DEV Community: Livia Lima

RSync Basic Commands

Livia Lima — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 20:50:57 +0000

rsync (remote sync) is an open source utility used for synchronizing files and directories between two different systems, providing fast incremental file transfer. It is a great tool to perform backups.

Basic usage

To sync the contents of source directory(dir1) to a destination directory(dir2) on the same system:

rsync -a dir1/ dir2

To sync the contents of a local directory(dir1) to a remote directory(dir2):

rsync -a dir1/ username@remote_host:dir2

To sync the contents of a local directory(dir1) to a remote directory(dir2), when using a SSH identity file (private key) for public key authentication:

rsync -e "ssh -i keypair.pem" -a dir1/ username@remote_host:dir2

Verbose (--verbose, -v)

By default, rsync works silently. This option allows you to see what's happening during the transfer, even if no files are transfered.

rsync -v dir1/ dir2

$ rsync -v dir1/ livia@192.168.1.2:remote_dir
livia@192.168.1.2's password:
skipping directory .

sent 16 bytes received 12 bytes 6.22 bytes/sec
total size is 0 speedup is 0.00
$

Archive (--archive, -a)

It is a quick way of saying you want to preserve almost everything.

rsync -a dir1/ dir2

$ rsync -av dir1/ livia@192.168.1.2:remote_dir
sending incremental file list
./
file1
file2
file3

sent 2,183 bytes received 589 bytes 792.00 bytes/sec
total size is 498 speedup is 0.18
$

Recursive (--recursive, -r)

This tells rsync to copy directories recursively.

rsync -r dir1/ dir2

$ rsync -rav dir1/ livia@192.168.1.2:remote_dir
sending incremental file list
subdir1/
subdir1/subfile1
subdir1/subfile2
subdir1/subfile3

sent 391 bytes received 77 bytes 133.71 bytes/sec
total size is 83 speedup is 0.18
$

DISCLAIMER: Noticed that there is a trailing slash (/) at the end of the first argument in dir1/

This is necessary to mean the contents of dir1. The alternative, without the trailing slash, would place dir1, including the directory, within dir2. This would create a hierarchy that looks like: ~/dir2/dir1/[files]

Compare this output with the trailing slash:

$ rsync -rav dir1/ livia@192.168.1.2:remote_dir
sending incremental file list
./
file1
file2
file3
subdir1/
subdir1/subfile1
subdir1/subfile2
subdir1/subfile3

sent 534 bytes received 145 bytes 194.00 bytes/sec
total size is 83 speedup is 0.12
$ tree remote_dir/
remote_dir/
 file1
 file2
 file3
 subdir1
     subfile1
     subfile2
     subfile3

1 directory, 6 files
livia@antix1:~
$

And when we remove the trailing slash:

$ rsync -rav dir1 livia@192.168.1.2:remote_dir
sending incremental file list
dir1/
dir1/file1
dir1/file2
dir1/file3
dir1/subdir1/
dir1/subdir1/subfile1
dir1/subdir1/subfile2
dir1/subdir1/subfile3

sent 850 bytes received 260 bytes 246.67 bytes/sec
total size is 83 speedup is 0.07
$ tree remote_dir/
remote_dir/
 dir1
     file1
     file2
     file3
     subdir1
         subfile1
         subfile2
         subfile3

2 directories, 6 files
livia@antix1:~
$

You can see here that the directory itself is transferred.

Update (--update, -u)

This forces rsync to skip any files which exist on the destination and have a modified time that is newer than the source file.

rsync -u dir1/ dir2

Notice how the size and modified date changes from 83 Nov 26 16:56 file1 to 677 Nov 27 14:10 file1.

