Los Angeles Double Dedicated Debian / FreeBSD Shell Accounts from MetalVPS

Not_Oles · January 28

MetalVPS got a couple of E3s in Los Angeles from OneProvider.

E3-1230 v2
16 GB DDR3 (Not ECC)
1 x 1 TB HDD
1 Gbps unlimited
1 IPv4
No IPv6
Debian 12.4 / FreeBSD 14.0

Set to cancel in a month, unless cancellation is revoked.

Anyone want a Debian or a FreeBSD shell account, maybe with sudo? 🍔

You have to pay something. The servers cost $17.99/month each.

You need to tell @Not_Oles who you are.

No service level promises. Not for business use. Just for learning and fun.

Please get in touch via the email on @Not_Oles profile, posting here, or PM.

Probably this is way too crazy!

Best wishes!

Tom

Not_Oles · February 12

Update February 11, 2024!

Right now these two Los Angeles servers are very happily running FreeBSD 14.0! Nevertheless, it would be easy to return one or both servers to Debian, or change to Ubuntu, Alma, or Rocky, or something else.

Both these LA servers are set to cancel on February 26, but that's still 15 days away. Nobody else but me is using them. So if you want a peaceful place to try something, with a decent, dedicated processor, and a pretty good network, now might be a great time to come aboard.

Thanks to help from @Crab, I had tons of fun learning a little about installing and updating FreeBSD on these servers! I feel like I already got way more than full value out of the funds I invested! Therefore, maybe I could give you an account for super cheap via Paypal or Zelle. How much do you want to pay?

In addition to these LA dedicated servers, MetalVPS has more dedicated servers in Washington state and in Germany. If you want accounts in additional locations, we can set them up easily!

Friendly Low End greetings!

Tom

uekix · February 12

I'll pay $0.2 a month for a shell.

Average4552 · February 12

I'll pay the cost for one server. I'm ready to come aboard if you'll allow it, Skipper (Professor, Millionaire?), as long you don't hit me with your hat if I crash it into the island.

Not_Oles · February 12

@uekix said:
I'll pay $0.2 a month for a shell.

Have you thought about what you could launch from the shell? Is there anything that the server could do which could not be launched from the shell?

Not_Oles · February 12

@Average4552 said:
I'll pay the cost for one server. I'm ready to come aboard if you'll allow it, Skipper (Professor, Millionaire?), as long you don't hit me with your hat if I crash it into the island.

All right, you are in. If you behave, I will do my best about my hat.

Please send me half a month for one server, ~ $9.00 via Paypal or Zelle. Paypal can be via the email address on my LET profile. If you want to use Zelle, let me know, and I will give you payment data.

Also, if you do not mind, please send me or post your ssh ed25519 public key.

Last, but not least, do you want FreeBSD? Or Debian, or something else?

Welcome aboard!

Average4552 · February 12

ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIN4emHkCbrDflFRNfNMMVKP9yjxxT2NdqPGKAiEc3AN7 michael@optiplex790-2023-03-09

Debian 12 please. If you want to add a hostname, you can use privacynonprofit.org or I can set it up later.

I don't mind sharing as long as all the aforementioned terms are followed AND I get to learn from whatever you do.

Thanks for the opportunity, @Not_Oles! Looking forward to learning even more!

uekix · February 12

@Not_Oles said:

@uekix said:
I'll pay $0.2 a month for a shell.

Have you thought about what you could launch from the shell? Is there anything that the server could do which could not be launched from the shell?

I dont need sudo. Just have weechat and wireguard preinstalled and im good.

Not_Oles · February 12

@Average4552 said:
ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIN4emHkCbrDflFRNfNMMVKP9yjxxT2NdqPGKAiEc3AN7 michael@optiplex790-2023-03-09

Debian 12 please. If you want to add a hostname, you can use privacynonprofit.org or I can set it up later.

I don't mind sharing as long as all the aforementioned terms are followed AND I get to learn from whatever you do.

Thanks for the opportunity, @Not_Oles! Looking forward to learning even more!

Hi @Average4552!

