Category Archives: Computer / Server

Server related things.

Forcing kdesu /xdg-su to honour ‘sudoers’

Posted on November 9, 2018 by robert

kwriteconfig5 --file kdesurc --group super-user-command --key super-user-command sudo

1	kwriteconfig5 --file kdesurc --group super-user-command --key super-user-command sudo

You can also just add this to $HOME/.config/kdesurc

[super-user-command]
super-user-command=sudo

1 2	[super-user-command] super-user-command=sudo

Source from 2008 :-)

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged kde, kdesu, Leap 15, linux, opensuse, sudo, xdg-su | Comments Off

VirtualBox mischief – getting rid of too many pesky users

Posted on November 4, 2018 by robert

This requires VirtualBox guest additions to be installed.

#!/bin/bash

VM_NAME="deb test"
MAX_USERS=2
RUNNING_VMS=`VBoxManage list runningvms`
OUR_VM_IS_RUNNING=`echo ${RUNNING_VMS} | grep "${VM_NAME}"`

if [[ -z ${OUR_VM_IS_RUNNING} ]]
then
        echo -e "VM \"${VM_NAME}\" not running...\nBye!"
        exit
fi

LOGGED_IN_USERS=`VBoxManage guestproperty enumerate "${VM_NAME}" | grep "/OS/LoggedInUsers, value" | awk '{split($4,a,","); print a[1]}'`

if [[ ${LOGGED_IN_USERS} -gt ${MAX_USERS} ]]
then
        echo "Checking VM: \"${VM_NAME}\"..."
        echo "${LOGGED_IN_USERS} logged in. Maximum allowed: ${MAX_USERS}"
        echo "Shutting down \"${VM_NAME}\" ..."
        VBoxManage controlvm "${VM_NAME}" savestate
else
        echo "Checking VM: \"${VM_NAME}\"..."
        echo "${LOGGED_IN_USERS} logged in. Maximum allowed: ${MAX_USERS}"
        echo "Phew ..."
fi

#!/bin/bash

VM_NAME="deb test"

MAX_USERS=2

RUNNING_VMS=`VBoxManage list runningvms`

OUR_VM_IS_RUNNING=`echo ${RUNNING_VMS} | grep "${VM_NAME}"`

if [[ -z ${OUR_VM_IS_RUNNING} ]]

then

echo -e "VM \"${VM_NAME}\" not running...\nBye!"

exit

LOGGED_IN_USERS=`VBoxManage guestproperty enumerate "${VM_NAME}" | grep "/OS/LoggedInUsers, value" | awk '{split($4,a,","); print a[1]}'`

if [[ ${LOGGED_IN_USERS} -gt ${MAX_USERS} ]]

then

echo "Checking VM: \"${VM_NAME}\"..."

echo "${LOGGED_IN_USERS} logged in. Maximum allowed: ${MAX_USERS}"

echo "Shutting down \"${VM_NAME}\" ..."

VBoxManage controlvm "${VM_NAME}" savestate

else

echo "Checking VM: \"${VM_NAME}\"..."

echo "${LOGGED_IN_USERS} logged in. Maximum allowed: ${MAX_USERS}"

echo "Phew ..."

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged linux, mischief, scripting, VBoxManage, VirtualBox, virtualization | Comments Off

A bit of VirtualBox scripting – NAT & DHCP

Posted on November 3, 2018 by robert

Maybe someone will find it useful…

#!/bin/bash

ISO="${HOME}/VirtualBox VMs/__stuff__/ISOs/debian-9.5.0-amd64-netinst.iso"