$ ls -lh remote_dir/
total 8.0K
-rw-rw-r-- 1 livia livia 83 Nov 26 16:56 file1
-rw-rw-r-- 1 livia livia 0 Nov 26 15:58 file2
-rw-rw-r-- 1 livia livia 0 Nov 26 15:58 file3
drwxrwxr-x 2 livia livia 4.0K Nov 27 13:42 subdir1

$ rsync -rauv dir1/ livia@192.168.1.2:remote_dir
livia@192.168.1.2's password:
sending incremental file list
./
file1

sent 934 bytes received 45 bytes 217.56 bytes/sec
total size is 677 speedup is 0.69

$ ls -lh remote_dir/
total 8.0K
-rw-rw-r-- 1 livia livia 677 Nov 27 14:10 file1
-rw-rw-r-- 1 livia livia 0 Nov 26 15:58 file2
-rw-rw-r-- 1 livia livia 0 Nov 26 15:58 file3
drwxrwxr-x 2 livia livia 4.0K Nov 27 13:42 subdir1
$

Dry Run (--dry-run, -n)

This makes rsync perform a trial run that doesn't make any changes (and produces mostly the same output as a real run). Good resource to test the parameters before doing a big transfer.

rsync -n dir1/ dir2

$ rsync -rauvn dir1/ livia@192.168.1.2:remote_dir
sending incremental file list
./
file1
file2
file3
subdir1/
subdir1/subfile1
subdir1/subfile2
subdir1/subfile3

sent 235 bytes received 41 bytes 78.86 bytes/sec
total size is 677 speedup is 2.45 (DRY RUN)

$ tree remote_dir/
remote_dir/

0 directories, 0 files
livia@antix1:~
$

Progress (--progress, -P)

This option tells rsync to print information showing the progress of the transfer.

rsync -P dir1/ dir2

$ rsync -rauvP dir1/ livia@192.168.1.2:remote_dir
sending incremental file list
./
big-file
     67,562,098 100% 1.16MB/s 0:00:55 (xfr#1, to-chk=7/9)

sent 67,562,098 bytes received 100 bytes 945,162.08 bytes/sec
total size is 67,562,198 speedup is 1.00
$

More about rsync can be found at the manual page.

FileZilla Basics

Livia Lima — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 20:20:33 +0000

FileZilla is a free and open-source FTP client.

Basic Connection

Using Quickconnect bar:

Enter the remote hostname or IP address at Host.
Enter the remote username at Username and the password at Password.
Port : 21 for FTP, 22 for SFTP
Click Quickconnect. Example:

Using Site Manager:

On the File menu, click Site Manager.
In the Protocol list box, select FTP.
In the Host text box, type the hostname or IP address.
In the Port text box, type 21.
In the Logon Type list box, select Normal.
In the User text box, type your username.
In the Password text box type your password.
Click Connect.

Add a private key for SSH authentication

On the Edit menu, click Settings.
Under Select Page, click Connection , and then click SFTP. A list of currently installed private keys appears.
Click Add key file. Select the key, and then click Open.
On the File menu, click Site Manager.
In the Protocol list box, select SFTP.
In the Host text box, type the hostname or IP address.
In the Port text box, type 22.
In the Logon Type list box, select Normal.
In the User text box, type your username.
Leave the Password text box blank.
Click Connect.

After a few seconds, FileZilla establishes a connection to the server. FileZilla may display a message that the server's host key is unknown. To trust the server permanently, select the Always trust this host, add this key to the cache check box, and then click OK.

Transferring files

Once a remote connection is open, you can navigate on the server almost like navigating on your local machine. The current local directory tree is displayed on the left side of the main window by default, the remote directory is displayed on the right side.

To transfer directories and/or multiple files:

Select the files.
Right-click the selection.
Then you can click on Upload/Download in the popup menu.

Or drag the files from one side and drop them on the other side.

More about FileZilla can be found at the manual page.

PuTTY Basics

Livia Lima — Sun, 01 Nov 2020 20:45:54 +0000

PuTTY is a free and open-source terminal emulator, very popular as a SSH client; used primarily by Windows users.

SSH Connection

Open PuTTY
Select Session
Enter the username@hostname or just the remote hostname or IP address at Host Name. Example:

admin@192.168.1.2

Connection: SSH
Port: 22
(Optional) Name your session in Saved Session field and click Save
Click Open

DISCLAIMER: You may need to generate/add a private key for authentication.

Add a private key for authentication

Connections
- SSH
- Auth
Browse and select the private key for authentication. It should be a .ppk file.

Create a private key with PuTTYGen

On Windows:

Go to Windows Start menu
- All Programs
- PuTTY
  - PuTTYgen
Parameters:
- Type of key: RSA
- Number of bits in a generated key: 2048
Generate
Specify a passphrase for the key
Save private key

On Linux:

puttygen -t rsa -b 2048 -C "user@host" -o keyfile.ppk

Check the PuTTYGen manual for more details.