I got up just now, 11:49 here (MST). Really late for me. Anyway, I received your Paypal payment, and in a second, I will go over to OneProvider and initiate reinstalling one of the servers to Debian 12. OneProvider's installs seem to take a while, sometimes two or three hours. Occasionally an install seems to fail and needs to be restarted. As soon as I get a working Debian install, I will add your key to the root account and let you know. Meanwhile, I'm here if you have any more questions or concerns. Thanks very much!

Best!

Tom

Edit to add: Install started at Mon 12 Feb 2024 12:09:25 PM MST

Not_Oles · February 12

@uekix said:

@Not_Oles said:

@uekix said:
I'll pay $0.2 a month for a shell.

Have you thought about what you could launch from the shell? Is there anything that the server could do which could not be launched from the shell?

I dont need sudo. Just have weechat and wireguard preinstalled and im good.

Hi again @uekix!

Thanks for your message! Please allow me some time to consider your request.

Best wishes and kindest regards,

Tom

Not_Oles · February 12

@Not_Oles said:

Install started at
Mon 12 Feb 2024 12:09:25 PM MST

Mon 12 Feb 2024 02:36:54 PM MST

Hi @Average4552!

Sent you login info via PM. Please let me know if you can get in. Please feel free to go ahead with awesome projects. Please keep in touch by posting here, PM, email, etc. If you want or need anything, just let me know.

Have fun!

Best!

Tom

Not_Oles · February 13

Seems like the possibly old installer at OneProvider / Psychz might be making the /boot partition too small for newer Linuxes. We get a No space left on device error with apt autoremove.

Size of /boot partition

root@privacynonprofit:~# df -h /boot
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1       108M   87M   16M  85% /boot
root@privacynonprofit:~#

apt autoremove error

root@privacynonprofit:~# date
Tue Feb 13 01:04:54 PM PST 2024
root@privacynonprofit:~# ls -l /boot
total 76940
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   259421 Sep 28 21:15 config-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   259453 Feb  1 00:05 config-6.1.0-18-amd64
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root     1024 Feb 12 14:10 grub
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 30821388 Feb 12 11:18 initrd.img-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 30826674 Feb 12 14:08 initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64
drwx------ 2 root root    12288 Feb 12 11:14 lost+found
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root       83 Sep 28 21:15 System.map-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root       83 Feb  1 00:05 System.map-6.1.0-18-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  8135584 Sep 28 21:15 vmlinuz-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  8152768 Feb  1 00:05 vmlinuz-6.1.0-18-amd64
root@privacynonprofit:~# apt autoremove
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
1 not fully installed or removed.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Setting up initramfs-tools (0.142) ...
update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated)
Processing triggers for initramfs-tools (0.142) ...
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64
zstd: error 70 : Write error : cannot write block : No space left on device 
E: mkinitramfs failure zstd -q -9 -T0 70
update-initramfs: failed for /boot/initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64 with 1.
dpkg: error processing package initramfs-tools (--configure):
 installed initramfs-tools package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 1
Errors were encountered while processing:
 initramfs-tools
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
root@privacynonprofit:~# ls -al /boot
total 76945
drwxr-xr-x  4 root root     1024 Feb 13 13:05 .
drwxr-xr-x 18 root root     4096 Feb 12 14:08 ..
-rw-r--r--  1 root root   259421 Sep 28 21:15 config-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r--  1 root root   259453 Feb  1 00:05 config-6.1.0-18-amd64
drwxr-xr-x  5 root root     1024 Feb 12 14:10 grub
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 30821388 Feb 12 11:18 initrd.img-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 30826674 Feb 12 14:08 initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64
drwx------  2 root root    12288 Feb 12 11:14 lost+found
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       83 Sep 28 21:15 System.map-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       83 Feb  1 00:05 System.map-6.1.0-18-amd64
-rw-r--r--  1 root root  8135584 Sep 28 21:15 vmlinuz-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r--  1 root root  8152768 Feb  1 00:05 vmlinuz-6.1.0-18-amd64
root@privacynonprofit:~# uname -r
6.1.0-18-amd64
root@privacynonprofit:~#

The standard solution to this problem seems to be booting into a rescue system and increasing the size of the /boot partition.

