Restic is a modern backup program with support for encryption and deduplication. As we saw in this tutorial, Restic is easy to use, but it doesn’t make use of a configuration file, and doesn’t natively include a method to orchestrate and organize multiple backups. That is where autorestic comes in handy: it is a wrapper around Restic which let us configure and orchestrate backups in a single yaml configuration file, specifying multiple sources (locations) and destinations (backends).
System Administration
How to Fix: Too Many Levels of Symbolic Links Error
The error “Too many levels of symbolic links” typically indicates a problem where a symbolic link points back to itself directly or indirectly, creating an infinite loop. This loop prevents the completion of operations involving the symlink such as reading or listing contents. Understanding how to properly use the ln command in Linux to create symbolic links is crucial for preventing this error.
How to fix: The requested nginx plugin does not appear to be installed
Encountering an error stating “the requested NGINX plugin does not appear to be installed” can be a stumbling block when setting up or configuring your web server. This issue often arises during the installation of Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates using Certbot or when configuring certain modules within NGINX. Fortunately, with a systematic approach, this problem can be resolved efficiently.
How to mount USB drive in Linux
Mounting USB drive is no different than mounting USB stick or even a regular SATA drive. The video example below will illustrate the entire process of mounting USB drive on Linux system. To gain more understanding, read the subsequent paragraphs. In Linux, you can mount all file systems including ext4, FAT, and NTFS.
Setting Up a Linux Intrusion Detection System with AIDE
An intrusion detection system (IDS) is an important security tool for system administrators. Its purpose is to notify us whenever it detects that a potential intrusion has occurred. When an attacker compromises a system, one of the first things they will usually do is attempt to change file permissions, attempt to escalate to the root user account, or start modifying system files. The IDS is configured to monitor for these changes and make us aware of them if they occur.
How to use Raspberry Pi to monitor network traffic
There are a plethora of tools available for the Raspberry Pi that system administrators can use to monitor network traffic. Newer Raspberry Pi models even come with a built in WiFi chip in addition to the traditional Ethernet port, giving us even more options for connecting to networks and monitoring traffic. Network monitoring can be useful for troubleshooting connectivity problems or identifying bottlenecks that are slowing down connections.
Set up Raspberry Pi as Router
The Raspberry Pi can be a great choice if you want to implement a customizable router for your home network. Rather than paying big bucks for a router which is not as configurable due to its proprietary software, the Raspberry Pi can be transformed into a router while retaining its default Linux operating system, with which system administrators are very familiar. Firewall rules and network monitoring are made easy when all of the traffic is passing through the Raspberry Pi instead of a locked down router.
Raspberry Pi 4 enable UART
Among the GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi are two that are capable of UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter). UART is a serial connection which, when utilized on the Raspberry Pi, can send data between the Raspberry Pi and an external device. It is one of simplest connection types available on Raspberry Pi, which means it is easy to use but also more limited in functionality.
How to get free SSL/TLS certificates with Let’s Encrypt and Certbot
Let’s Encrypt is a Certificate Authority which is able to create and release free SSL/TLS certificates we can use to enable encryption and secure our websites. All the biggest hosting providers allow their customers to request Let’s Encrypt certificates in a user-friendly way, via administration panels like Cpanel or Plesk. If we have SSH access to a remote host, however, we can obtain a Let’s Encrypt certificate from the command line, by using Certbot. In this article, we learn how to install Certbot on the most used Linux distributions, and how to use it to obtain and manage valid Let’s Encrypt certificates.
Building a “Hello World” AppImage on Linux
AppImage is a format for distributing portable software on Linux without needing superuser permissions to install the application. It allows developers to package desktop applications in a way that they can run on various Linux distributions. This tutorial demonstrates how to build a basic “Hello World” AppImage, providing a straightforward example of how to bundle and distribute software in the Linux ecosystem.
Configuring APT sources.list: A Quick Reference Guide for Debian Systems
When working with Debian systems, it’s crucial to have the right APT sources.list configuration for accessing software packages. This is especially true in situations where you’re setting up a new system, recovering from a failure, or maintaining older versions of Debian. The APT sources.list file tells the Advanced Package Tool (APT) where to fetch packages from. This guide aims to provide a quick reference for setting up the APT sources.list on various Debian systems, covering both current and archived versions. It’s important to note that when Debian versions are no longer supported, their repositories are moved to an archive status. In such cases, it is necessary to update the sources.list file by replacing the ‘deb’ URLs with ‘archive’ URLs to continue accessing packages.
How to stream video on Raspberry Pi
A Raspberry Pi can have a myriad of specialized uses, and streaming live video is one of them. There are multiple camera models sold for the Raspberry Pi, which you can browse over at the official website. These cameras plug in via ribbon cable directly to the board of the Raspberry Pi, and then it is an easy set up to stream the video or take still pictures from the camera.