• Linux and Fido

    From Karel Kral@2:423/39 to All on Sun Feb 2 17:29:56 2020
    Hello everybody!

    For a while I am trying to find the perfect (= cheapest) way to host fidonet (not cosidering BBS, just mailer, tosser, editor and maybe fileecho gadget).

    To have running OS/2 or Win/DOS machine somewhere - looks to me odd.
    (do not have modem anyway)

    OK, Linux then - and hosted (VPS). (can read Echo via putty, mainly via ConnectBot)

    Ended with Golded, Crashmail, Binkd (and Htick).

    VPS: very depens if online presence is needed or - just time to time run VPS and process messages. To me offline is enough (thank to my uplink).

    Offline: I found KVM hosted VPS for 0.50 EUR/month. Currently playing with Microsoft Azure Cloud (looks 0,25EUR/month).

    Online: for 1 year there is for free B1S VM (plus free 64GB HDD) - also on Microsoft Azure Subscription (= 0 EUR/month for a while)

    Did somebody similar research? (any recommendation?)

    Karel

    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20180707
    * Origin: Plast DATA (2:423/39)
  • From Alexey Vissarionov@2:5020/545 to Karel Kral on Sun Feb 2 23:58:00 2020
    Good ${greeting_time}, Karel!

    02 Feb 2020 17:30:56, you wrote to All:

    For a while I am trying to find the perfect (= cheapest) way to host fidonet (not cosidering BBS, just mailer, tosser, editor and maybe fileecho gadget).
    OK, Linux then - and hosted (VPS).

    Or VDS.

    (can read Echo via putty, mainly via ConnectBot)

    A pale shadow of a full-flavoured xterm-compatible terminal running SSH...

    Ended with Golded, Crashmail, Binkd (and Htick).

    Drop out crashmail, use HPT instead.

    VPS: very depens if online presence is needed or - just time to time
    run VPS and process messages. To me offline is enough (thank to my uplink).

    Once you have a VPS or VDS running, it may serve even as a network host.

    Offline: I found KVM hosted VPS

    KVM-based virtual machines are VDSes.

    for 0.50 EUR/month.

    Good price. Where?

    Currently playing with Microsoft Azure Cloud (looks 0,25EUR/month).

    When you see the word "cloud", be careful: those people want to fool you.

    Online: for 1 year there is for free B1S VM (plus free 64GB HDD) -
    also on Microsoft Azure Subscription (= 0 EUR/month for a while)

    You pay with your data then.

    Did somebody similar research? (any recommendation?)

    Generally, any < 1 EUR/month VM would be more than enough for a Fidonet node (and, if necessary, some additional functions).


    --
    Alexey V. Vissarionov aka Gremlin from Kremlin
    gremlin.ru!gremlin; +vii-cmiii-ccxxix-lxxix-xlii

    ... that's why I really dislike fools.
    --- /bin/vi
    * Origin: http://openwall.com/Owl (2:5020/545)
  • From Kai Richter@2:240/77 to Karel Kral on Mon Feb 3 01:40:40 2020
    Hello Karel!

    02 Feb 20, Karel Kral wrote to All:

    For a while I am trying to find the perfect (= cheapest) way to host fidonet (not cosidering BBS, just mailer, tosser, editor

    Which environment does exist already? Do you have a permanent internet connection available?

    (do not have modem anyway)

    Wow. No DSL-Modem? No Cablemodem? But with hardwired IP connection why do you need a cloud server??

    VPS: very depens if online presence is needed or - just time to time
    run VPS and process messages. To me offline is enough (thank to my uplink).

    Your node is listed with the CM flag, indicating crashmail capabilities and accepting mail 24h a day. See nodelist:

    ;S The following flags define special operating conditions:
    ;S Flag Meaning
    ;S CM Node accepts mail 24 hours a day

    Running that node offline is annoying behavior. The minimum requirement for a node is accepting netmail in the zone mail hour. There are nodelistflags if you need to accept mails outside the official ZMH. Normally the NC should help the nodes to find the correct nodelist flags. If you can't stay online please consider changing to a point AKA. Points do not need to be online or accept incoming calls, they just poll to get the new mail from their uplink node and that's it.