What happens if we just remove /boot/initrd.img-6.1.0-13-amd64 and vmlinuz-6.1.0-13-amd64 or maybe change those two files to something smaller but with identical names? With the two files gone, or smaller, apt might have enough space to complete the autoremove operation. Obviously not a long term solution, but might it be good enough for the remaining two weeks of the server contract period?

Some other Debian servers at another provider are still on 6.1.0-13. apt on those other servers seems not trying to update to 6.1.0-18. Why is this server trying to update when the other servers are not?

@Average4552

totally_not_banned · February 13

While i have no clue about the updates i can tell you that a boot partition of 108MB is going to be painful. Even 128MB isn't enough. I figure it should be at least 256MB (i'd rather play it safe and go straight for 512MB) unless you fancy running into regular errors during update-initramfs. It should be possible to sidestep the errors by moving files out during the update though if all you want is to keep it functioning for a short amount of time.

cmeerw · February 14

Setting MODULES=dep in /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf usually helps a bit (at least on Ubuntu) to reduce to initrd image sizes.

Average4552 · February 14

@Not_Oles I'm afk ATM but will have some more time to look into it this afternoon. If it were me, I'd

try @cmeerw 's suggestion
> What happens if we just remove /boot/initrd.img-6.1.0-13-amd64 and vmlinuz-6.1.0-13-amd64 or maybe change those two files to something smaller but with identical names? With the two files gone, or smaller, apt might have enough space to complete the autoremove operation.
I'd do that, move the .0-13 stuff somewhere else
Can lost+found also be safely deleted or moved?

I mean it's running on .0-18 now, right, but wants to rebuild .0.13? Am I understanding that right?

Not_Oles · February 14

Good morning! Happy Valentine's Day, LETizens! 🌹🌹🌹

@Average4552 said: I mean it's running on .0-18 now, right, but wants to rebuild .0.13? Am I understanding that right?

If I have understood correctly, we're running 18 and it wants to rebuild 18. I guess 13 is still there so we can revert to it if there is a problem with 18.

First, I will try @cmeerw's suggestion. . . . Thanks @cmeerw!

Not_Oles · February 14

Before changing anything, inside /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf, I am seeing:

#
# MODULES: [ most | netboot | dep | list ]
#
# most - Add most filesystem and all harddrive drivers.
#
# dep - Try and guess which modules to load.
#
# netboot - Add the base modules, network modules, but skip block devices.
#
# list - Only include modules from the 'additional modules' list
#

MODULES=most

References:

Looks like, after setting MODULES=dep, the update commands to run might be:

update-initramfs -u

and maybe also

update-initramfs -d -k 6.1.0-13-amd64

Let's try!

Not_Oles · February 14

Wow! As shown below, the initrd image shrunk more than I imagined! initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64 went from 30826674 bytes to 8086406 bytes. That might be enough extra space!

Let's first see if the server will reboot successfully with the new, smaller initrd. And then, if it does reboot successfully, let's try the apt command again. . . .

root@privacynonprofit:/etc/initramfs-tools# ls
conf.d  hooks  initramfs.conf  modules  scripts  update-initramfs.conf
root@privacynonprofit:/etc/initramfs-tools# vi initramfs.conf 
root@privacynonprofit:/etc/initramfs-tools# man update-initramfs
root@privacynonprofit:/etc/initramfs-tools# ls -l /boot        
total 76940
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   259421 Sep 28 21:15 config-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   259453 Feb  1 00:05 config-6.1.0-18-amd64
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root     1024 Feb 12 14:10 grub
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 30821388 Feb 12 11:18 initrd.img-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 30826674 Feb 12 14:08 initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64 # <====
drwx------ 2 root root    12288 Feb 12 11:14 lost+found
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root       83 Sep 28 21:15 System.map-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root       83 Feb  1 00:05 System.map-6.1.0-18-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  8135584 Sep 28 21:15 vmlinuz-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  8152768 Feb  1 00:05 vmlinuz-6.1.0-18-amd64
root@privacynonprofit:/etc/initramfs-tools# update-initramfs -u 
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64
root@privacynonprofit:/etc/initramfs-tools# ls -l /boot
total 54645
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   259421 Sep 28 21:15 config-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   259453 Feb  1 00:05 config-6.1.0-18-amd64
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root     1024 Feb 12 14:10 grub
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 30821388 Feb 12 11:18 initrd.img-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  8086406 Feb 14 12:31 initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64 # <====
drwx------ 2 root root    12288 Feb 12 11:14 lost+found
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root       83 Sep 28 21:15 System.map-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root       83 Feb  1 00:05 System.map-6.1.0-18-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  8135584 Sep 28 21:15 vmlinuz-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  8152768 Feb  1 00:05 vmlinuz-6.1.0-18-amd64
root@privacynonprofit:/etc/initramfs-tools#