Convert an Amazon .pem key to PuTTY .ppk key

On Windows:

Go to Windows Start menu
- All Programs
- PuTTY
  - PuTTYgen
Parameters:
- Type of key: RSA
- Number of bits in a generated key: 2048
Load
Select your .pem file for the key pair
Open
Save private key

On Linux:

puttygen keyfile.pem -O private -o keyfile.ppk

Check the Amazon Docs for more details.

More about PuTTY and PuTTYGen can be found at the manual page.

How to launch an EC2 instance

Livia Lima — Sun, 01 Nov 2020 20:33:35 +0000

The intent is to show how to quickly launch your first EC2 instance.

Step 1 : Choose the type of instance

Navigate to EC2 in the AWS Console.
Click Launch Instance.
Select a free-tier elegible Linux image, in doubt select Amazon Linux 2.
Click Next - leave the Instance Type panel as is.
Click Next - leave the Instance Details panel as is.
Click Next - leave the Storage panel as is.
Click Add Tag. Set key to Name and value to the name you choose to your instance. (Optional step)
Click Next.

Step 2 : Create a Security Group

Assign a security group: Create a new security group
Set the security group name and description as you choose.
SSH connection for Linux instances
- Type: SSH
- Protocol: TCP
- Port Range: 22
- Source: My IP
- Description: (optional)
RDP connection for Windows instances
- Type: RDP
- Protocol: TCP
- Port Range: 8003
- Source: My IP
- Description: (optional)
You can add as much rules as needed.
Click Review and Launch.
Click Launch.

Step 3 : Create a Key Pair

Select: Create a new key pair
Set the key pair name as you choose.
Click Download Key Pair
Click Launch Instances

Step 4 (for Linux instances) : Connect to instance using SSH

Back to EC2 Instances panel in the AWS Console.
Select the instance.
Click Connect.
Connection method: A standalone SSH client

For MacOS and Linux users:

Change the keypair file permissions to Only Owner Read/Write as follows:

chmod 400 my-key-pair.pem

Or, if you are using Windows:

File - Properties - Security - Advanced
Set Owner to the key's user
Remove all users, groups, and services, except for the key's user, under Permission Entries
Set key's user to Full Control

At the SSH client of your choice, input the details provided.

User name
Target

ssh -i my-key-pair.pem user@server-public-dns

Example:

ssh -i "linux-lab.pem" ubuntu@ec2-52-90-153-75.compute-1.amazonaws.com

Step 4 (for Windows instances) : Connect to instance using RDP

Back to EC2 Instances panel in the AWS Console.
Select the instance.
Click Connect.
Connection method: A standalone RDP client
At the RDP client of your choice, input the details provided.
Target: Public DNS
User name Administrator
Password:
- Click Get Password
- Key Pair Path: Click Browse to select the keypair downloaded on the previous step.
- Click Decrypt Password
Connect.

Done! :)

SFTP Basic Commands

Livia Lima — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 20:58:17 +0000

SSH File Transfer Protocol (also Secure File Transfer Protocol, or SFTP) is a network protocol that provides file access, file transfer, and file management over a secure channel, such as SSH.

Connect

Enter the username and remote hostname or IP address at the command prompt. Once authentication successful, you will see a shell with an sftp> prompt.

[user@computer1 ~]$ sftp demo@192.168.1.2
demo@192.168.1.2's password:
Connected to demo@192.168.1.2.
sftp>

When using a SSH identity file (private key) for public key authentication:

sftp -i keypair.pem demo@192.168.1.2

Check current directory

lpwd print the current directory on your local system

sftp> lpwd
Local working directory: /home/livia
sftp>

pwd print the current directory on the remote server

sftp> pwd
Remote working directory: /home/demo
sftp>

List files

lls list the files in the current directory on your local system

sftp> lls
 Desktop lab py3-venv
 Documents mail R
 dotfiles myserverfile snap
 Downloads node_modules Videos
sftp>

ls list the files in the current directory on the remote server

sftp> ls
Desktop Documents Downloads Music
Pictures Videos
sftp>

Download files

get download one file from remote server

sftp> get remote_file.pem
Fetching /home/demo/remote_file.pem to remote_file.pem
/home/demo 100% 1696 906.8KB/s 00:00
sftp>

mget download multiple files from remote server

sftp> mget *.csv
Fetching /home/demo/user1_accessKeys.csv to user1_accessKeys.csv
/home/demo 100% 96 73.1KB/s 00:00
Fetching /home/demo/user2_accessKeys.csv to user2_accessKeys.csv
/home/demo 100% 96 67.0KB/s 00:00
sftp>