    Offline: I found KVM hosted VPS for 0.50 EUR/month. Currently playing
    with Microsoft Azure Cloud (looks 0,25EUR/month).

    If it's cheap you are the product. Why don't you get a raspberry pi and setup your point on that? Should work with raspian or FreeBSD. You keep control over your system and data.

    (any recommendation?)

    See above, get a point number.

    Regards

    Kai

    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.4.7
    * Origin: Monobox (2:240/77)
  • From Alexey Vissarionov@2:5020/545 to Kai Richter on Mon Feb 3 10:03:00 2020
    Good ${greeting_time}, Kai!

    03 Feb 2020 01:40:40, you wrote to Karel Kral:

    (do not have modem anyway)
    Wow. No DSL-Modem? No Cablemodem?

    No POTS-modem, I'd guess.

    Offline: I found KVM hosted VPS for 0.50 EUR/month. Currently
    playing with Microsoft Azure Cloud (looks 0,25EUR/month).
    If it's cheap you are the product. Why don't you get a raspberry
    pi and setup your point on that?

    RPi is approx. 60 EUR - that would be quite enough to run a 1 EUR/month VM (either VPS or even VDS) for 5 years.

    Should work with raspian or FreeBSD.

    Neither of these could be used for a sensitive system.

    You keep control over your system and data.

    Yes, that's a strong advantage.


    --
    Alexey V. Vissarionov aka Gremlin from Kremlin
    gremlin.ru!gremlin; +vii-cmiii-ccxxix-lxxix-xlii

    ... god@universe:~ # cvs up && make world
    --- /bin/vi
    * Origin: http://openwall.com/Owl (2:5020/545)
  • From Gerrit Kuehn@2:240/12 to Alexey Vissarionov on Mon Feb 3 12:30:36 2020
    Hello Alexey!

    03 Feb 20 10:06, Alexey Vissarionov wrote to Kai Richter:

    If it's cheap you are the product. Why don't you get a raspberry
    pi and setup your point on that?

    RPi is approx. 60 EUR - that would be quite enough to run a 1
    EUR/month VM (either VPS or even VDS) for 5 years.

    The point here was that it's affordable enough... anything else is just "cheaper" with all the drawbacks that come with that.

    Should work with raspian or FreeBSD.

    Neither of these could be used for a sensitive system.

    Who wants a sensitive system, anyway? I prefer robust (if not resilient) systems.


    Regards,
    Gerrit

    ... 12:31PM up 15 days, 3:28, 6 users, load averages: 0.44, 0.45, 0.42

    --- Msged/BSD 6.1.2
    * Origin: We are a nation (2:240/12)
  • From Karel Kral@2:423/39 to Alexey Vissarionov on Tue Feb 4 18:32:14 2020
    Hello Alexey!

    03 Feb 20 00:01, you wrote to me:

    Thank you for your reaction. Some quotes with explanations:

    Ended with Golded, Crashmail, Binkd (and Htick).
    Drop out crashmail, use HPT instead.

    I took htick from that project and it was nightmare. Dependency hell. (what to build first, then second, etc.) I will not do it again to myself.

    for 0.50 EUR/month.
    Good price. Where?

    It was https://old.4smart.cz/ - but in Czech. New registrations are stopped, guy is moving to "cloud" and prices are now higher and flat (monthly)

    When you see the word "cloud", be careful: those people want to fool
    you.

    It is that CLI (based on Ubuntu) which I like anyway for managing Azure VM's. Looks like I am first one who put there Fido Point ;-) Cost is just for few MB related to Fido SW. I had to solve CodePage (luit), missing ARJ, DynDNS, ANSI term for Golded...