Not_Oles · February 14

Okay, back in after a successful reboot!

Linux privacynonprofit.org 6.1.0-18-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.1.76-1 (2024-02-01) x86_64

  [ . . . ]

Last login: Wed Feb 14 11:41:59 2024 from XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX
root@privacynonprofit:~# date
Wed Feb 14 12:47:04 PM PST 2024
root@privacynonprofit:~#

Trying apt again

root@privacynonprofit:~# date 
Wed Feb 14 12:50:46 PM PST 2024
root@privacynonprofit:~# apt-get update
Hit:1 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm InRelease
Get:2 http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security InRelease [48.0 kB]
Get:3 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates InRelease [52.1 kB]
Get:4 http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security/main Sources [80.6 kB]
Get:5 http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security/main amd64 Packages [138 kB]
Get:6 http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security/main Translation-en [82.5 kB]
Fetched 402 kB in 0s (856 kB/s)                                
Reading package lists... Done
root@privacynonprofit:~# apt-get upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
The following packages will be upgraded:
  bind9-dnsutils bind9-host bind9-libs
3 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
1 not fully installed or removed.
Need to get 2,121 kB of archives.
After this operation, 14.3 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Y
Get:1 http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security/main amd64 bind9-host amd64 1:9.18.24-1 [305 kB]
Get:2 http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security/main amd64 bind9-dnsutils amd64 1:9.18.24-1 [403 kB]
Get:3 http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security/main amd64 bind9-libs amd64 1:9.18.24-1 [1,413 kB]
Fetched 2,121 kB in 0s (42.7 MB/s)    
Reading changelogs... Done
(Reading database ... 33162 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../bind9-host_1%3a9.18.24-1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking bind9-host (1:9.18.24-1) over (1:9.18.19-1~deb12u1) ...
Preparing to unpack .../bind9-dnsutils_1%3a9.18.24-1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking bind9-dnsutils (1:9.18.24-1) over (1:9.18.19-1~deb12u1) ...
Preparing to unpack .../bind9-libs_1%3a9.18.24-1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking bind9-libs:amd64 (1:9.18.24-1) over (1:9.18.19-1~deb12u1) ...
Setting up initramfs-tools (0.142) ...
update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated)
Setting up bind9-libs:amd64 (1:9.18.24-1) ...
Setting up bind9-host (1:9.18.24-1) ...
Setting up bind9-dnsutils (1:9.18.24-1) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.11.2-2) ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.36-9+deb12u4) ...
Processing triggers for initramfs-tools (0.142) ...
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64
root@privacynonprofit:~# ls -l /boot
total 54645
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   259421 Sep 28 21:15 config-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   259453 Feb  1 00:05 config-6.1.0-18-amd64
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root     1024 Feb 12 14:10 grub
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 30821388 Feb 12 11:18 initrd.img-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  8086422 Feb 14 12:51 initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64 # <===
drwx------ 2 root root    12288 Feb 12 11:14 lost+found
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root       83 Sep 28 21:15 System.map-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root       83 Feb  1 00:05 System.map-6.1.0-18-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  8135584 Sep 28 21:15 vmlinuz-6.1.0-13-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  8152768 Feb  1 00:05 vmlinuz-6.1.0-18-amd64
root@privacynonprofit:~#

Mmmm! Okay! Looks like we have a new initrd.img for 6.1.0-18 since the timestamp has changed:

Old

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8086406 Feb 14 12:31 initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64 # <====

New

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8086422 Feb 14 12:51 initrd.img-6.1.0-18-amd64 # <===

Also, we have a little extra space in /boot

root@privacynonprofit:~# cd /boot
root@privacynonprofit:/boot# df -h .
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1       108M   65M   38M  64% /boot
root@privacynonprofit:/boot#

We still have the option of rebuilding the initrd.img of 6.1.0-13 to a smaller size or even eliminating it. But, for now, maybe leave it alone because it's less of an opportunity to revert if we change it.