Upload files

put upload one file from local computer to the remote server

sftp> put local_file.pem
Uploading local_file.pem to /home/demo/local_file.pem
local_fil 100% 1696 75.2KB/s 00:00
sftp>

mput upload multiple files from local computer to the remote server

sftp> mput *.csv
Uploading user1_accessKeys.csv to /home/demo/user1_accessKeys.csv
user1_acce 100% 96 129.7KB/s 00:00
Uploading user2_accessKeys.csv to /home/demo/user2_accessKeys.csv
user2_acce 100% 96 132.1KB/s 00:00
sftp>

Change directory

lcd change the current directory on your local system

sftp> lpwd
Local working directory: /home/livia
sftp> lcd lab/
sftp> lpwd
Local working directory: /home/livia/lab
sftp>

cd change the current directory on the remote server

sftp> pwd
Remote working directory: /home/demo
sftp> cd Documents/
sftp> pwd
Remote working directory: /home/demo/Documents
sftp>

Exit

exit exit the remote server sftp session

sftp>
sftp> exit
[user@computer1 ~]$

More about SFTP can be found at the manual page.

How to Set Static IP Address on Linux

Livia Lima — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 20:52:15 +0000

Different from desktop machines where you can use dynamic IP addresses, static IP address are often required on a server infrastructure.

RHEL / CentOS / Fedora:

You will need to edit:

/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

Where ifcfg-eth0 relates to your network interface eth0. If your interface name is enp1s0 then the file that you will need to edit is ifcfg-enp1s0.

Add the following fields:

DEVICE="eth0"
BOOTPROTO="static"
IPADDR="192.168.1.1"
NETMASK="255.255.255.0"
TYPE="Ethernet"

Debian / Ubuntu:

To setup static IP address in Debian/ Ubuntu, edit the following file:

/etc/network/interfaces

You may see a line looking like this:

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

Change it so it looks like this:

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
  address 192.168.1.1
  netmask 255.255.255.0

Restart the networking on your system:

SysVinit : /etc/init.d/network restart

SystemD : systemctl restart network

If unsure of what which system manager your distro uses, try this:

pidof systemd && echo "systemd" || echo "sysvinit"

Conclusion

You now know how to configure a static IP address on a Linux distro.

How to make a network cable

Livia Lima — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 20:46:41 +0000

The aim of this tutorial is to give an overview of cable networking theory and to show how to crimp a connector onto the end of a network cable.

DISCLAIMER: This tutorial focus only on copper-wired, twisted pair cables.

Requirements

The tools needed to make a network cable are:

An ethernet cable (Cat5/Cat6).
A few RJ45 connectors. Please buy more than 2 units. These things are cheap and it is easy for a newbie to break them.
A mini wire stripper or a knife (but be careful). You can also use a pair of scissors.
A crimper. Make sure it does crimp RJ45 connectors (has the capacity for eight wires).
A cable tester. Optional but very useful during troubleshooting.

Cables

Ethernet cables consist of 8 copper wires, twisted in 4 pairs. The purpose of the twisting is to reduce electromagnetic radiation from the pair and crosstalk between neighboring pairs. This also improves rejection of external electromagnetic interference.

Twisted pair cables can be unshielded (UTP) or shielded (STP) with an additional layer of conductive material to attenuate electromagnetic waves external to the shield.

Some examples:

Cat5 : Unshielded. 100BASE-TX / 1000BASE-T. Limited to 100m between equipment. Common for current LANs.
Cat5e : Shielded. 1000BASE-T / 2.5GBASE-T. Limited to 100m between equipment. Enhanced Cat5. Common for current LANs. Same construction as Cat5, but with better testing standards.
Cat6 : Shielded. 5GBASE-T / 10GBASE-T. Limited to 55M distance at 10GBASE-T

The contents of the cable are exactly the same no matter what the plastic jacket color is.