    You pay with your data then.

    There is some free throughput as well. We will see. For 2 weeks, 0 EUR.

    Generally, any < 1 EUR/month VM would be more than enough for a
    Fidonet node (and, if necessary, some additional functions).

    But where (else)?

    Karel

    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20180707
    * Origin: Plast DATA (2:423/39)
  • From Karel Kral@2:423/39 to Kai Richter on Tue Feb 4 18:39:14 2020
    Hello Kai!

    03 Feb 20 01:40, you wrote to me:

    Thank you for your reaction. Some explanations:

    Wow. No DSL-Modem? No Cablemodem? But with hardwired IP connection why
    do you need a cloud server??

    I ment Analog phone line. I have LTE modem, but very limited (at home).

    Your node is listed with the CM flag, indicating crashmail
    capabilities and accepting mail 24h a day. See nodelist:

    My question has nothing to do with existing Node, which is now placed on standard VPS.

    Running that node offline is annoying behavior. The minimum

    I know what node does mean.

    If it's cheap you are the product. Why don't you get a raspberry pi
    and setup your point on that? Should work with raspian or FreeBSD. You keep control over your system and data.

    Another device at home, poor Internet connection there, need to solve access from outside (from phone during travelling, etc.) This is why I thought about hosted system.

    Karel

    PS: sorry for offtopic. My intention was to ask in Linux area, if somebody is hosting Linux version of Node/Fidopoint and where (focused on cost).

    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20180707
    * Origin: Plast DATA (2:423/39)
  • From Tommi Koivula@2:221/6 to Karel Kral on Tue Feb 4 19:54:36 2020
    Hi Karel.

    04 Feb 20 18:40, you wrote to Kai Richter:

    PS: sorry for offtopic. My intention was to ask in Linux area, if
    somebody is hosting Linux version of Node/Fidopoint and where (focused
    on cost).

    This node runs on Ubuntu in OVH VPS. Costs 3,70 Euros per month. 20GB disk, unlimited traffic, static IPv4 and IPv6.

    Binkd, Hpt/Htick, GoldED ans SmapiNNTPd.

    'Tommi

    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20180707
    * Origin: nntps://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6)
  • From Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to Karel Kral on Tue Feb 4 10:35:30 2020
    Hello Karel,

    PS: sorry for offtopic. My intention was to ask in Linux area, if
    somebody is hosting Linux version of Node/Fidopoint and where (focused
    on cost).

    My node runs in a linode, I use the least expensive option, what they call a nanode. It costs me $5 a month. It includes 25 GB disk space and 1 GB ram and a 1 TB transfer limit that I never come close too.. ;)

    It's enough to run a fido node reliably and has IPv4 and IPv6.

    You can check them out at linode.com.

    Ttyl :-),
    Al

    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20180707
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)
  • From Alexey Vissarionov@2:5020/545 to Karel Kral on Wed Feb 5 00:16:00 2020
    Good ${greeting_time}, Karel!

    04 Feb 2020 18:33:14, you wrote to me:

    Ended with Golded, Crashmail, Binkd (and Htick).
    Drop out crashmail, use HPT instead.
    I took htick from that project and it was nightmare. Dependency hell. (what to build first, then second, etc.) I will not do it again to
    myself.

    If you can't build it (for me that's trivial), you may take pre-built static binary packages from http://download.huskyproject.org/linux/

    for 0.50 EUR/month.
    Good price. Where?
    It was https://old.4smart.cz/ - but in Czech.

    Although our languages (Czech and Russian) are the farthest among all Slavic, reading is not that big problem...

    New registrations are stopped

    ... but this issue really is.

    Generally, any < 1 EUR/month VM would be more than enough for a
    Fidonet node (and, if necessary, some additional functions).
    But where (else)?

