Tag Archives: ubuntu

cloud

Monitor Your Linux Servers Like a Pro – Now Open Source! 🎉

In both of my last startups, we relied heavily on Ubuntu EC2 instances running critical infrastructure. But there was always a missing piece:
A lightweight, self-hosted, dead-simple way to keep an eye on system health without setting up a full Prometheus stack or paying for yet another SaaS.

So we built our own.
And now we’re sharing it with you — excited to announce that Linux System Health Monitor is now open-source under the MIT license.

Whether you’re managing one Linux box or a fleet of servers, this Node.js-based suite has you covered with real-time monitoring, intelligent alerts, and easy deployment.

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Business

How to Set Up Nginx on Ubuntu with Let’s Encrypt SSL and Port Forwarding

Introduction

Setting up Nginx on Ubuntu (18+) with Let’s Encrypt SSL ensures that your website or application is secure and accessible over HTTPS, providing a safe browsing experience for your users. This process not only includes the installation of the Nginx web server but also entails configuring the server to handle SSL certificates issued by Let’s Encrypt, enabling automatic renewal of these certificates to maintain uninterrupted security. By following best practices for security and performance, you can optimize your server’s settings to ensure fast loading times and reliable uptime, which are crucial for retaining visitors and improving search engine rankings. Additionally, implementing SSL helps to build trust with your audience, as it demonstrates a commitment to protecting their data and enhancing their online safety.

In this guide, we will:

  • Install and configure Nginx.
  • Set up port forwarding for your Node.js application.
  • Obtain a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt.
  • Ensure proper firewall and AWS security group settings.
  • Troubleshoot common issues.

Let’s get into it…

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cloud

Add Users to Google Compute Engine / EC2 Instances

KeysIn the past, when I wanted to share a Linux box with other users, it was simply by creating another user and making sure their password are ‘strong’. These days, it’s much safer not to use passwords over ssh but rather keys in order to connect (over ssh) to your machines in the cloud.

Here is the full list of commands you need to do in order to add a user. It’s being tested on Ubuntu so if you are on another OS, please continue with caution.


###################################################################################
#
# Add More Users to Google Compute Engine / EC2 Instances
# Author: Ido Green | @greenido
# Date: 21/SEP/2015
#
###################################################################################
# If you wish to use passwords ignore this flag of –disabled-password
sudo adduser newuser-name –disabled-password
sudo su – newuser-name
mkdir .ssh
chmod 700 .ssh
touch .ssh/authorized_keys
# (!) Important – without these exact file permissions, you will not be able to
# log into this account using SSH.
chmod 600 .ssh/authorized_keys
# Edit the authorized_keys file and paste the public key for your key pair
# into the file. It should like:
# ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQClKsfkNkuSevGj3eYhCe53pcjqP3maAhDFcvBS7O6V
# Make sure to copy just the key without any spaces before/after it!
vi .ssh/authorized_keys
# Retrieving the Public Key from your private key file
# If you don't have your publich key (just the file of the private key)
# This is what you need to do in order to extract it:
chmod 400 the-new-key.pem
ssh-keygen -y
# When prompted to enter the file in which the key is, specify
# the path to your .pem file. For example:
/path_to_key_pair/the-new-key.pem
# You will get something like:
# ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQClKsfkNkuSevGj3eYhCe
# 53pcjqP3maAhDFcvBS7O6Vhz2ItxCih+PnDSUaw+WNQn/mZphTk/ab/wB96x
# Make sure to copy it without any spaces before/after
####
#
# Now, hold you finger and try to connect
#
####
ssh -i my_key.pem newuser-name@11.11.11.11
# If things are not going well try:
ssh -v -i my_key.pem newuser-name@11.11.11.11
# You should get the full details why things are not working.
# Another option: tail -f -n 80 /var/log/auth.log on the remote box
# If you wish to remove the user
sudo userdel -r olduser

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Adding user to GCE or EC2.sh

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Misc

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cloud

Install A VPN Server On Google Compute Engine

photo_openswanIn this tutorial, we will go over the simple steps to install an IPSec/L2TP VPN server on google compute engine.
Why?
There are many cases that we need to use a secure channel between a local machine (it might be the firewall of our office or just your development laptop) and our cloud infrastructure. The answer (in most cases) is to have a VPN server in our cloud that will be the entry point. Here we are going to look at a client-server solution. If you are looking at a solution that will give you server to server configuration please go to this post: greenido.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/how-to-set-a-vpn-on-google-compute-engine/

First, I’m going to assume you have an account with Google cloud and you already know how to launch an instance on Google Compute Engine. If not, this post could help you do it in less then 5 min.

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Chrome, HTML5, webdev

ChromeOS Hacking On Google Developers Live Israel

ChromeOS - new gift to your old laptop

ChromeOS – A new gift to your old laptop

Today, I had the pleasure to sit for 15min with Nissim Betito (the one and only!) how is a known hacker in the linux community around TLV. We spoke about Chromebook and what are the powerful tools that you can leverage today when you wish to write code. Later, we showed how to install ubuntu on Chromebook and get everything you miss as a developer that must have gcc (or other complier) under their hands. In the near future we will show how to install chromeOS image on raspberry pi… Continue reading →

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