Thanks again to @Average4552 for sharing the server and finding the issue. Thanks to @cmeerw for suggesting an excellent fix!

Average4552 · February 15

Ansible? Anyone use it? Anyone have alternatives? I'd like to try to set up an ansible playbook on this one.... BUT.... I really hate config files. They're scary, they take time to LEARN, and the whole thing takes less time to do stuff in the future, SOOO.... if not now, when?

I run 19 cloud servers, all but one running Tor relays, one of which is a Tor exit at Hostmaze (RO). I could have used Ansible much earlier to save some time in setting them all up. I like them all looking alike. All but one run Debian, the oddball runs Fedora Kinoite (just starting with that one, learning as I go), and I run EndeavourOS on my home machine. I wanted to try Fedora on the one b/c I wanted to try an immutable OS (Atomic as Fedora calls it), and from what I've read, Fedora as a rolling release breaks less than Arch. Plus I love the look of KDE on my home machine so that's why I went with Kinoite and not Silverblue. It also interests me how Kinoite and Silverblue are containerized - something I've not dabbled in very much. So we'll see with that.

Average4552 · February 15

@Not_Oles I set myself up a user account in the sudo group with the MetalVPS machine:

root@privacynonprofit:~# adduser michael
Adding user `michael' ...
Adding new group `michael' (1000) ...
Adding new user `michael' (1000) with group `michael (1000)' ...
Creating home directory `/home/michael' ...
Copying files from `/etc/skel' ...
New password: 
Retype new password: 
passwd: password updated successfully
Changing the user information for michael
Enter the new value, or press ENTER for the default
Full Name []: 
Room Number []: 
Work Phone []: 
Home Phone []: 
Other []: 
Is the information correct? [Y/n] 
Adding new user `michael' to supplemental / extra groups `users' ...
Adding user `michael' to group `users' ...
root@privacynonprofit:~# usermod -aG sudo michael

installed ufw:

root@privacynonprofit:~# apt install ufw
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
The following additional packages will be installed:
iptables libip6tc2 libnetfilter-conntrack3 libnfnetlink0
Suggested packages:
firewalld rsyslog
The following NEW packages will be installed:
iptables libip6tc2 libnetfilter-conntrack3 libnfnetlink0 ufw
0 upgraded, 5 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 603 kB of archives.
After this operation, 3,606 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] 
Get:1 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 libip6tc2 amd64 1.8.9-2 [19.4 kB]
Get:2 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 libnfnetlink0 amd64 1.0.2-2 [15.1 kB]
Get:3 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 libnetfilter-conntrack3 amd64 1.0.9-3 [40.7 kB]
Get:4 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 iptables amd64 1.8.9-2 [360 kB]
Get:5 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 ufw all 0.36.2-1 [168 kB]
Fetched 603 kB in 0s (10.7 MB/s)
Preconfiguring packages ...
Selecting previously unselected package libip6tc2:amd64.
(Reading database ... 33162 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../libip6tc2_1.8.9-2_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libip6tc2:amd64 (1.8.9-2) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libnfnetlink0:amd64.
Preparing to unpack .../libnfnetlink0_1.0.2-2_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libnfnetlink0:amd64 (1.0.2-2) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libnetfilter-conntrack3:amd64.
Preparing to unpack .../libnetfilter-conntrack3_1.0.9-3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libnetfilter-conntrack3:amd64 (1.0.9-3) ...
Selecting previously unselected package iptables.
Preparing to unpack .../iptables_1.8.9-2_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking iptables (1.8.9-2) ...
Selecting previously unselected package ufw.
Preparing to unpack .../archives/ufw_0.36.2-1_all.deb ...
Unpacking ufw (0.36.2-1) ...
Setting up libip6tc2:amd64 (1.8.9-2) ...
Setting up libnfnetlink0:amd64 (1.0.2-2) ...
Setting up libnetfilter-conntrack3:amd64 (1.0.9-3) ...
Setting up iptables (1.8.9-2) ...
update-alternatives: using /usr/sbin/iptables-legacy to provide /usr/sbin/iptables (iptables) in auto mode
update-alternatives: using /usr/sbin/ip6tables-legacy to provide /usr/sbin/ip6tables (ip6tables) in auto mode
update-alternatives: using /usr/sbin/iptables-nft to provide /usr/sbin/iptables (iptables) in auto mode
update-alternatives: using /usr/sbin/ip6tables-nft to provide /usr/sbin/ip6tables (ip6tables) in auto mode
update-alternatives: using /usr/sbin/arptables-nft to provide /usr/sbin/arptables (arptables) in auto mode
update-alternatives: using /usr/sbin/ebtables-nft to provide /usr/sbin/ebtables (ebtables) in auto mode
Setting up ufw (0.36.2-1) ...