    Ughm... generally I recommend looking at https://vds.menu


    --
    Alexey V. Vissarionov aka Gremlin from Kremlin
    gremlin.ru!gremlin; +vii-cmiii-ccxxix-lxxix-xlii

    ... god@universe:~ # cvs up && make world
    --- /bin/vi
    * Origin: http://openwall.com/Owl (2:5020/545)
  • From Kai Richter@2:240/77 to Alexey Vissarionov on Wed Feb 5 03:23:24 2020
    Hello Alexey!

    03 Feb 20, Alexey Vissarionov wrote to Kai Richter:

    (do not have modem anyway)
    Wow. No DSL-Modem? No Cablemodem?

    No POTS-modem, I'd guess.

    I don't like guessing if a long term solution is searched/needed. ;-)

    Should work with raspian or FreeBSD.

    Neither of these could be used for a sensitive system.

    Sorry but i don't understand "sensivite" in that contex.

    My translator found many use cases for that word.
    He is a sensitiv person.
    short reaction time
    a sensitive topic
    highly sensitive data
    environmentally sensitive

    If short time = speed of the system then hey, we're talking about a fidonet node. That's usually a console environment with text based I/O. I did that on a 486/33. The 900MHz of the Rpi should be overkill for FTNs.

    Regards

    Kai

    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.4.7
    * Origin: Monobox (2:240/77)
  • From Kai Richter@2:240/77 to Karel Kral on Wed Feb 5 03:35:58 2020
    Hello Karel!

    04 Feb 20, Karel Kral wrote to Alexey Vissarionov:

    Drop out crashmail, use HPT instead.

    I took htick from that project and it was nightmare. Dependency hell. (what to build first, then second, etc.) I will not do it again to
    myself.

    htick is part of the husky suite. There was a readme for install the suite in the huskybse archive. But i'm not on "latest" release knowledge.

    You pay with your data then.

    There is some free throughput as well.

    You did not understand. You drop fidonet content for data analysis to an unknown company.

    Generally, any < 1 EUR/month VM would be more than enough for a
    Fidonet node (and, if necessary, some additional functions).

    But where (else)?

    How long do you want to use it? After 60 month your 60 Euro Raspi drops below 1 Euro/month. ;-)

    Regards

    Kai

    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.4.7
    * Origin: Monobox (2:240/77)
  • From Kai Richter@2:240/77 to Karel Kral on Wed Feb 5 03:45:58 2020
    Hello Karel!

    04 Feb 20, Karel Kral wrote to Kai Richter:

    I ment Analog phone line. I have LTE modem, but very limited (at
    home).

    Understood. I do know that. Hold the phone out of the roof window...

    My question has nothing to do with existing Node
    I know what node does mean.

    Sorry for my wrong understanding.

    Another device at home, poor Internet connection there, need to solve access from outside (from phone during travelling, etc.) This is why I thought about hosted system.

    What about a trusted Fidonet friend? You could install your Raspi there? Or get a jail on his system for free. That may not be an option for everyone but maybe worth a thought.

    Regards

    Kai

    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.4.7
    * Origin: Monobox (2:240/77)
  • From Tony Langdon@3:633/410 to Karel Kral on Wed Feb 5 13:02:00 2020
    On 02-04-20 18:40, Karel Kral wrote to Kai Richter <=-

    PS: sorry for offtopic. My intention was to ask in Linux area, if
    somebody is hosting Linux version of Node/Fidopoint and where (focused
    on cost).

    Quite frankly, I feel a BBS would be a better fit for remote hosting than a mail only/point setup, because BBSs are designed for remote access, messagebase readers are designed for local access. You don't have to open your BBS, there's nothing wrong with a private system that you're the only user of. Disable the new user signup. :)

    And then you also get the choice of offline mail, if you want. :)


    ... Elevators smell different to midgets
    === MultiMail/Win v0.51
    --- SBBSecho 3.10-Linux
    * Origin: Freeway BBS Bendigo,Australia freeway.apana.org.au (3:633/410)
  • From Richard Menedetter@2:310/31 to Tony Langdon on Wed Feb 5 10:13:16 2020
    Hi Tony!

