iSCSI

Just some experiments I made with iSCSI. If you want to use iSCSI in a productive environment, make sure to set up a dedicated network for your iSCSI traffic. And maybe don't use your wireless network for iSCSI. This article covers the following topics:

• Basic Setup
• Reduce access to a specific IP
  
• Incoming user from Initiator to Target
  
• Add initiator name for access control
  
• Automatic lun import on startup
  

NanoPi Duo2 with IoT-Box & GSM/GPRS modem in Armbian

For a longer time I own the NanoPi Duo2 from FriendlyARM including the IoT-Box Carrier Board. The specs of the NanoPi Duo2 and IoT-Box are as follows:

NanoPi Duo2:

• CPU: Allwinner H3, Quad-core Cortex-A7 Up to 1.2GHz
• DDR3 RAM: 512M
• Connectivity: 10/100M Ethernet
• WiFi: 802.11b/g/n
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth V4.0 of 1, 2 and 3 Mbps.
• Camera: OV5640
• ...

IoT-Box Carrier Board:

• Onboard quad-band GSM/GPRS module
• 2 x USB Host
• Serial port and Ethernet port
• Audio input and output
• MicroUSB power input and a power switch
• IPX to SMA WiFi converter

A lot of features are not accessable from the board itself like the ethernet port. One of the reason I also bought the IoT-Box. Another nice feature of the IoT-Box is the GSM/GPRS module (SIM800C), which will be the main focus of this article.

bacula: cannot restore without a bootstrap file

After a long time I decided to install and work with bacula again. After installation, configuration and running some jobs, I tried to restore a backup from the night. The result was the following:

...
05-Nov 07:56 bacula-dir JobId 11: Fatal error: Cannot restore without a bootstrap file.
You probably ran a restore job directly. All restore jobs must be run using the restore command.
...

Convert CDI to ISO

Today I was confronted with an "rare" format for CD images: CDI
Of course I needed the content from that disc but CDI is not really supported under linux and burning a small CD image for just copying some files one time was no option. So I searched a little on the internet how to deal with CDI files under linux. With iat I found a little neat program to convert CDI to ISO files. Under Armbian it has to be installed first:

OMV: Locked users overview

Since a few months I received the following mail from OMV (4.1.35-1 / Arrakis) powered NAS:

Subject:
[nas01.karellen.local] Locked users overview

Updating the timezone

Today I was facing the issue, that my media center didn't show the right time. Instead it was always two hours back. The actual time was 08:42:1, while my media center showed this:

# date

Tue May 12 06:42:17 UTC 2020

vnstat file permissions

Today I had to install vnstat on a CentOS VM, which gave me a little headache. The CentOS release is the following:

# cat /etc/centos-release
CentOS Linux release 7.6.1810 (Core)

dreamcast.local VIII - Skies Of Arcadia

A couple of days a new/old game arrived - Skies Of Arcadia! When the game came out, I never had a chance to play it. So I bought a copy and when it arrives, the first thing that cought my eye was the cover which states: "onlinefunctions". The offered online functions are limited to the official website. I couldn't find a copy of the website but some downladable content, so let's get the downloadable content running again with the Dreamcast server project!

dreamcast.local VII - Uploads and Downloads

Uploading files from your Dreamcast the Dreamcast server sounds easy, but it is not. Downloading files from the Dreamcast server also sounds easy, but it is also not. With this article I will explain the major pitfalls and how to avoid them.

dreamcast.local VI - ChuChu Rocket!

Just like my prior article about Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2, I will split this article into two parts. The first part will be focusing on the website again, while the second part will focus on the game and how to go online with it again. One note about online gaming with ChuChu Rocket!: this time I will show you how to setup your own ChuChu Rocket! game server with the software from Shuouma.

dreamcast.local V - Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2

With my prior articles about my little dreamcast.local project, you are now set to get back online with Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2. Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 has a very good chance to be one of my all-time-favorite games, at least on the Dreamcast it is. There are two ways going online with Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2:

1. Visit the website, which is offline
2. Play the game online, but the official servers are offline too

dreamcast.local IV - Routing

To connect your Dreamcast to the ineternet again, you need to activate routing from your ppp0 (172.16.12.1) device to your eth0 (192.168.3.1) device on the Dreamcast server. Start by checking if routing is activated in your kernel:

# sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 0

dreamcast.local III - Webserver with Nginx

In part III of this mini-series I will show you how to install Nginx on your Dreamcast server and how to use it with your Dreamcast. Start by install Nginx first:

# apt install nginx
...

dreamcast.local II - DNS

As I stated in the first article, I have setup a dedicated domain called dreamcast.local. To do the same, you need to install bind first:

# apt install bind9
...

dreamcast.local I - Basic connection

In this mini-series I will describe my current project: the Dremacast Server

The Dreamcast is a game console, released by Sega 14. October 1999 in Europe. The Dreamcast was also my first console and I still use it from time to time.
Besides a lot of great games, the Dreamcast has a build in analog modem, which would allow you to connect your Dreamcast to the internet and play games online with your friends. Of course, most services and websites are not available anymore, why I have decided to start this small project.

Nginx server_names_hash_bucket_size

Today I installed nginx to support multiple Server Blocks/Virtual Hosts. When I configured the second or third Server Block and restarted Nginx, I encountered the following error:

# systemctl start nginx
Job for nginx.service failed because the control process exited with error code.
See "systemctl status nginx.service" and "journalctl -xe" for details.

Adblock with BIND DNS

If you're annoyed as me, watching all these advertisement when surfing the web, then this article might be something for you. In this article I will explain how to modify BIND to use as an Adblocker.

Orange Pi Zero NAS

Today my Orange Pi Zero with the NAS Extension Board arrived and I decided immediatly to setup it up as a very minor NAS. So here is what I am using:

Orange Pi Zero with an Allwinner H2+ and 512MB RAM
NAS Extension Board with 1x SATA and 1x mSATA
Adata SP310 128GB mSATA
Samsung Evo 840 250GB SATA

DIY Digital Photo Frame

Once I stumbled upon the Orange Pi Zero Plus2, which comes with the following features and is perfect to setup a simple DIY Digital Photo Frame:

CPU: Cortax-A53 (4 64bit cores up to 816 MHz (H5))
Memory: 512MB
EMMC: 8GB
MicroSD Slot, HDMI, WIFI and more

TFA SINUS + te923tool

I have a small weather station, a TFA SINUS. Last year, I started to capture the data from the weather station. To do so, I needed a software that can communicate with the weather station. And that is where te923tool comes in handy.

In this article I will explain, how to install the te923tool and how to run it.