VBoxManage createvm --name "$1" --register --ostype "Linux_64" 
VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --memory 1024 --acpi on --cpus 2 --audio none --usbxhci on --ioapic on --vram 16 
VBoxManage storagectl "$1" --name "SATA" --add sata --hostiocache on --portcount 2
MEDIUM_UUID=`VBoxManage createmedium disk --filename "$HOME/VirtualBox VMs/$1/$1" --size 8000 --format VDI | awk '{print $4}'`
VBoxManage storageattach "$1" --storagectl "SATA" --port 0 --type hdd --medium ${MEDIUM_UUID} --nonrotational on 
VBoxManage storageattach "$1" --storagectl "SATA" --port 1 --type dvddrive --medium "${ISO}"
#VBoxManage storageattach "$1" --storagectl "SATA" --port 1 --type dvddrive --medium emptydrive


if [[ -z `VBoxManage list hostonlyifs` ]]
then
	VBoxManage hostonlyif create
fi

VBoxManage hostonlyif ipconfig vboxnet0 --ip 192.168.56.1 --netmask 255.255.255.0
VBoxManage dhcpserver add --ifname vboxnet0 --ip 192.168.56.3 --netmask 255.255.255.0 --lowerip 192.168.56.100 --upperip 192.168.56.200 --enable
VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --nic1 hostonly
VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --hostonlyadapter1 vboxnet0

VBoxManage natnetwork add --netname natnet1 --network "192.168.16.0/24" --enable
VBoxManage natnetwork modify --netname natnet1 --port-forward-4 "ssh:tcp:[127.0.0.1]:6666:[192.168.16.137]:22"
VBoxManage dhcpserver add --netname natnet1 --ip 192.168.16.3 --netmask 255.255.255.0 --lowerip 192.168.16.137 --upperip 192.168.16.200 --enable
VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --nic3 natnetwork
VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --nat-network3 natnet1

VBoxManage dhcpserver add --netname intnet0 --ip 192.168.42.3 --netmask 255.255.255.0 --lowerip 192.168.42.100 --upperip 192.168.42.200 --enable
VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --nic2 intnet
VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --intnet2 intnet0

VBoxManage list natnets
VBoxManage list hostonlyifs
VBoxManage list dhcpservers

#!/bin/bash

ISO="${HOME}/VirtualBox VMs/__stuff__/ISOs/debian-9.5.0-amd64-netinst.iso"

VBoxManage createvm --name "$1" --register --ostype "Linux_64"

VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --memory 1024 --acpi on --cpus 2 --audio none --usbxhci on --ioapic on --vram 16

VBoxManage storagectl "$1" --name "SATA" --add sata --hostiocache on --portcount 2

MEDIUM_UUID=`VBoxManage createmedium disk --filename "$HOME/VirtualBox VMs/$1/$1" --size 8000 --format VDI | awk '{print $4}'`

VBoxManage storageattach "$1" --storagectl "SATA" --port 0 --type hdd --medium ${MEDIUM_UUID} --nonrotational on

VBoxManage storageattach "$1" --storagectl "SATA" --port 1 --type dvddrive --medium "${ISO}"

#VBoxManage storageattach "$1" --storagectl "SATA" --port 1 --type dvddrive --medium emptydrive

if [[ -z `VBoxManage list hostonlyifs` ]]

then

VBoxManage hostonlyif create

VBoxManage hostonlyif ipconfig vboxnet0 --ip 192.168.56.1 --netmask 255.255.255.0

VBoxManage dhcpserver add --ifname vboxnet0 --ip 192.168.56.3 --netmask 255.255.255.0 --lowerip 192.168.56.100 --upperip 192.168.56.200 --enable

VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --nic1 hostonly

VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --hostonlyadapter1 vboxnet0

VBoxManage natnetwork add --netname natnet1 --network "192.168.16.0/24" --enable

VBoxManage natnetwork modify --netname natnet1 --port-forward-4 "ssh:tcp:[127.0.0.1]:6666:[192.168.16.137]:22"

VBoxManage dhcpserver add --netname natnet1 --ip 192.168.16.3 --netmask 255.255.255.0 --lowerip 192.168.16.137 --upperip 192.168.16.200 --enable

VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --nic3 natnetwork

VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --nat-network3 natnet1

VBoxManage dhcpserver add --netname intnet0 --ip 192.168.42.3 --netmask 255.255.255.0 --lowerip 192.168.42.100 --upperip 192.168.42.200 --enable

VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --nic2 intnet

VBoxManage modifyvm "$1" --intnet2 intnet0

VBoxManage list natnets

VBoxManage list hostonlyifs

VBoxManage list dhcpservers

Please note, as of today (2018-11-03) there appears to be an annoying issue with the DHCP server (5.2.20) for “NAT Network” (not just “NAT”). If you change the settings for the built-in DHCP … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged linux, scripting, VBoxManage, VirtualBox, virtualization | Comments Off

SuSE museum — 7.3 to 9.1

Posted on January 12, 2017 by robert

SuSE Linux Professional 7.3

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged good old days, historical, linux, museum, SuSE | Comments Off

A Ghost from 1995 – Good Riddance

Posted on December 30, 2016 by robert

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged 95, AOL, Certificate Of Authenticity, cleanup, trash, windows | Comments Off

BORG Backup — Deduplicating Archiver

Posted on May 5, 2016 by robert

The documentation is very usable, easy to understand. Getting the basic things going is very easy. The code is on github. It’s worth taking a look and having a go at it! You do know that you NEED a backup, … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server, Software. | Tagged backup, BORG, data, deduplication, paranoia, PartedMagic, restore | Comments Off

PartedMagic — Booting ISO image from GRUB2 / openSUSE

Posted on November 10, 2015 by robert

Please note: this is not an excuse not to have a bootable USB-stick for true emergencies. This is just for convenience.

#!/bin/sh
exec tail -n +3 $0
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.

menuentry 'Parted Magic 64' {
	load_video
	set gfxpayload=keep
	insmod gzio
	insmod part_msdos
	insmod ext2
	set root='hd0,msdos1'
	insmod loopback
	insmod iso9660
	insmod udf

	set isofile="/pmagic/pmagic_2015_01_13.iso"
	loopback loop $isofile
	linux (loop)/pmagic/bzImage64 iso_filename=$isofile load_ramdisk=1
	initrd (loop)/pmagic/initrd.img (loop)/pmagic/fu.img (loop)/pmagic/m64.img
}

#!/bin/sh

exec tail -n +3 $0

# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the

# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change

# the 'exec tail' line above.

menuentry 'Parted Magic 64' {

load_video

set gfxpayload=keep

insmod gzio

insmod part_msdos

insmod ext2

set root='hd0,msdos1'

insmod loopback

insmod iso9660

insmod udf

set isofile="/pmagic/pmagic_2015_01_13.iso"

loopback loop $isofile

linux (loop)/pmagic/bzImage64 iso_filename=$isofile load_ramdisk=1

initrd (loop)/pmagic/initrd.img (loop)/pmagic/fu.img (loop)/pmagic/m64.img

}

File download On openSUSE (13.2), this file needs to be placed into “/etc/grub.d/”. After that run “yast2 bootloader” … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged backup, boot, grub2, ISO, opensuse, PartedMagic | Comments Off

“Easy” remote-admin — static systemd service

Posted on September 9, 2015 by robert

In the previous two posts we dealt with the script ‘after.local’, which is a remnant on openSUSE of the ‘init’-days, before systemd became the standard. After looking more closely, it turns out that there is a ‘unit-file’ for ‘after.local’ backward-compatibility. … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged systemd, unit-file | Comments Off

“Easy” remote-admin — take 2

Posted on September 8, 2015 by robert

In my previous post I described a method for a boot-activated remote-admin option for my parents’ computer. On 2nd thought, it is not always a good idea to rely on changing system-wide configurations (such as sshd_config, firewall…) In this post … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged admin, iptables, linux, port forwarding, remote, router, SSH, sshd, VNC | Comments Off

“Easy” & quite safe remote-admin for parent’s linux machine

Posted on September 7, 2015 by robert

Yes, I know about KDE desktop sharing, FreeNX and relatives… and again yes, this is nothing new, but someone might still find it useful. I wanted and needed something simple, something that could be activated in the bootloader menu (grub … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged admin, linux, remote, VNC | Comments Off

No more SATAsfaction — DIE you friggin cable

Posted on March 30, 2015 by robert

For some time now I’ve had issues with SATA bus-errors once in a while. The latest occurrence was a few days ago, a day after I had made a full backup.