    05 Feb 2020 13:13, from Tony Langdon -> Karel Kral:

    Quite frankly, I feel a BBS would be a better fit for remote hosting
    than a mail only/point setup, because BBSs are designed for remote
    access, messagebase readers are designed for local access.

    ???

    Where is the difference between SSHing into a BBS or SSHing into a linux account and start Golded (or the editor of your choice)?
    (Minus that most BBSes offer less functionality then a specialized tool for that purpose (mailer, tosser, editor, etc.).)

    My fido setup works like this for a very long time now.
    I even use shell in a box to access my fido mails through my company firewall, that should block access to SSH ;)

    BTW I did also not really understand what is so complicated in compiling htick. It is part of Husky, so you need the husky libs.
    But it is explained very well in the docs.
    Just my 2 cents.

    CU, Ricsi

    ... Isn't it strange how "wise" resembles being old and tired?
    --- GoldED+/LNX
    * Origin: Why do they call it a TV set when you only get one? (2:310/31)
  • From Tony Langdon@3:633/410 to Richard Menedetter on Wed Feb 5 21:06:00 2020
    On 02-05-20 10:14, Richard Menedetter wrote to Tony Langdon <=-

    ???

    Where is the difference between SSHing into a BBS or SSHing into a
    linux account and start Golded (or the editor of your choice)?
    (Minus that most BBSes offer less functionality then a specialized tool for that purpose (mailer, tosser, editor, etc.).)

    Depends on the editor. I've found some software that uses keystrokes that don't always act as they should. Last time I used Golded was as a local user on DOS. :) At least with today's networks, sreen redraw time isn't an issue. But each to their own. I prefer not to work across the network like that, because the way I read messages makes latency a big issue. I don't even use normal BBS interfaces unless I have to - notice my software? Yep, writng this locally. :)

    My fido setup works like this for a very long time now.
    I even use shell in a box to access my fido mails through my company firewall, that should block access to SSH ;)

    I'm not familiar with shell in a box. I just take a ZeroTier enabled laptop that has SyncTerm and Multimail on it to access my systems from wherever. :)

    BTW I did also not really understand what is so complicated in
    compiling htick. It is part of Husky, so you need the husky libs.
    But it is explained very well in the docs.
    Just my 2 cents.

    I've never tried to compile Husky/htick, so I can't comment on that one.


    ... Why does pizza get to your house faster than the police?
    === MultiMail/Win v0.51
    --- SBBSecho 3.10-Linux
    * Origin: Freeway BBS Bendigo,Australia freeway.apana.org.au (3:633/410)
  • From Richard Menedetter@2:310/31 to Tony Langdon on Wed Feb 5 12:38:36 2020
    Hi Tony!

    05 Feb 2020 21:17, from Tony Langdon -> Richard Menedetter:

    I prefer not to work across the network like that, because the way I
    read messages makes latency a big issue.

    ??? You really do notice some 10s of millisconds???
    My virtual server is in another country (albeight a neighbouring one) and I have less than 30 ms roundtrip there.
    For me it feels instantaneous.

    I'm not familiar with shell in a box.
    It is basically a Shell inside the browser.
    It uses HTTPS to tunnel the traffic to the server, and then accesses SSH locally. (Hence it looks like normal HTTPS communication to any proxy! ;) https://github.com/shellinabox/shellinabox

    I've never tried to compile Husky/htick, so I can't comment on that
    one.

    Had nothing to do with our exchange.
    Just did not want to write another mail for that topic, and state that I did not have any issues with it´;)

    CU, Ricsi

    ... What is life, except excuse for death, or death but an escape from life. --- GoldED+/LNX
    * Origin: OPCODE: CNB = Cause Nervous Breakdown (2:310/31)
  • From Tony Langdon@3:633/410 to Richard Menedetter on Thu Feb 6 14:25:00 2020
    On 02-05-20 12:39, Richard Menedetter wrote to Tony Langdon <=-

    Hi Tony!

