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@shollyethan@fosstodon.org · Apr 17, 2026
Self-Host Weekly (17 April 2026) #Whoogle goes dark, software updates and launches, a spotlight on #Transmute -- a file conversion platform, and more in this week's #selfhosted recap! https://selfh.st/weekly/2026-04-17 #selfhost #selfhosted #opensource #foss #homelab #devos #sysadmin #fediverse #newsletter #privacy #smarthome #development #allbirds #ai #photos #software #app #apps #nextcloud #cloudflare
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@mwl@io.mwl.io · Apr 15, 2026
The big problem with my hip keyboard is that I have to reach up and away to touch the mouse. Annoying. Solution? My mouse rings have finally arrived. #sysadmin nerd diagnosis: terminal. (ETA: https://proloring.com/ -- not yet recommending because I haven't yet played with them much, but folks are asking so there you go.)
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@Larvitz@burningboard.net · Apr 14, 2026
Funny deadlock situation... I’ve reached peak security on my remote MikroTik Router (AS201379). By "peak security," I mean I’ve successfully locked everyone out - including myself. SSH, WWW, and WinBox are dark. Even the Hypervisor management is trapped behind the router's new, very effective, accidental firewall rules. The data plane is running perfectly, which is the ultimate taunt. See you tomorrow for the 80-mile "Serial Cable Walk of Shame" to the datacenter. This is a brutal reminder that the "Safe Mode" button in WinBox isn't just a feature. It’s a lifeline. #sysadmin #mikrotik #networking #fail #AS201379 #PacketPushers
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@Larvitz@mastodon.bsd.cafe · Apr 14, 2026

Latest quarterly FreeBSD package upgrade broke my Nextcloud 😮‍💨

Post mortem: The new version of php85-pdo_pgsql is now compiled against PostgreSQL 18, not 17. So pkg upgrade removed postgresql17-server, leaving Nextcloud dysfunctional without a database.

Solution:

  • Reinstalled postgresql17-server
  • Dumped the db with pg_dump
  • Installed postgresql18-server & php85-pdo_pgsql
  • Copied over pg_hba.conf & postgresql.conf
  • Created empty db/user in PG18
  • Imported the db dump
  • Ran occ maintenance:data-fingerprint

Restarted php-fpm & nginx

All fine again. But that was unpleasant 🙂

#SysAdmin #SelfHosted #FreeBSD #Nextcloud #Postgresql

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@Andi@acn.social · Apr 13, 2026
I am testing out / researching bundle packages for VPS deployment and I realized I haven't looked into Backup solutions in a while. What free open source backup software would you recommend and what newer ones have you heard about? If portable even better. #backup #server #sysadmin #opensource #vps #cyberSecurity #infoSec #cloud #homelab
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@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe · Apr 13, 2026
My week starts with a request: "I need a server to deploy to production, but the devs have no idea how to do it. They don't know how to use the terminal, they don’t know how to handle certificates, nothing. They need to be able to click a few buttons and deploy directly to production. They're Vibe Coding experts." Welcome to 2026. #SysAdmin #IT
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@Larvitz@burningboard.net · Apr 12, 2026
3-2-1-1-1 Backup Rule (Apocalypse Edition) 3 Backups 2 Different media 1 Offsite backup 1 Backup in an Arctic vault 1 Extra-planetary backup Because if your data doesn't survive a meteor strike, did you even have a backup strategy? #SysAdmin #BackupRule #DataHoarding #DisasterRecovery #InfoSec
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@Larvitz@burningboard.net · Apr 12, 2026
A FreeBSD jail should be small. Installing Python into every jail just so your config management can run is the tail wagging the dog. I wrote two tiny wrappers to plug cdist directly into jexec on the host. The result? Full configuration management that asks for nothing but POSIX sh inside the jail itself. Zero daemons. Zero agents. https://blog.hofstede.it/automating-freebsd-jails-with-cdist-zero-dependencies-inside-the-jail/ My cdist-jexec connection plugin scripts: https://codeberg.org/Larvitz/jexec-cdist #FreeBSD #Jails #Unix #SysAdmin #cdist #DevOps
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@pheonix@hachyderm.io · Apr 12, 2026
Is this something IT people deal with regularly? Or is this an outlier? 🤔 #askfedi #sysadmin #it #technology #email #techsupport #linux #windows
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@Larvitz@burningboard.net · Mar 28, 2026

I wrote up my entire backup strategy for my across FreeBSD and Linux:

  • ZFS snapshots with sanoid
  • Off-site replication via syncoid to rsync.net (encrypted at rest)
  • Proxmox Backup Server fronting Backblaze B2 for VMs
  • A Podman trick for backing up RHEL hosts without native packages
  • Dead man’s switch monitoring
  • Quarterly restore tests recorded with asciinema

Real configs included.

https://blog.hofstede.it/my-multi-stage-backup-strategy-zfs-proxmox-and-paranoia/

#backup #zfs #freebsd #linux #proxmox #sysadmin #selfhosted

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Boosted by Charlie Stross @cstross@wandering.shop
@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe · Mar 18, 2026
I just finished an amazing call. The person I was talking to was trying to explain to me that Docker is an entire operating system, so he doesn’t want Linux or any of the BSDs, but Docker. I explained that, in order to run Docker, you need a kernel. "No, you don't. Docker does everything on its own. If you think that, then you don’t really understand operating systems." I told the guy that I couldn’t help him, since I'm not experienced enough with operating systems. He was a bit disappointed, but we said goodbye on friendly terms. I'm used to recognizing when I'm too ignorant for the person I'm talking to, and I'm happy to step aside. #IT #SysAdmin
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@wendythedruid@thistlenfern.org · Mar 09, 2026
@dfx@techhub.social It shocks me that there are groups of #sysadmin that still have to administer to #windows #311 machines, and manage them (mainly point of sale machines from my understanding), but still. Blows the mind.
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@musicmatze@social.linux.pizza · Mar 06, 2026

Okay, this is weird.