Connectors

The conventional name for the connectors on the ends of Ethernet cables is RJ-45. They consist of 8 pins, one for each wire inside an Ethernet cable.

Colors and Pins

There is a sequence for the pins in an RJ-45 connector:

The important factor to remember when wiring RJ-45 plugs is the function of each pin.:

Transmit positive signal (Tx+)
Transmit negative signal (Tx-)
Receive positive signal (Rx+)
Nothing
Nothing
Receive negative signal (Rx-)
Nothing
Nothing

Following that sequence, there are two main standard pinouts (or orders) for the colored wires of the cable.

RJ-45 TIA-568A pinout:

Green stripe
Green solid
Orange stripe
Blue solid
Blue stripe
Orange solid
Brown stripe
Brown solid

RJ-45 TIA-568B pinout:

Orange stripe
Orange solid
Green stripe
Blue solid
Blue stripe
Green solid
Brown stripe
Brown solid

It doesnt matter which of these standards you use just as long as you are consistent when crimping connectors onto both ends of a cable.

Straight, crossover or rollover?

The distinction between a straight through, crossover, and rollover cable comes down to the way that the connectors on each end are wired.

Straight through : both sides follow the same wire positions. Straight-Through wired cables are most commonly used to connect a host to a client.
Crossover : Tx and Rx pairs switch positions (pins 1 & 2 switch to pins 3 & 6). Crossover cables are most commonly used to connect two hosts directly. Examples would be connecting a computer directly to another computer, connecting a switch directly to another switch, or connecting a router to a router.
Rollover : all pin positions are reversed (pin 1 goes to pin 8, pin 2 to pin 7, etc). Rollover cables are most commonly used to connect to a device's console port to make programming changes to the device. Unlike crossover and straight-wired cables, rollover cables are not intended to carry data but instead create an interface with the device.

Making your cable

Check out my video about crossover cables for some visuals.

Using a cable stripper, a knife or a pair of scissors, cut the outer plastic jacket off the Ethernet cable. CAUTION: be gentle! If you go too deep you will cut through the inner wires, exposing the copper.
Untwist the pairs and straight them to make them easier to manipulate.
Arrange them in the desired standard.
Measure the wires to the be enough to fit into the RJ-45 connector.
Cut off the excess wire. Ensure to level the wires, they should align to the flat edge of the connector.
Carefully, slide the wires inside the connector. Push them enough to see the copper at the edge of the connector.
Crimp it. The pins should pierce through the wires.
Repeat the process on the other end of the cable.
Test the cable using a cable tester. Plug each connector into the tester and turn it on. All pins should send and receive signal. If any pins do not light up on the tester, the connector was badly crimped. Cut the damaged connector and start over.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned the basics of cable networking theory and how to crimp your own network cable.

How to Connect Two Computers using a Crossover Cable

Livia Lima — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 20:38:56 +0000

Ever wondered how to connect two computers together without going through a local network (LAN)?

If your computers are on a network, you can share files and folders, but what happens if you don't have a router/switch/hub to make that LAN happen?

In this tutorial I will show you how to use a crossover cable to connect two computers and transfer data.

DISCLAIMER: I've made this tutorial using Linux.

https://youtu.be/hhELDJHRz_0

Step Zero : Requirements

Administrator access to both computers.
A crossover ethernet cable.

Step 1 : Make (and plug) a crossover cable

If you want to hone your cabling skills, you can make your own crossover cable for this tutorial. But if you don't want the trouble of making a cable, just buy a pre-made crossover ethernet cable.

Once you have your cable settled, connect it to the computers.

Step 2 : Set a static IP address on both computers

Even if we had both computers connected to a LAN, we are not using the same network addresses. With the crossover cable we are creating a little peer-to-peer connection, and that is a completely different network. For this case, the best solution is to configure a static IP address for each computer (within that new network we're creating).

Check out the tutorial How to Set Static IP Address in Linux to see it in detail.

Make sure that both computers are on the same subnet (like 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.2) and use the same mask (like 255.255.255.248).

There are two possible configuration files in Linux systems (consider enp1s0 and eth0 as Ethernet interfaces):

/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifccfg-enp1s0

/etc/network/interfaces

With that ready you can do the first test: ping ip_address

Example:

ping 192.168.1.1

That confirms both sides are connected and seeing each other.