    05 Feb 2020 21:17, from Tony Langdon -> Richard Menedetter:

    I prefer not to work across the network like that, because the way I
    read messages makes latency a big issue.

    ??? You really do notice some 10s of millisconds???
    My virtual server is in another country (albeight a neighbouring one)
    and I have less than 30 ms roundtrip there.
    For me it feels instantaneous.

    Most providers are 200-400 mS from here, depending on location, and yes, when flicking through messages, I do notice that.

    I'm not familiar with shell in a box.
    It is basically a Shell inside the browser.
    It uses HTTPS to tunnel the traffic to the server, and then accesses
    SSH locally. (Hence it looks like normal HTTPS communication to any
    proxy! ;) https://github.com/shellinabox/shellinabox

    That sounds quite useful! As I said, I use ZeroTier, which makes me effectively a part of my home network. Static (private) IPv4 and IPv6 addressing and no need to worry about NAT timeouts or NAT itself. It "just works". :) But I can see a lot of uses for Shell in a Box, because it uses HTTPS.

    I've never tried to compile Husky/htick, so I can't comment on that
    one.

    Had nothing to do with our exchange.
    Just did not want to write another mail for that topic, and state that
    I did not have any issues with it´;)

    Fair enough, but the idea of compiling it doesn't give me any cause for concern. If I need to, I suspect I'll have no issues.


    ... A bird in the hand's better than one overhead.
    === MultiMail/Win v0.51
    --- SBBSecho 3.10-Linux
    * Origin: Freeway BBS Bendigo,Australia freeway.apana.org.au (3:633/410)
  • From Phillip L Taylor Jr@1:275/201.30 to Gerrit Kuehn on Fri Feb 5 23:02:44 2021
    Mon 3-Feb-2020 12:31


    03 Feb 20 10:06, Alexey Vissarionov wrote to Kai Richter:

    If it's cheap you are the product. Why don't you get a raspberry
    pi and setup your point on that?

    RPi is approx. 60 EUR - that would be quite enough to run a 1 EUR/month VM (either VPS or even VDS) for 5 years.

    The point here was that it's affordable enough... anything else is just "cheaper" with all the drawbacks that come with that.

    Should work with raspian or FreeBSD.

    Neither of these could be used for a sensitive system.

    Who wants a sensitive system, anyway? I prefer robust (if not resilient) systems.

    I am running two bbs systems one is running CNet on the Amiga and the other is SBBS behing hosted on Debian. The SBBS system has 4 TB HD.
    --- CNet/5
    * Origin: 1:275/201.0 (1:275/201.30)
  • From Phillip L Taylor Jr@1:275/201.30 to Tony Langdon on Fri Feb 5 23:07:02 2021
    On Wed 5-Feb-2020 14:13 , Tony Langdon@3:633/410.0 said to Karel Kral:


    And then you also get the choice of offline mail, if you want. :)

    SBBS is easy to setup and it will run under linux.
    --- CNet/5
    * Origin: 1:275/201.0 (1:275/201.30)
  • From Karel Kral@2:423/39 to Phillip L Taylor Jr on Sat Feb 6 07:08:58 2021
    Hello Phillip!

    05 Feb 21 23:07, you wrote to Tony Langdon:

    And then you also get the choice of offline mail, if you want. :)

    Speaking about low cost:

    Just to complete info. Hosting fido point in Azure cloud shell just after 1 year (as services which are "for free 1 year" - and service which should be for free for ever - changed a bit). Until now (1 year already) it was for 0 EUR/month. Actually it changed to 0.1 EUR/month (80MB in total, 12MB in message base).

    [in detail: golded 28MB, crashmail 0.5MB, htick 0.8MB, binkd 1.3MB - the rest is conf and filearea + msg]

    Karel

    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20180707
    * Origin: Plast DATA (2:423/39)