The Linux Thread

[Curious Hound]

I’ve used Puppy Linux, that was (is) a small portable Linux, sort of on the minimal side.

For photo editing, I think you’re referring to the unfortunately named GIMP, which is a really good open source photo editor. Last time I checked there was actually a windows version too. It might not be quite as slick as the current Photoshop but the cool thing is that it comes with a slew of effects that you have to pay for in Photoshop.

Yes. Gimp is it. It really is good. And one of the reasons I would sometimes use it was to use tools or features I didn't have with Photoshop back then.

 

[97RangerXLT]

I submit to you folks my reply to the Nerds thread started by Bobby...

nerds......

I ran Ubuntu for a few years in high school when I first built my pc. Biggest complaint was that because I built the pc for playing computer games, I had to run wine ( windows emulator ) to run anything. It also seemed to hog a lot more resources just doing basic tasks like internet browsing...

www.therangerstation.com

As was mentioned, setting up a bootable USB with Linux on it is pretty easy. and you don't have to nuke your current O/S to use it.

AJ

 

[Curious Hound]

Hey, @pentode , have you ever played with Ubuntu server? So, my brief story is… I’m trying Linux again. My goal is to set up a dedicated computer as a web file server for the Vagabond group to easily and inexpensively share large amounts of video footage a photos after our trips.

So, this week, I spent a couple days playing with Ubuntu and Ubuntu server. Not sure which one I should concentrate on. The server edition seems like the logical choice. But it is all CLi which is daunting. I feel blind trying to figure out what is going on. If I can use regular Ubuntu with the nice GUI, I might feel more comfortable. I’ve had both running on a minimalist laptop over the past few days. In fact, windows is gone now. So, this will always be a Linux machine from here on. I also have a small computer that just arrived yesterday which I intend to use for this project long term.

So I should be able to get an OS running on the new machine in a few days. Then I need to get all the server stuff and web interface figured out. I think I should probably use Apache.

Anyway. What’s your experience with servers?

 

[Curious Hound]

Hey, @pentode , have you ever played with Ubuntu server? So, my brief story is… I’m trying Linux again. My goal is to set up a dedicated computer as a web file server for the Vagabond group to easily and inexpensively share large amounts of video footage a photos after our trips.

So, this week, I spent a couple days playing with Ubuntu and Ubuntu server. Not sure which one I should concentrate on. The server edition seems like the logical choice. But it is all CLi which is daunting. I feel blind trying to figure out what is going on. If I can use regular Ubuntu with the nice GUI, I might feel more comfortable. I’ve had both running on a minimalist laptop over the past few days. In fact, windows is gone now. So, this will always be a Linux machine from here on. I also have a small computer that just arrived yesterday which I intend to use for this project long term.

So I should be able to get an OS running on the new machine in a few days. Then I need to get all the server stuff and web interface figured out. I think I should probably use Apache.

Anyway. What’s your experience with servers?

Slow day at work today. I’ve been reading tutorials. Need some time at home now to get my practical exercise caught up with everything I’ve read. Looks like Apache isn’t too hard to set up. I need to figure out my system IP address and get domain name set up. I’m still foggy in that because it looks like I can create my own domain name(s). But I thought it had to be registered to make sure nobody else uses it. With past websites, I always just used a domain registering service through somebody like GoDaddy. Anyhow, also read up on security stuff for usernames and passwords. Time for a break before my head explodes.

 

[mikkelstuff]

Luckily as an old geezer I grew up on Unix/Linux when those first became available. Also like that Mac OS is built on Linux.

I do wish that Tcl/Tk ran the same on Mac OS as on PC based Linux. Some things just do not function correctly.

 

[SenorNoob]

If you want it accessible to the outside world, then you either need to register a domain name or use your public IP address directly. That's what I do for my security system. It's nice being able to see my cameras while out of town, without doing the whole "cloud" thing.

 

[pentode]

Hey, @pentode , have you ever played with Ubuntu server? So, my brief story is… I’m trying Linux again. My goal is to set up a dedicated computer as a web file server for the Vagabond group to easily and inexpensively share large amounts of video footage a photos after our trips.

So, this week, I spent a couple days playing with Ubuntu and Ubuntu server. Not sure which one I should concentrate on. The server edition seems like the logical choice. But it is all CLi which is daunting. I feel blind trying to figure out what is going on. If I can use regular Ubuntu with the nice GUI, I might feel more comfortable. I’ve had both running on a minimalist laptop over the past few days. In fact, windows is gone now. So, this will always be a Linux machine from here on. I also have a small computer that just arrived yesterday which I intend to use for this project long term.

So I should be able to get an OS running on the new machine in a few days. Then I need to get all the server stuff and web interface figured out. I think I should probably use Apache.

Anyway. What’s your experience with servers?

Edit: guess I missed a sentence - you'll be running it on another machine, but locally I think.

