Server Project

[TopHatProductions115]

Just paused Windows Updates for one of the server client devices until early June.

Also migrated to KeePassXC. Looks like I'm using the same app on all platforms from here on, for consistency purposes - even in the VMs.

KeePass is no more...

 

[phill]

I've had very little experience with KeePass.. But are there any differences between the two or is it just name changes?

 

[TopHatProductions115]

I've had very little experience with KeePass.. But are there any differences between the two or is it just name changes?

I used to use KeePass on Windows, and KeePassXC on all other platforms (MacOS, Linux). However, due to a recent technical issue I encountered with KeePassHTTP, I ended up ditching it in favour of KeePassXC on all platforms instead. Back to where I intended things to be, I suppose - consistency across all environments. No need to change muscle memory up when I jump from a Windows laptop to a MacBook...

 

[phill]

I know what you mean, so many different passwords to remember and no where really trusting enough for me sometimes to put them... If only we could do without them I guess

 

[TopHatProductions115]

I know what you mean, so many different passwords to remember and no where really trusting enough for me sometimes to put them... If only we could do without them I guess

What I want to do is have one password DB that's accessed by KeePassXC (on all clients), synced between multiple VMs and computers by SyncThing (also on all clients), over an encrypted VPN connection (self-hosted).

 

[TopHatProductions115]

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Just switched jobs, and am working on a Linux VM with a GRID K520 attached. This is gonna take some time. The Linux VM did not like my last attempt to install nVIDIA drivers via pacman...

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Okay, a lot has happened since I last posted here:

• It has been a long month since the la… - Linus Tech Tips
• 2021 Project Rack Plan Decided to do… - Linus Tech Tips
• For all server and storage enthusiast… - Linus Tech Tips

Not much of a fun month or two XD Here’s to ditching the previous dry spell…

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Currently trying to improve the (m)ass storage situation :3

• https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/storage-enclosure-suggestions.284606/

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Time to get help...

• https://forum.artixlinux.org/index.php/topic,2856.new.html

 

[TopHatProductions115]

May consider doing this once I add the Linux VM to my AD domain:

• https://blog.ndk.name/linux-ssh-authentication-against-active-directory-without-joining-the-domain/

Also hoping that the disk shelf from Project Rackcentre can eliminate the need for the drive cage(s) I've been relying on for so long...

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Just made a few part swaps, due to inventory changes.

• The Kingwin MKS-435TL's now belong to Project Personal Datacentre (2nd node)
• The DL580 G7 now uses a Dell EMC KTN-STL3 (as shown here) for direct-attached local storage
• The TPM chip for the DL580 G7 has been installed, and will be used for security purposes in the future
• The DL580 G7 will actually be keeping the GTX 1080, due to lack of compatible power cables
• Project Personal Datacentre (2nd node) will have the Titan Xp for the foreseeable future, until I get the PCI 8+8 cable for the DL580 G7
• The Arctic F9 PWM 92mm fans have been moved to Project Personal Datacentre (2nd node) as well

Getting ready to update parts listings to reflect this in a few...

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Re-made the Linux VM, so I can do it properly this time around. Will be implementing backups this week...

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Managed to remove the need for OTP-based 2FA clients like WinAuth, and am now looking into whether I can replace Ditto (and its Linux companion) with CopyQ. Time to start looking into more cross-platform applications and sync-friendly solutions in general.

Also just enabled shared clipboard and drag-n-drop for my VMs, for easier use through VMware Workstation Pro. The steps were easy enough, and now I can work a little quicker as a result.

Only thing left to do is setup proper backups for the Linux VM, so I can safely attempt the driver install for the the GRID K520...

 

[TopHatProductions115]

The GRID K520 is a go. Sunshine gamestreaming server is next:

Then, Docker+Compose and Nextcloud...

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Sunshine gamestreaming server will take a bit to sort out:

• https://forum.artixlinux.org/index.php/topic,2957.0.html

At least Docker+Compose is installed. Need to install and configure a Nextcloud instance soon...

 

[TopHatProductions115]

A second ESXi node will be coming in the 2021/2022 transition, hopefully...

• https://linustechtips.com/status/302643/

Windows 11's requirements seem to have ditched 1st gen Threadripper, so no need to even consider a dedicated Windows machine in the future.