Step 3 : Security measures (firewalls and user accounts)

The computers see each other but they can't do anything yet. For that you have to open their conversation by allowing incoming SSH connections from one another.

UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) is used for managing a Linux firewall.

Open ports on the firewall : using ufw we will open port TCP/22 for the other computer (PC1 to PC2, PC2 to PC1 or both).

To allow incoming SSH connections from a specific IP address named 192.168.1.2, enter:

sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.2 to any port 22

To enable ufw:

sudo ufw enable

To check the status:

sudo ufw status

If ufw was not enabled the output would be:

sudo ufw status
Status: inactive

Step 4 : Enable SSH

Secure Shell (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol used for an encrypted connection between a client and a server.

You can enable the SSH server for one or both computers, but the SSH client creates a secure connection only to the machine that have the SSH server daemon (sshd) running.

Check out the tutorial How to setup and use SSH Server on Linux to see it in detail.

Step 5 : Use SFTP

For file transfer you can use FileZilla, that runs in server and client versions in different platforms (including Windows, Mac and Linux). Or, if you are using Linux or Mac, SFTP is a good choice.

SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) is a secure file protocol that is used to access, manage, and transfer files over an encrypted SSH connection. SFTP works on a client-server model.

Check out my tutorials on how to connect using SFTP and FilleZilla.

In this tutorial scenario, open a SFTP connection to the other computer: use the sftp command followed by the username and the IP address:

sftp demo@192.168.1.2

You will be prompted to enter the user password. Once connected, you will be presented with the sftp prompt, and you can start interacting with the remote server:

Connected to demo@192.168.1.2
sftp>

Use get to download files and put to upload.

sftp> get remote_file.txt
Fetching /home/demo/remote_file.txt to remote_file.txt
sftp> put local_file.txt
Uploading local_file.txt to /home/demo/local_file.txt

Conclusion

In this tutorial you learned how to use a crossover cable to connect two computers running Linux and transfer data using SFTP.

How to setup and use SSH Server on Linux

Livia Lima — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 17:55:56 +0000

Server side : Install OpenSSH

Debian / Ubuntu : sudo apt-get install openssh-server

RHEL / CentOS / Fedora : sudo dnf install openssh-server

Server side : Enable/Start the SSH service

SysVinit : sudo /etc/init.d/sshd start

SystemD :

sudo systemctl enable sshd
sudo systemctl start sshd

If unsure of what which system manager your distro uses, try this:

pidof systemd && echo "systemd" || echo "sysvinit"

Client side : Install OpenSSH or other SSH client

OpenSSH client is commonly found already installed in most distros, but here are the steps in case it isn't. You can also use Putty as it is very popular and user-friendly.

Debian / Ubuntu : sudo apt-get install openssh-client

RHEL / CentOS / Fedora : sudo dnf install openssh-client

Test it

Try to login into the server using ssh user@server-name

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to install the OpenSSH server application and how to connect to that using a SSH client.

How to turn an old PC into a NAS server

Livia Lima — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 20:57:50 +0000

Do you have an old computer laying around your house and want to give it a purpose? Why not use it for storage? This is a tutorial on how to install FreeNAS and share a drive with Windows.

https://youtu.be/M7JOb0R84EU

Step 1 : Check your hardware resources

On Windows:

Click the Start button and choose Settings (it's the gear-shaped icon above the power icon).
Click "System."
Click "About."

Step 2 : Find a distro that suits you

Go to DistroWatch
Click "Search"
On Distribution category, select "NAS"
On Status, select "Active"
Click "Submit Query"

You will receive a list with the currently active distributions that are focused on NAS, such as FreeNAS, EasyNAS, OpenMediaVault. Take your time to know the hardware requirements and features for each distro, and compare to your old computer resources. The more you have to use, the easier it is to choose.

Step 3 : Create a bootable flash drive

Once you have the ISO image downloaded, you need to create a bootable drive to proceed for installation. There are several options in this realm: Rufus, UNetbootin, ImageWriter... the list goes on.

My personal favorite is dd, a staple in Linux distros everywhere (/dev/sdb being the USB drive):

sudo dd if=distro.iso of=/dev/sdb

Step 4 : Installation

My pick was FreeNAS but the installation process is pretty much the same for the other NAS distros.