Creating config file /etc/ufw/before.rules with new version

Creating config file /etc/ufw/before6.rules with new version

Creating config file /etc/ufw/after.rules with new version

Creating config file /etc/ufw/after6.rules with new version
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/ufw.service -> /lib/systemd/system/ufw.service.
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.36-9+deb12u4) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.11.2-2) ...

allowed OpenSSH through the firewall:

root@privacynonprofit:~# ufw allow OpenSSH
Rules updated
Rules updated (v6)
root@privacynonprofit:~# ufw enable
Command may disrupt existing ssh connections. Proceed with operation (y|n)? y
Firewall is active and enabled on system startup

and set it up where I can log in as a user with my SSH key:

root@privacynonprofit:~# cp -r ~/.ssh /home/michael
root@privacynonprofit:~# chown -R michael:michael /home/michael/.ssh

Then I left that terminal open while I tried to log in as user (in case I messed something up I wouldn't be locked out, I could fix it from the root terminal):

[oh-my-zsh] Random theme 'afowler' loaded
zenbook :: ~ » ssh privacynonprofit.org 
Linux privacynonprofit.org 6.1.0-18-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.1.76-1 (2024-02-01) x86_64

The programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free software;
the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the
individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.

Debian GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent
permitted by applicable law.
michael@privacynonprofit:~$

So since I was successful with that, I'm done with logging in as root on that. I feel safer and less likely to mess things up that way.

These are the first things I do with a new cloud server. I keep a LibreOffice document on the steps to take. Most help I got on this were through DigitalOcean's tutorials. They're step-by-step and explained well as to what's happening.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Average4552 · February 15

@Not_Oles Oh yeah I usually change my SSH port on my cloud machines to help quiet the noise from attempted bot attacks. Prohibiting password login is IMHO the best #1 thing you can do to harden your server against attacks. I didn't do it on this machine b/c I didn't want to lock you or anyone else out, but I run $ shuf -i 49152-65535 -n 1 to give me the random port for SSH and then edit sshd_config then sudo systemctl restart ssh. Weird how most distros need to restart ssh but Arch needs sshd. idk

I also install zsh as my default shell with some cool plugins, install topgrade so I can check for upgrades on all my machines with one command from my local machine, and then install rsync so I can backup my cloud servers to my home machine using luckyBackup.

Not_Oles · February 15

@Average4552 said: and set it up where I can log in as a user with my SSH key:

root@privacynonprofit:~# cp -r ~/.ssh /home/michael
root@privacynonprofit:~# chown -R michael:michael /home/michael/.ssh

Maybe you might remove my keys from /home/michael/.ssh/authorized_keys ?

Probably tomorrow I also will make myself a Neighbor account.

Not_Oles · February 15

@Average4552 said: Prohibiting password login is IMHO the best #1 thing you can do to harden your server against attacks. I didn't do it on this machine b/c I didn't want to lock you or anyone else out,

@Average4552 Sorry, I might have forgotten to mention that password authentication already has been disabled.