In fact I've been running a couple Ubuntu servers fo the last 15 or 20 years, first on a Beaglebone Black (early competitor to Raspberry Pi) and later migrated to the cloud as I needed a nice stable place to host my email and business websites. I also run a few Ubuntu/Debian servers for clients.
As I think about your project, the first question that springs to mind is whether you're planning on using that laptop as your server, as in always having local access and maybe using a dynamic IP service, or whether you're thinking of a cloud machine out on the net somewhere (I have a couple recommendations there if that's your plan).
I'm sure you know, but I'll state it for the record for anyone else who might have similar ideas, that Ubuntu and Ubuntu server are just different subsets of the same larger collection of software, so you can turn either one into the other by installing and/or deleting various software packages.
So, you aren't handicapping yourself by choosing either one to start with, although if you want to set up a server, I do think starting with the server package is probably easiest. If you are going to always have local access, you might want to either start with server and add the GUI package(s) or with desktop and add the server packages. I think starting with server is still the best choice.

Also, from the subsequent post it seems like you will indeed be hosting from home, so what you need to do is set up a DDNS service such as noip.com (there are several others with various pros and cons) Then, you can either just use the IP and/or domain name they assign you or you can grab a domain name and point it at your server using the DDNS info. We'll come back to that if that is indeed your plan.

I'd tend to go with Apache as it comes standard with ubuntu server and it's really not bad to set up. Basically it comes with a default "hello world" page in a certain directory (I think /var/www or something like that, they've moved it a few times) One thing that might be worth considering is just setting up a Wordpress installation on your server, which is very easy, and then you can host and do all your edits and updates through the web interface, which is what most people prefer these days. Don't be intimidated by the learning curve for CLI, you only really have to use it as much as you want and there are several ways around it if you hate it.

Lemme know what I forgot to address, and ask more questions and I'll focus in better.

 

[pentode]

The more I think about it, the more I think Wordpress makes sense for your project unless there's some aspect of it I'm missing. But after a little bit of installation, you'd have a slick interface you can configure any way you want with simple plugins etc, and you'd only have to interact with the command line to do system updates, which is super easy.
Also, I'm all for self hosting but if for whatever reason you want a cloud based server, which side-steps all the dynamic DNS stuff and makes domain name config easy, I can recommend Digital Ocean. I use their $5/month VPS server (for 12 years now) and it's very good value for money. Also, they make it really easy to get started. No sales commission for me though, and like I said I think self-hosted is possibly the best way to learn hands on.

 

[Curious Hound]

Edit: guess I missed a sentence - you'll be running it on another machine, but locally I think.

In fact I've been running a couple Ubuntu servers fo the last 15 or 20 years, first on a Beaglebone Black (early competitor to Raspberry Pi) and later migrated to the cloud as I needed a nice stable place to host my email and business websites. I also run a few Ubuntu/Debian servers for clients.
As I think about your project, the first question that springs to mind is whether you're planning on using that laptop as your server, as in always having local access and maybe using a dynamic IP service, or whether you're thinking of a cloud machine out on the net somewhere (I have a couple recommendations there if that's your plan).
I'm sure you know, but I'll state it for the record for anyone else who might have similar ideas, that Ubuntu and Ubuntu server are just different subsets of the same larger collection of software, so you can turn either one into the other by installing and/or deleting various software packages.
So, you aren't handicapping yourself by choosing either one to start with, although if you want to set up a server, I do think starting with the server package is probably easiest. If you are going to always have local access, you might want to either start with server and add the GUI package(s) or with desktop and add the server packages. I think starting with server is still the best choice.

Also, from the subsequent post it seems like you will indeed be hosting from home, so what you need to do is set up a DDNS service such as noip.com (there are several others with various pros and cons) Then, you can either just use the IP and/or domain name they assign you or you can grab a domain name and point it at your server using the DDNS info. We'll come back to that if that is indeed your plan.

I'd tend to go with Apache as it comes standard with ubuntu server and it's really not bad to set up. Basically it comes with a default "hello world" page in a certain directory (I think /var/www or something like that, they've moved it a few times) One thing that might be worth considering is just setting up a Wordpress installation on your server, which is very easy, and then you can host and do all your edits and updates through the web interface, which is what most people prefer these days. Don't be intimidated by the learning curve for CLI, you only really have to use it as much as you want and there are several ways around it if you hate it.

Lemme know what I forgot to address, and ask more questions and I'll focus in better.

Thank you. I will be running the server on a machine that will stay at home. I did register a domain name today - curioushound. Org and there is currently a placeholder/coming soon page on GoDaddy. Of course I will attach the name to my ip as soon as I get the new machine set up. The laptop will just be a fun, portable Linux machine to play with.

I read through some great info today, starting with how to set up Apache. Found lots of good info on w3schools. Com. Between that and the Ubuntu server info from canonical, the picture is becoming clearer in my head. Glad to know you have lots of experience with this. I’m officially appointing you as my mentor. But I’ll try not to bug you too much. I actually enjoy learning and doing this stuff even when it’s frustrating.

I also read a lot about html, php, css and Java this afternoon, refreshing and adding to my web programming knowledge from many moons ago.