On installer menu:

Press Enter to select the default option, "Install/Upgrade"
A minimum of 8 GiB of RAM is required and the installer will present a warning message if less than 8 GiB is detected. However , for domestic sharing with very low volume of requests, or no RAID, 8GiB is good but not necessary.
Use the arrow keys to highlight the destination SSD, hard drive, USB stick, or virtual disk. If you only have one hard drive, please get at least an USB stick for the system. Drives selected at this stage cannot be used for data later. Press the spacebar to select and press Enter.
Set the root password.
Choose UEFI or BIOS booting, depending on how old your computer is. Most UEFI systems can also boot in BIOS mode if CSM (Compatibility Support Module) is enabled in the UEFI setup screens.
Installation complete! Press Enter to return to Installer Menu and press Enter on "Reboot System".

Step 5 : Create a shared volume

First access the WebGUI by typing the server IP address (provided at the end of installation) on a browser, and login with root.

Go to Storage Pools and click ADD. Select Create new pool and click CREATE POOL
Enter a name for the pool in the Name field
From the Available Disks section, select disks to add to the pool.
After selecting disks, click the right arrow to add them to the Data VDevs section.
Click CREATE. A dialog shows a reminder that all disk contents will be erased. Click Confirm, then CREATE POOL to create the pool.
Click Sharing Windows (SMB Shares), then ADD.
Select path of the pool created.
Enable Allow Guest Access.
Press SAVE.
When prompted to enable SMB service, click "Enable SMB"

Creating a regular user is a good idea to avoid using root to access the volume remotely.

Step 6 : Access the volume

On Windows:

Open File Explorer.
Select Map network drive.
Select the Drive Letter that you want from the Drive list.
Enter the path to the storage in the Folder field.
Select the Connect using different credentials option.
You can select the Reconnect at logon check box to automatically reconnect to the storage.
Click the Finish to complete the mapping process. When you are prompted for credentials,
Enter the NAS user name in the user name field.
Enter the NAS password in the password field.
Click OK

Done! Enjoy your new NAS. :)

How to setup GNS3 on a remote server

Livia Lima — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 20:59:28 +0000

https://youtu.be/JZQOX3Bj9dY

Step Zero : Requirements

An AWS account
A local GNS3 installation
A local OpenVPN installation
A SSH client of your choice

DISCLAIMER: I've made this tutorial using linux.

Step 1 : Launch an EC2 instance

Launch a Linux instance:

Navigate to EC2 in the AWS Console.
Click Launch Instance.
Select a free-tier eligible Ubuntu image.
Click Next - leave the Instance Type panel as is.
Click Next - leave the Instance Details panel as is.
Click Next - leave the Storage panel as is.
Click Add Tag. Set key to Name and value to the name you choose to your instance. (Optional step)
Click Next.

Create a Security Group:

Assign a security group: Create a new security group
Set the security group name and description as you choose.
SSH connection for admin
Type: SSH
Protocol: TCP
Port Range: 22
Source: My IP
Description: (optional)
OpenVPN connection port
Type: Custom UDP
Protocol: UDP
Port Range: 1194
Source: My IP
Description: (optional)
Port to serve VPN config file
Type: Custom TCP
Protocol: TCP
Port Range: 8003
Source: My IP
Description: (optional)
Click Review and Launch.
Click Launch.

Create a Key Pair:

Select: Create a new key pair
Set the key pair name as you choose.
Click Download Key Pair
Click Launch Instances

Connect to instance:

Back to EC2 Instances panel in the AWS Console.
Select the instance.
Click Connect.
Connection method: A standalone SSH client
Change the keypair file permissions to Only Owner Read/Write as follows:

chmod 400 my-key-pair.pem

Or, if you are using Windows:

[File] Properties - Security - Advanced
Set Owner to the key's user
Remove all users, groups, and services, except for the key's user, under Permission Entries
Set key's user to Full Control

At the SSH client of your choice, input the details provided.