Thanks for all the details of everything you have been doing to move in and to get the place comfy!

@Average4552 said: I run $ shuf -i 49152-65535 -n 1 to give me the random port for SSH and then edit sshd_config then sudo systemctl restart ssh. Weird how most distros need to restart ssh but Arch needs sshd. idk

If you wanna change ssh to a random high port, please just go ahead and do so. Please PM me the new port.

After changing sshd_config or something in sshd_config.d, I always restarted sshd on every distro. I never restarted ssh. Now I have to study up a bit on the differences between restarting ssh and sshd.

Thanks! Have fun! Appreciate your sharing the cost of the server and all your detailed comments! Best!

Tom

Not_Oles · February 15

Right now @Average4552 and I are the only folks on this machine. Anybody else want to come aboard? Anybody else for the FreeBSD machine? Also only one other guy besides me on the FreeBSD machine. Please note that these two machines are set to cancel on February 26. If desired, we might be able to get replacements direct from Psychz for a penny more per month, but with IPv6 in addition to IPv4.

Not_Oles · February 16

@Not_Oles said: After changing sshd_config or something in sshd_config.d, I always restarted sshd on every distro. I never restarted ssh. Now I have to study up a bit on the differences between restarting ssh and sshd.

On our Debian 12 machine here, I am seeing:

root@privacynonprofit:/etc/systemd/system# ls
dbus-org.freedesktop.timesync1.service  network-online.target.wants  sshd.service
getty.target.wants                      remote-fs.target.wants       sysinit.target.wants
multi-user.target.wants                 sockets.target.wants         timers.target.wants
root@privacynonprofit:/etc/systemd/system# file sshd.service 
sshd.service: symbolic link to /lib/systemd/system/ssh.service
root@privacynonprofit:/etc/systemd/system#

On Debian 12 at another provider, I am seeing the same, except s/remote-fs/paths :

root@Debian-bookworm-latest-amd64-base /etc/systemd/system # ls
dbus-org.freedesktop.timesync1.service  network-online.target.wants  sshd.service
getty.target.wants                      paths.target.wants           sysinit.target.wants
multi-user.target.wants                 sockets.target.wants         timers.target.wants
root@Debian-bookworm-latest-amd64-base /etc/systemd/system # file sshd.service 
sshd.service: symbolic link to /lib/systemd/system/ssh.service
root@Debian-bookworm-latest-amd64-base /etc/systemd/system #

On Fedora Rawhide there is no ssh.service:

[Not_Oles@polonium multi-user.target.wants]$ pwd
/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants
[Not_Oles@polonium multi-user.target.wants]$ ls ssh*
sshd.service
[Not_Oles@polonium multi-user.target.wants]$ systemctl status ssh
Unit ssh.service could not be found.
[Not_Oles@polonium multi-user.target.wants]$

Not_Oles · February 20

Hello!

I've been having some fun compiling the text editor, Elvis.

root@deviceXXXX:~/src/elvis-2.2_1 # cat little-red-haired-girl-link almost-2.2_1.tar.gz.SHA256 
http://www.the-little-red-haired-girl.org/pub/elvis/old/unreleased/00-index.html
https://web.archive.org/save/http://www.the-little-red-haired-girl.org/pub/elvis/old/unreleased/almost-2.2_1.tar.gz
8a733b6829708336d5e44f8b12c067f3e16f21582d7a5ea93116cc72668b7d66  almost-2.2_1.tar.gz
root@deviceXXXX:~/src/elvis-2.2_1 #