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged bad connection, bus errors, SATA | Comments Off

Welcome to the all-new server — fingers crossed

Posted on November 13, 2014 by robert

That’s all folks!

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged new, server | Comments Off

Attacks against my server — no more comments / contact

Posted on October 23, 2014 by robert

Dear valued readers, due to persisting attacks against my server, I have been forced to shut off commenting on this blog as well as the option to send me an email via the ‘about’ page. If you absolutely need to … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged attack, server | Comments Off

Attacks against my server — gitweb taken down

Posted on October 19, 2014 by robert

Due to repeated attacks against my server, I was forced to take down the “gitweb” web-interface + git read-only repository cloning access. Please use my github page instead. Direct all your curses towards the A-hole who done it.

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged attack, break-in, server | Comments Off

How long do SSD drives last — not long enough

Posted on May 1, 2014 by robert

Almost exactly 4 years ago I bought a 64GB SSD for my then much younger laptop. It is a “Super Talent FTM64GX25H”. Read transfer rates were about 130MB/s in my machine. How much is to be attributed to the SSD … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged backup, computer, failure, harddisk, premature, SSD, stick, USB, Widlar, widlarization, widlarize | 5 Comments

Got a new Kindle and no WLAN support on your router?

Posted on August 21, 2012 by robert

What’s the motivation? You CAN transfer e-books to the Kindle via USB cable, BUT that leaves a lot to be desired. Browsing the Amazon Kindle store is a very nice feature that I wouldn’t want to miss anymore. There are … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server, Electronics., Software. | Tagged access point, amazon, bridged, hostapd, Kindle, linux, network, usb stick, WLAN | 2 Comments

I’ve added a support forum

Posted on November 29, 2010 by robert

Just to let you know. Lately I’ve been getting a lot of emails about how to code certain things for one of my projects. Not that I mind the emails, but discussing these things on a forum is much easier … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged forum, support, update | Comments Off

Updating the Server — Welcome Debian, bye bye openSUSE

Posted on October 30, 2009 by robert

My provider has upgraded its VServer plans. Now offering 1GB of RAM, 20GB of disk and some more CPU power for the same price, but openSUSE was phased out. My old VServer only hat 256MB or RAM and was kinda … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged debian, linux, opensuse, openVZ, upgrade, virtuozzo, vserver | Comments Off

Blocking IPs after breakin attempts with tcpwrapper and fail2ban

Posted on June 24, 2009 by robert

My virtual private server runs fail2ban to block IPs that have tried to gain access to my system by hammering my ssh server. Suspicious IPs get banned for a certain time with a firewall policy using iptables. The un-banning is … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer / Server | Tagged breakin, script, server security, sshd, tcpwrapper | 2 Comments

Category Archives: Computer / Server

Forcing kdesu /xdg-su to honour ‘sudoers’

VirtualBox mischief – getting rid of too many pesky users

A bit of VirtualBox scripting – NAT & DHCP

SuSE museum — 7.3 to 9.1

A Ghost from 1995 – Good Riddance

BORG Backup — Deduplicating Archiver

PartedMagic — Booting ISO image from GRUB2 / openSUSE

“Easy” remote-admin — static systemd service

“Easy” remote-admin — take 2

“Easy” & quite safe remote-admin for parent’s linux machine

No more SATAsfaction — DIE you friggin cable

Welcome to the all-new server — fingers crossed

Attacks against my server — no more comments / contact

Attacks against my server — gitweb taken down

How long do SSD drives last — not long enough

Got a new Kindle and no WLAN support on your router?

I’ve added a support forum

Updating the Server — Welcome Debian, bye bye openSUSE

Blocking IPs after breakin attempts with tcpwrapper and fail2ban

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Category Archives: Computer / Server

Recent Comments

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