 

[Curious Hound]

The more I think about it, the more I think Wordpress makes sense for your project unless there's some aspect of it I'm missing. But after a little bit of installation, you'd have a slick interface you can configure any way you want with simple plugins etc, and you'd only have to interact with the command line to do system updates, which is super easy.
Also, I'm all for self hosting but if for whatever reason you want a cloud based server, which side-steps all the dynamic DNS stuff and makes domain name config easy, I can recommend Digital Ocean. I use their $5/month VPS server (for 12 years now) and it's very good value for money. Also, they make it really easy to get started. No sales commission for me though, and like I said I think self-hosted is possibly the best way to learn hands on.

Funny you mentioned Beaglebone. I have one in the closet that I’ve never used. It was for a project I wanted to do years ago to make a fancy radio controlled boat controller. I was playing around with Arduino stuff. Need to get back to all that some day.

 

[pentode]

Thank you. I will be running the server on a machine that will stay at home. I did register a domain name today - curioushound. Org and there is currently a placeholder/coming soon page on GoDaddy. Of course I will attach the name to my ip as soon as I get the new machine set up. The laptop will just be a fun, portable Linux machine to play with.

I read through some great info today, starting with how to set up Apache. Found lots of good info on w3schools. Com. Between that and the Ubuntu server info from canonical, the picture is becoming clearer in my head. Glad to know you have lots of experience with this. I’m officially appointing you as my mentor. But I’ll try not to bug you too much. I actually enjoy learning and doing this stuff even when it’s frustrating.

I also read a lot about html, php, css and Java this afternoon, refreshing and adding to my web programming knowledge from many moons ago.

Even if you don't go with Digital Ocean, I highly recommend their tutorials whenever you're searching for hints on how to do something. Even if you're running your own server at home, the command line stuff will be the same, and they're really well written.

If you want to do some old-school HTML, I commend you. There's way too much bloat on the web. However, if you do tire of trying to do your own thing, just know there's wordpress (it's overkill for most people but it does make life easy), as well as other content management systems. Search for "flat file CMS" if you're curious. I've been wanting to try Grav for a while as I think it gives the best advantages of Wordpress without the heavy server stuff.

Honestly, not many people still do actual html any more - mostly hardcore nerds - and they should, but I better not get near my soapbox. Any reason the Starbucks app should be 250 megabytes? I think not... I drink instant coffee and save 250 megs.

Oh, and the trickiest thing you'll likely have to do is attach your domain to your dynamic IP address (assuming that's what your ISP gives you, and 99.999% do unless you pay for a static IP). Having done the self hosting thing for many years, you also might want to consider what your upstream bandwidth is (both in terms of raw speed and whether you have any data transfer caps). Once you're serving videos, some internet connections might struggle and/or run you up against a bandwidth cap pretty quick.

EDIT: I don't use Godaddy personally, only when clients use it, but after a quick search it seems that they offer a DDNS API service for their domains, which is nice of them. If you haven't found the link to their tutorial already, let me know.

 

[pentode]

I’m officially appointing you as my mentor.

Just know that you're at risk of being bored to death.

 

[Curious Hound]

Oh, and the trickiest thing you'll likely have to do is attach your domain to your dynamic IP address (assuming that's what your ISP gives you, and 99.999% do unless you pay for a static IP). Having done the self hosting thing for many years, you also might want to consider what your upstream bandwidth is (both in terms of raw speed and whether you have any data transfer caps). Once you're serving videos, some internet connections might struggle and/or run you up against a bandwidth cap pretty quick.

Attaching the domain name to my ip address is the part I’m most fretting over at the moment. With the limited users, I don’t think traffic and bandwidth will be too awful bad. I’m on AT&T fiber service. So speed shouldn’t be horrible. Plus, the machine I bought allows Ethernet port aggregation (did I say that right?). Basically, I can connect 2 cables between it and the router and set it up to use both in parallel.

The website itself will be extremely simple. A home page with menu, a login page and the interface for uploading and downloading files. Maybe a simple blog or “latest news” kind of thing. Maybe some content to keep up with who added files most recently. Most difficult section is security with ssh, usernames and passwords. And making sure I don't Leave any gaping security holes in my programming. I started learning about that stuff today.

I can do this.

 

[pentode]

Might seem off-topic, but it's more on topic than it'll be anywhere else... I dug my old Beaglebone out of a box last year and put it to work in the garage as my music player. That's the Beaglebone Black on the wall with a wifi dongle and a $3 I2S DAC along with a $2 PAM8403 amp (with the knob) and the all-important Radio Shack Minimus 7 speakers. Best bang for buck for space speakers ever made IMHO. I can play all my music collection across the network but usually I just stream Radio Paradise rock mix and I have to restrain myself from annoying the neighbors with 3 watts of raging music power.

Just in case you want to find a use for your Beaglebone

Edit: and trust me, for those of you who are swayed by power numbers, those 3 watts at full tilt would have the cops here within a half hour.

 

[Curious Hound]

Well, it's bigger than the Beagle Bone. But not by much. Here is a look at my server setup. I put it together. Probably won't load the operation g system until Monday or Tuesday. I don't remember the specs on the processor. 16gb of ram, 500gb internal ssd hard drive, 2tb external ssd hard drive, 24" monitor and a cheap keyboard. Right around $450.

Ain't that cute? It mounts right on the back of the monitor.