On FreeBSD 14.0-RELEASE, I see this error:

root@deviceXXXX:~/src/elvis-2.2_1 # ls
almost-2.2_1.tar.gz             elvis-2.2_1
almost-2.2_1.tar.gz.SHA256      little-red-haired-girl-link
root@device7469:~/src/elvis-2.2_1 # cd elvis-2.2_1/
root@device7469:~/src/elvis-2.2_1/elvis-2.2_1 # make
cc -O -Iosunix main.o osblock.o osdir.o osprg.o ostext.o osnet.o optglob.o options.o safe.o session.o buffer.o calc.o color.o descr.o digraph.o display.o gui.o lowbuf.o mark.o misc.o io.o dmhex.o dmmarkup.o dmnormal.o dmsyntax.o scan.o tcaphelp.o autocmd.o cut.o draw.o event.o ex.o exaction.o exconfig.o exedit.o exmake.o exsubst.o fold.o ftp.o http.o input.o lp.o map.o message.o move.o more.o need.o operator.o regexp.o region.o regsub.o search.o spell.o state.o tinytcap.o tag.o tagsrch.o tagelvis.o url.o vi.o vicmd.o window.o  guix11.o xclip.o xevent.o xmisc.o xscroll.o xstatus.o xtext.o xtool.o xdialog.o guicurs.o guitcap.o guiopen.o lpescape.o lpovrtyp.o lpps.o -lipc -ltermcap -o elvis
ld: error: unable to find library -lipc
cc: error: linker command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)
*** Error code 1

Stop.
make: stopped in /root/src/elvis-2.2_1/elvis-2.2_1
root@deviceXXXX:~/src/elvis-2.2_1/elvis-2.2_1 #

I also see

root@deviceXXXX:/lib # ls -l libicp.so.3
-r--r--r--  1 root wheel 288184 Feb  1 23:25 libicp.so.3
root@deviceXXXX:/lib #

which I am guessing might be the needed library. If that's right, how come ld can't find it? I have to go study up on ld. Probably man ld will help. But, meanwhile, does anybody want to give me a hint about how to fix this error? Thanks!

P.S. The error doesn't happen with Elvis 2.2.

root@deviceXXX:~/src/elvis-2.2 # file elvis
elvis: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (FreeBSD), dynamically linked, interpreter /libexec/ld-elf.so.1, for FreeBSD 14.0 (1400097), FreeBSD-style, with debug_info, not stripped
root@deviceXXX:~/src/elvis-2.2 # ldd elvis
elvis:
        libtinfow.so.9 => /lib/libtinfow.so.9 (0x9c321ec2000)
        libc.so.7 => /lib/libc.so.7 (0x9c323d01000)
        [vdso] (0x9c320d9a000)
root@deviceXXXX:~/src/elvis-2.2 #

babywhale · February 20

@Not_Oles said: unable to find library -lipc

maybe you need to install that package library?

Not_Oles · February 20

@babywhale said:

@Not_Oles said: unable to find library -lipc

maybe you need to install that package library?

I looked around a bit and didn't find what looked like an installation candidate.

Thanks for helping!

Not_Oles · February 20

@Not_Oles said: ld: error: unable to find library -lipc

@Not_Oles said: -r--r--r-- 1 root wheel 288184 Feb 1 23:25 libicp.so.3

Oopsie! ipc vs icp.

Searching for libipc github brings up several results, the first of which is https://github.com/mheily/libipc.

However, searching the FreeBSD ports portal suggests that no libipc has been ported to FreeBSD: https://ports.freebsd.org/cgi/ports.cgi?query=libipc&stype=all&sektion=all says "Sorry, nothing found."

Not_Oles · February 20

I heard that the missing library might be part of the X Window System. One option might be to install X and thus hopefully obtain the missing library. Alternatively, set a configure option to disable X in elvis.

From the Makefile:

################################################################################
# This macro gives any arguments which will be needed during linking.
# Mostly, this means "-Llibdir" and "-llib" flags.  If you're compiling with
# X-windows support, then you'll have to add a "-lX11" and maybe a
# "-L/usr/X11/lib" flag or something similar.
LIBS=  -lipc -ltermcap 

################################################################################
# This should be "unix" for all UNIX variants.  It causes the compiler to use
# files from the osunix subdirectory, and do a UNIX-style installation.
OS=unix
root@deviceXXXX:~/src/elvis-2.2_1/elvis-2.2_1 # ls /usr/X11
ls: /usr/X11: No such file or directory
root@deviceXXXX:~/src/elvis-2.2_1/elvis-2.2_1 #

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