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Titan Z time!

 

[TopHatProductions115]

On a less exciting note, Docker time!

Unable to start Portainer Instance

Sorry if I didn’t categorise this topic correctly ☹ I’m in a bit of a bind… I’m trying to use Docker on Artix OpenRC, but am failing pretty hard. ➜ ~ docker-compose version docker-compose version 1.29.2, build unknown docker-py version: 5.0.2 CPython version: 3.9.7 OpenSSL version: OpenSSL...

forums.docker.com

 

[TopHatProductions115]

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Last note for the night, I've decided to replace the GRID K520 with the GTX Titan Z. Need this to work in Linux and macOS, while also being supported in Sunshine when the time comes. Can't currently do that with the GRID K520 for some reason. Need to work that out later, when the rest of the project has caught up...

 

[TopHatProductions115]

With all of the difficulty I've had getting realmd installed to Artix, I'm beginning to think that I simply shouldn't push any further with adding the VM to AD...

• https://forum.artixlinux.org/index.php/topic,3066.new.html

I'll give it another 2 weeks before I make a decision.

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Background context: A few days ago, the GRID K520 was swapped out for the Titan Z. The Linux VM had half of the Titan Z passed through to it. However, no displays/dummy plugs were attached to it afterward.

An unexpected development for the Linux VM has occurred. While running through regular maintenance and installing updates, I decided to try running Sunshine once more (sudo sunshine). The logs kept mentioning permission denied for pulseaudio, whenever I attempted to remote in via Moonlight. In the past, running Sunshine without sudo had never worked - the attempt would always error out. But this time, it ran without error.

When I attempted to remote in, I actually made it to the desktop - and it had audio passthrough. It was streaming the same video out that the VMware adapted would show. Somehow, I can stream a screen/display that isn't rendered by an nVIDIA card.

More Nextcloud/MariaDB troubleshooting tomorrow...

 

[TopHatProductions115]

Okay, that took a bit longer than expected. I had to tweak the DB for Nextcloud before I could attempt installation. But then, a mystery power outage struck. The UPS kicked in, giving me enough time for an emergency power-off procedure, but Nextcloud install got interrupted. So, had to go in and:

• remove the container(s)
• remove the container(s)'s volumes and networks
• clear the directories I had mounted to the container(s)
• drop and recreate/reconfig the DB
• re-attempt installation

It went something like this in MariaDB:

DROP DATABASE nextcloud;

CREATE DATABASE nextcloud;

GRANT ALL ON nextcloud.* to 'admin'@'remotehost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password' WITH GRANT OPTION;

ALTER DATABASE nextcloud CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;

SET GLOBAL innodb_read_only_compressed = OFF;

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

By the time I was done, hours had past

Still have to finish configuring AD/LDAP integration tomorrow...

 

[TopHatProductions115]

It would seem that there are still a few issues to address with the Docker setup on Artix OpenRC. I pretty much have to re-install docker, compose, and the openrc scripts after a full system upgrade at times:

sudo pacman -R docker-openrc docker-compose docker
shutdown -r 0
sudo pacman -S docker docker-openrc
sudo pacman -U docker-compose.tar.zst
sudo rc-service docker start

After that, everything else tends to be fine. Portainer and Redis run as if nothing has happened. However, Nextcloud is a different story. After a clean install and no other configuration changes, I get this whenever I attempt login:

Internal Server Error
The server was unable to complete your request.

If this happens again, please send the technical details below to the server administrator.


More details can be found in the server log.

Technical details
Remote Address: <INSERT_CLIENT_IP_HERE>
Request ID: <INSERT_NEW_REQUEST_ID_HERE>

Also need to look into backup solutions for this setup:

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22378777/how-to-take-container-snapshots-in-docker

Time to see if the Nextcloud community can help me figure this out:

• https://help.nextcloud.com/t/unable-to-login-after-installation-and-restart/124586

And about that push for LDAP integration…


On a better note, I found a way to get Sunshine to autostart on login. Used the same solution for Syncthing and F@H as well. It’s specific to the DE that I’m using, sadly. So it won’t be useful to all Linux users following this. Only if you’re using Xfce, I think.