User name ubuntu
Target: Public DNS

Example:

ssh -i my-key-pair.pem ubuntu@server-public-dns

Step 2 : Install OpenVPN and GNS3 on the instance

Download/Install GNS3:

Inside the server: sudo su
Install the GNS3 as instructed by the Installation Guide

cd /tmp
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GNS3/gns3-server/master/scripts/remote-install.sh > gns3-remote-install.sh
bash gns3-remote-install.sh --with-openvpn --with-iou --with-i386-repository

Restart the server for the installation to take effect: reboot now

Step 3 : Config your OpenVPN client and open the VPN tunnel

Config OpenVPN client:

SSH back to the server, copy and download the config file provided by the OpenVPN server to your local machine.

Run OpenVPN client:

At your local machine, run OpenVPN client using the file dowloaded:

sudo openvpn config-file.ovpn

Step 5 : Config your GNS3 client

Find the tunnel IP address; at the server:

ip addr | grep tun

ip addr list all the IP addresses.
grep tun filters the result of 'ip addr' and shows only the records with 'tun' (as in tunnel) in it.

Config remote main server:

Open your local GNS3 client.
Click Edit ; Preferences ; Server
Uncheck "Enable local server"
Host: the tunnel IP address
Port: 3080

Step 6 : Enjoy!

Now you have the GNS3 installed and ready to go!

Step 7 : But before you go... save your work!(and some money)

Don't leave your instance running without any purpose. Save your instance (all configured and tweaked) to use it whenever you're up to lab again.

Create an AMI:

Back to EC2 Instances panel in the AWS Console.
Select the instance.
Click Actions ; Image ; Create Image

Your AMIs will be available on the EC2 Images panel in the AWS Console.

Don't forget to terminate your instance!

Back to EC2 Instances panel in the AWS Console.
Select the instance.
Click Actions ; Instance State ; Terminate
Click Yes, Terminate

How to setup Cisco Packet Tracer on a remote server

Livia Lima — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 20:56:59 +0000

https://youtu.be/JZQOX3Bj9dY

Step Zero : Requirements

An AWS account
A Cisco Network Academy account
A RDP client of your choice

Step 1 : Launch an EC2 instance

Launch a Windows instance:

Navigate to EC2 in the AWS Console.
Click Launch Instance.
Select a free-tier eligible Windows image.
Click Next - leave the Instance Type panel as is.
Click Next - leave the Instance Details panel as is.
Click Next - leave the Storage panel as is.
Click Add Tag. Set key to Name and value to the name you choose to your instance. (Optional step)
Click Next.

Create a Security Group:

Assign a security group: Create a new security group
Set the security group name and description as you choose.
Type: RDP
Protocol: TCP
Port Range: 3389
Source: My IP
Description: (optional)
Click Review and Launch.
Click Launch.

Create a Key Pair:

Select: Create a new key pair
Set the key pair name as you choose.
Click Download Key Pair
Click Launch Instances

Connect to instance:

Back to EC2 Instances panel in the AWS Console.
Select the instance.
Click Connect.
Connection method: A standalone RDP client
At the RDP client of your choice, input the details provided.
Target: Public DNS
User name Administrator
Password: Click Get Password
Key Pair Path: Click Browse to select the keypair downloaded on the previous step.
Click Decrypt Password
Connect.

Step 2 : Install Cisco Packet Tracer on the instance

Download/Install Cisco Packet Tracer:

Inside the server, open a browser and login to: netacad.com
Click Resources
Click Download Packet Tracer
Download the Windows 64 Bit version.
Run the file downloaded.
Accept the agreement. Click Next ; Next ; Next ; Next ; Install ; Finish

Step 3 : Enjoy!

Now you have the Cisco Packet Tracer installed and ready to go!

Step 4 : But before you go... save your work!(and some money)

Don't leave your instance running without any purpose. Save your instance (all configured and tweaked) to use it whenever you're up to lab again.

Save your files:

Install the AWS CLI as instructed on the User Guide

Create a S3 bucket:

aws s3 mb s3://mybucket/

Upload the files to the bucket:

aws s3 cp local-file s3://mybucket/

You can also pull files from the bucket:

aws s3 cp s3://mybucket/remote-file /local-folder/

Create an AMI

Back to EC2 Instances panel in the AWS Console.
Select the instance.
Click Actions ; Image ; Create Image

Your AMIs will be available on the EC2 Images panel in the AWS Console.

Don't forget to terminate your instance!

Back to EC2 Instances panel in the AWS Console.
Select the instance.
Click Actions ; Instance State ; Terminate
Click Yes, Terminate