I am seeing tailscaled spiking up to 250% CPU usage every other minute, with up to 60 MBit/s outgoing traffic on the tailscale0 interface… and on the wg0 interface I see the same amount of traffic during that period.

I now disabled wireguard and the issue is gone.

But I have absolutely NO idea why this is happening, what causes it, and why it (seemingly) suddenly started - I did not have this issue earlier today. All I did in between was update the unstable channel, but all packages involved here (tailscale, wireguard) are from stable. So… 🤔 I am at loss…

#tailscale #wireguard #linux #linuxnetworking #networking #sysadmin #nixos

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@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe · Mar 06, 2026
Another report forwarded to me by a client saying "your website is insecure because it accepts outdated encryption protocols" - naturally passed along to them by third parties. Yes, it accepts them. But it's a static website that simply provides some information about the company. Nothing critical, nothing dynamic. No data is exchanged. There is no login. We had already tightened everything up a few months ago (for me it's literally a one-line change), but they later told me that some visitors could no longer access the site and asked me to revert it. Probably older devices, but there are plenty of those out there. I know organizations that still use Windows 7, and I still occasionally see some XP clients around. So now I explained to the client that we have two possible choices: accept the "risk" (which, frankly, I'm not entirely sure what it would be, since even if someone decrypted the traffic they would see nothing that isn’t already visible by simply visiting the page normally), or lock it down again, potentially cutting off some devices, just like what happened a few months ago. The choice is theirs. We’ll see! #SysAdmin #IT
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@Larvitz__dup_34529@burningboard.net · Mar 02, 2026
New series: FreeBSD Foundationals Part 1 is about Jails - specifically VNET Jails. What epair interfaces actually are (virtual ethernet cables), how bridges tie them together, why the host is basically a router for your jails, and what devfs rulesets control. Covers the full lifecycle from jail.conf through pf firewalling with NAT/RDR for IPv4 and direct routing for IPv6. Plus the gotchas that'll cost you hours if nobody warns you. Not a beginner tutorial, hardcore details. The useful middle. https://blog.hofstede.it/freebsd-foundationals-jails-from-chroot-on-steroids-to-full-virtual-networks/ #Unix #FreeBSD #Networking #Jails #DevOps #SelfHosting #Sysadmin
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@rysiek@mstdn.social · Mar 02, 2026
Heads up for any folks using @hetzner@mastodon.hetzner.social: scammers seem to be trying to exploit the recent bump in pricing by sending "unpaid invoice notification" e-mails. Easy to fall for it before morning coffee. "Update Payment Method" link obviously leads to a scam site, so not particularly hard to spot either. Be careful out there. :blobcatcoffee: P.S. yes I am aware of the shitty ways Hetzner treated a bunch of fedi instances; this is not a recommendation. #Hetzner #InfoSec #SysAdmin
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@Larvitz__dup_34529@burningboard.net · Feb 27, 2026
New post: Neovim Crash Course for Sysadmins Not a beginner's guide. This covers the things you still get wrong after years of Vim - efficient navigation, why your paste lands in the wrong place (and the one-key fix), YAML indentation workflows, quick macros, and what Neovim's LSP actually gives you for infrastructure work. Written for people who edit configs and playbooks all day. https://blog.hofstede.it/neovim-crash-course-for-sysadmins-the-20-that-solve-80-of-the-pain/ #neovim #vim #sysadmin #devops #linux #ansible #yaml
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@Larvitz__dup_34529@burningboard.net · Feb 26, 2026

I just published a new guide on evolving a single BGP router into a multi-homed, two-PoP network using FreeBSD, FRR, and PF.

  • Native peering on Vultr + 3 GRE transits
  • Tying it together with iBGP
  • Why stateful firewalls break asymmetric transit (and how to fix it)

All for ~€18/mo.

Read it here: https://blog.hofstede.it/running-your-own-as-going-multi-homed-with-ibgp-and-three-transits/

#FreeBSD #BGP #IPv6 #Networking #Sysadmin #FRR #Homelab

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@scuttlebutt@farticle.cloud · Feb 21, 2026
At the start of the pandemic, I had already working from home for about six years and was very comfortable with the video meetings. The majority of the company was new to it though, and when I attended some meeting outside of my usual group it was a revelation for many that you could have fun with it. Most didn't know about having custom backgrounds etc. #sysadmin #videoconference #IDGAF #decorum #hijinx
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@Larvitz__dup_34529@burningboard.net · Feb 12, 2026
Stop running setenforce 0 and pretending SELinux doesn't exist. I wrote a practical guide to actually working with SELinux on Fedora and RHEL: Contexts, booleans, troubleshooting denials, container volume labels, and the commands you'll actually use. No policy theory rabbit holes. Just the stuff that gets you unstuck. https://blog.hofstede.it/selinux-a-practical-guide-for-fedora-and-rhel/ #SELinux #Fedora #RHEL #Linux #sysadmin #infosec #itsec
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