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Using Offlineimap with the Gmail IMAP API

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Will Foster

In a previous guide I documented my mutt + offlineimap + notmuch setup. If you’re using Gmail with IMAP enabled you can still utilize the superpower of this trio but you’ll need to do some things differently. I’ll show you how to use offlineimap with the Google Gmail OAuth2 API and configure it. Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged email, fedora centos mutt gmail, gmail, gmail mutt linux guide, google, imap, mutt, mutt notmuch guide, notmuch, offlineimap, use gmail with mutt, use offlineimap with gmail | 16 Comments

Distributed Remote Backups with Git and Etckeeper

Posted on July 15, 2017 by Will Foster

Git is a powerful tool for lots of tasks, it makes a wonderful VCS that can drive easy utility and automation. Recently I used git and remote repositories to deploy code & data fanned out to multiple locations. Here are some examples along with using Etckeeper, a related wrapper tool for revision control around git (or other VCS) with some extra features. Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged devops, etckeeper, etckeeper linux guide, git, linux, linux git backups, linux git branches, remote, sysadmin | Leave a comment

Shell One-liners and Quick and Dirty Loops

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Will Foster

Sometimes you just need to get stuff done quickly and there’s nary a replacement better than a quick shell one-liner. Recently I’ve needed to feed some large, multi-variable commands into an external program for processing. Here’s some simple shell one-liners and loops that have helped me along the way. Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged bash, for loop, linux, loops, shell, shell example linux, shell examples, shell linux examples, sysadmin, useful shell linux tip | 4 Comments

Let’s Encrypt Everything – Setting up the Free, Automated CA

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Will Foster

Let’s Encrypt is a free, public SSL certificate authority (CA) you can use to generate and automate SSL certificate renewal. I co-manage Trystack.org, a free OpenStack sandbox for the general public and our Horizon SSL certificate came up for expiration so we moved to Let’s Encrypt. Using EFF’s certbot it’s trivial to automate everything. You can do the same for your own blog or website.

Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged apache, apache let's encrypt guide, https, let's encrypt, let's encrypt guide linux, linux, security, ssl, SSL CA | Leave a comment

Combat Unsolicited Sales with a Unique Office Voice Mail Recording

Posted on December 21, 2016 by Will Foster

Office voice mail has become a graveyard for unwanted sales solicitations for things I don’t need. People who need to reach me have many available methods. I’ve decided to take some creative liberties with my voice mail recording and you should too, listen to it below for an example to spur your own unique recording! Continue reading →

Posted in comedy, life | Tagged cold sales, comedy, fun with sales people, funny office voicemail, handling sales calls, how to combat agressive sales, how to handle unsolicited sales, humorous office voice mail, office voice mail, sysadmin, take the power back | 1 Comment

Back to the Future: Converting a Server VM to Bare Metal

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Will Foster

It might seem like stepping back in time, but sometimes you start something with a VM and the desire for resources and usage skyrockets and you need to transplant it onto a bare metal server. This was my situation with Plex Media Server. I’ll walk you through using Clonezilla to get the job done. Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged bare metal, clonezilla, clonezilla linux guide, libvirt, linux, server, virtual to bare-metal, virtualization | 2 Comments

How to Use Self-signed SSL Certificates for Plex Media Server

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Will Foster

Plex is a fork of the Open Source Kodi (previously XBMC) project from 2008, the Plex Media Server has evolved into what amounts to a free, personal Netflix + Spotify that lets you stream home content to devices or browsers with an optional subscription model for added features. Here’s how to use your own self-signed SSL certificates to encrypt connection streams. Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged pkcs12, plex, plex media server, security, self-signed, ssl | 11 Comments

10 Must-have Firefox Addons for Privacy, Security and Utility

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Will Foster

I have used every manner of web browser from lynx, Mosaic and Netscape builds to abusing curl commands and mostly prefer Firefox for the bulk of my daily desktop/laptop needs due to the strong plugin ecosystem. Below you’ll find my top Firefox addons categorized between security/privacy and general utility. Continue reading →

Posted in open source | Tagged 10 best firefox addons, addons, browsers, firefox, mozilla firefox, privacy, security | 10 Comments

Funcamp ET Legacy and Urban Terror Servers Upgraded

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Will Foster

Recently two fun, actively developed Open Source FPS game projects have had major updates: Enemy Territory: Legacy and Urban Terror. Over the weekend I’ve upgraded the Funcamp ET:L (2.75) and UT (4.3.1) servers to the latest versions. Setup instructions and more info below. Continue reading →

Posted in gaming, open source | Tagged enemy territory legacy, game servers, open source, urban terror | 2 Comments

Quick and Dirty SSH Key Management with Python

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Will Foster

Sometimes I need to quickly copy SSH keys to remote systems in a pinch. I can do this with the Ansible authorized_key module but that’s not always available. I might be on a random system and Ansible or external internet isn’t available and things need to be pushed out quickly. Here’s a simple interactive tool to quickly push SSH keys to many hosts, may you never SSH for loop again. Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged ansible copy ssh keys, copy ssh keys python, devops, one-off, python, ssh, ssh keys, tools | Leave a comment

Trystack and Browbeat at the OpenStack Summit

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Will Foster

I recently gave two talks at the OpenStack Summit in Barcelona on two upstream Open Source projects that I work on – Trystack and Browbeat. Trystack is a large, public free OpenStack sandbox we run for the general public and Browbeat is a FOSS performance/scale testing tool for OpenStack. Come check out my sessions or stay tuned for slides/video later. Continue reading →

Posted in open source | Tagged browbeat, openstack barcelona, openstack performance, openstack summit, public cloud, talk, trystack | Leave a comment

Fun and Automation with Git Hooks

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Will Foster

Git is more than just an awesome, decentralized version control system (VCS) – it can also drive lots of useful automation by triggering actions to deploy infrastructure and services based on event and commit-based hooks. You can drive a lot of complex automation with this functionality but I’m going to provide you with a simple example using a Git repo to push web content to a remote webserver. Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged automation, devops, git, git hooks, linux, post-receive hooks, sysadmin | 1 Comment

Automate Infrastructure Docs with Python, WordPress and Foreman

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Will Foster

“It’s not done unless it’s documented,” says the wise Ops sage. Frequently updated documentation is critical, it’s also one of the most neglected parts of technology. Learn how we auto-generate server resource wiki data with Python, WordPress and Foreman. Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged automation, devops, documentation, foreman, infrastructure, python, wiki, wordpress | 2 Comments

Automate SuperMicro Server Provisioning or Die Trying

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Will Foster

We use Foreman for systems provisioning and recently received a large shipment of Supermicro for Ceph. Out of the box they were a lot of trouble to get integrated/automated at the same level of our Dell gear but we managed, here’s our story. Continue reading →

Posted in open source, sysadmin | Tagged devops, foreman, hardware, ipmi, linux, provisioning, servers, supermicro, sysadmin | 9 Comments

How to Make Aubergine Risotto

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Will Foster

You seem to burn almost as many calories making risotto as you do eating it – there’s constant action required to keep things under control. Don’t worry, it’s not too difficult and it’s a lot of fun. We’re going to show you how to make a delicious vegetarian aubergine (eggplant) risotto that feeds two hungry people. Continue reading →