my wife’s Slackware Linux laptop (better than on Windows 10), I decided to give it a try using OpenBSD.
10" rack 33³ cube storage
Since the moment I started having servers in my house, I always put them under my desk or in a bookshelf. They shouldn’t be visible; because of Wife Acceptance Factor . They shouldn’t be too noisy; because I can’t stand fan’s noise. This led to pretty complicated arrangement as computers have not always been that small and that fanless.
Execute current edited script in Vim
When you edit a script using Vim, you may want to run the script without actually quitting the editor. This is easily done using the following Vim command: <Esc>:!%<Enter> Once the script has run, Vim will display its output and pause until you Press ENTER or type command to continue . That’s all. It is published here so that I don’t have to query stack overflow the next time I forget…
Running Web Browsers in FreeBSD Jail
Using OpenBSD as a daily driver, I got used to having programs being restricted in their permissions. Especially Web Browsers from ports that are patched to implement pledge(2) and unveil(8). Long story short, this guarantees that Firefox, Chromium & friends will get killed if they try to access system resources that they were not allowed to access; be it a device or a file system space. FreeBSD…
Automatic Display switch for OpenBSD laptop
Most of my workstations are laptops. But because “age”, they are connected to an external 27" 4K monitor. It is used as my primary display and the laptop’s screen is disabled. And as I use WindowMaker as my daily window manager, I sometimes blank myself when I unplug the USB-C cable from the laptop. There must be a way to automatically switch to the proper display when some USB-C…
Static dual stack networking on OmniOS Solaris Zones
On my OmniOS zones, I don’t use DHCP. Mostly because I don’t have that many of those; DHCP would be overkill and another service to manage. For those configured using IPv4 only, the zadm utility can configure the network stack from a JSON file. But I had that zone where I needed both IPv4 and IPv6 configured and couldn’t have it working via zadm . So I configured it from within…
Keep your OmniOS server time synced
While reading logs, I saw that my OmniOS server was not really time synced with the rest of the Wild Wild World. After a quick check, I realised I forgot to set up NTP on this server. Let’s solve this now!
Spell checking in Vim
Believe it or not, I do all my editing stuff with Vim. This includes writing emails and editing this blog content. One thing I was missing, compared to using Thunderbird or LibreOffice, is the spell checking feature. Until I took 10 minutes to read the Vim documentation .
GoToSocial WASM-based SQLite driver and BSD
I started using GoToSocial (the fast, fun and small ActivityPub server) in 2022 on OpenBSD. Because it was nearly the only OpenBSD-native ActivityPub options at that time, because it was light and because it could use the SQLite database engine . I stopped using it when it was marked BROKEN because of incompatibilities between modernc.org/sqlite and OpenBSD kernel. This is when I switched to…
Grafana in an OmniOS pkgsrc branded zone
I run a lot of bhyve VMs on my OmniOS server because that’s the way I’m used to go with exposing services. For fun knowledge purposes, I decided that I would replace my Grafana virtual machine with an Illumos zone. Thanks to pkgsrc, this is really easy and straightforward.
Mounting NTFS and exFAT filesystems on OpenBSD
I often try various OSes on my spare laptops. This is where Ventoy turned out to be really useful. If you don’t know, Ventoy is a free bootloader that looks like Grub and let you boot whichever ISO files you put on the USB key it is installed. Just copy / paste the ISO on the dedicated USB key partition and it’s ready to boot. It works from Windows, Linux but not on OpenBSD.…
Enable NuPhy Field75 volume knob on FreeBSD 14
By default, FreeBSD 14.1 does not recognized the multimedia keys of my NuPhy Field75 USB keyboard. Worse than that, the (beloved) metal knob used for volume control doesn’t work either. Hopefully, after a bunch of readings & trials & errors, I ended up finding the configuration bits required to have it fully working!
Remote Desktop using RDP and VNC
My initial questionning was on the opportunity to run a desktop environment using virtual machines provided by the OpenBSD vmd(8). But vmd(8) doesn’t feature graphics, as of OpenBSD 7.5. Let’s see if this can be achieved anyway.
Multiboot Windows and OpenBSD with rEFInd
A year ago, I wrote about multibooting Windows, Linux and OpenBSD on my laptop. Since then, lots have happened. The most relevant part is that Linux is gone and I only multiboot Windows and OpenBSD. If I had done it from the beginning, I would have used rEFInd rather than Grub. And here’s how.
Video Edition notes on OpenBSD
To create the “ OpenBSD Workstation for the People PeerTube” video, I used KDEnlive on OpenBSD. But for reasons, I also had to use other tools.
OpenBSD Workstation for the People
This is an attempt at building an OpenBSD desktop than could be used by newcomers or by people that don’t care about tinkering with computers and just want a working daily driver for general tasks. Somebody will obviously need to know a bit of UNIX but we’ll try to limit it to the minimum.
GoToSocial Push notifications using Pushover
GoToSocial does not seem to support push notifications for iOS applications. As far as I understand, this is because it doesn’t implement the Mastodon Web Push API . But GtS exposes a notification API. So let’s poll this API and use Pushover to get push notifications on the iOS devices.