linux

All in one webserver from the ground up. A Virtualized Debian How-to

4 months ago

by Daniel Stinebaugh in bash, howto, linux, security

< This is the only image you get, as this is going to be a very text centered post.

I figured after virtualizing my entire network a few weeks ago and while learning alot, I also rebuilt several machines, and documented the rebuild. So from those notes, I’m going to finally get around to how to securely host and build a website, from the ground up.

We’ll start with a bare bones debian 6 install (this guide will work for ubuntu server 12.04 as well) on a virtual host.

I’m also using this guide as a walk-through for myself, so I’ve included the instructions on getting vmware-tools installed, if you’re doing this on bare metal, skip that part.

Most of this should be done as the root user. In ubuntu, to gain root use the command:

sudo su

sudo su

Also to get the basics out of the way I will be using nano as my text editor, to save in nano use the keys

Ctrl+o

Ctrl+o

or to save and exit use the command

Ctrl+x

Ctrl+x

I will assume you know how to save a file from this point forward.

To get started let’s get our environment setup, it makes life easier in the end.

cd ~
nano .bashrc

1 2	cd ~ nano .bashrc

Uncomment the lines in the root .bashrc file

export LS-OPTIONS=' --color=auto'
eval "'dircolors'"	
alias ls='ls $LS-OPTIONS'
alias ll='ls $LS_OPTIONS -lha'      * &lt; I added the letters 'ha' to this, I just prefer it YMMV*
alias rm='rm -i'
alias cp='cp -i'
alias mv='mv -i'
alias nano='nano -c'
alias arestart='/etc/init.d/apache2 restart'

export LS-OPTIONS=' --color=auto'

eval "'dircolors'"

alias ls='ls $LS-OPTIONS'

alias ll='ls $LS_OPTIONS -lha' * < I added the letters 'ha' to this, I just prefer it YMMV*

alias rm='rm -i'

alias cp='cp -i'

alias mv='mv -i'

alias nano='nano -c'

alias arestart='/etc/init.d/apache2 restart'

Save and exit * I won’t be telling you this again, if the files done being edited, save and close it! *

Force your current session to use the new .bashrc file.

source .bashrc

1	source .bashrc

You should now have colors when displaying the contents of your directories and have a shortcut to restart apache once we have it installed.

But before we install the web server let’s finish getting prepped. (ubuntu users, don’t add the netselect-apt in the next command, it’s not available in your repos.)

apt-get install sudo most ntp ntpdate unzip denyhosts htop curl clamav netselect-apt screen byobu build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r` psmisc

1	apt-get install sudo most ntp ntpdate unzip denyhosts htop curl clamav netselect-apt screen byobu build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r` psmisc

If your curious on how any of these programs work in more detail, you can always turn to the “man” command. I do often, so I like my man pages in color. If you do as well, use this, and select the option that references “most” (usually 3 in my experience)

update-alternatives --config pager

1	update-alternatives --config pager

Now let’s create a normal user (ubuntu users will already have a normal user, and can skip this part)
*replace <yourname> with Your name.*

adduser

adduser

and then answer the questions it asks as best you want.

Now let’s also give this user the ability to manage this server using sudo.

nano /etc/sudoers

1	nano /etc/sudoers

Copy the syntax for the root user replacing root with your username from above.

Now Debian users with netselect installed, use this list of commands:

netselect-apt -n squeeze
cp /etc/apt/source.list /etc/apt/source.list.bak
cp sources.list /etc/apt/source.list
nano /etc/apt/source.list   #*Uncomment the line's you want, probably wanting all 3 *#

netselect-apt -n squeeze

cp /etc/apt/source.list /etc/apt/source.list.bak

cp sources.list /etc/apt/source.list

nano /etc/apt/source.list #*Uncomment the line's you want, probably wanting all 3 *#

then

apt-get update

1	apt-get update

Now we can start installing the vmware-tools. First click the option on your vmware console to install tools or guest additions. This will insert a virtual cd-rom in your virtual machine. I know right!?! How deep DOES the rabbit hole go?! Anyways.

mount /dev/cdrom /media/cdrom
cd /tmp/
cp /media/cdrom/VMWareTools*.tar.gz .
tar xvf VMwareTools*.tar.gz
cd vmware-tools-distrib
./vmware-install.pl
	#* Answer the questions *#
umount /media/cdrom
reboot

mount /dev/cdrom /media/cdrom

cd /tmp/

cp /media/cdrom/VMWareTools*.tar.gz .

tar xvf VMwareTools*.tar.gz

cd vmware-tools-distrib

./vmware-install.pl

#* Answer the questions *#

umount /media/cdrom

reboot

Welcome back Login as your normal user from here on out and gain root using “sudo su“. It’s just good practice.

sudo su
nano /etc/network/interfaces

1 2	sudo su nano /etc/network/interfaces

Comment out the default settings for the eth0 interface as we want a static IP address for a server and add something like this (changing the values as needed for your network of course!)

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
        address 192.168.0.100
        netmask 255.255.255.0
        network 192.168.0.0
        broadcast 192.168.0.255
        gateway 192.168.0.1
	dns-nameservers 192.168.0.111 8.8.8.8
        dns-search foo.org bar.com

auto eth0

iface eth0 inet static

address 192.168.0.100

netmask 255.255.255.0

network 192.168.0.0

broadcast 192.168.0.255

gateway 192.168.0.1

dns-nameservers 192.168.0.111 8.8.8.8

dns-search foo.org bar.com

Then restart your network.

/etc/init.d/networking restart

1	/etc/init.d/networking restart

You will probably get disconnected if you’re using ssh to connect. This is to be expected and you should now be able to ssh to the IP address you just set.

Now let’s set the hostname of the server.

nano /etc/hosts
	#* Should look something like this *#
127.0.0.1       localhost.localdomain   localhost
192.168.0.100   server1.example.com     server1

nano /etc/hosts

#* Should look something like this *#

127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost

192.168.0.100 server1.example.com server1

And append the same name to the hostname file and restart the service.

echo server1.example.com &gt; /etc/hostname
/etc/init.d/hostname.sh start

1 2	echo server1.example.com > /etc/hostname /etc/init.d/hostname.sh start

Being ssh is probably going to be left open, let’s start to automate banning of brute force attempts for our ssh login (moving ssh to a non standard port is also a good idea!)

nano /etc/denyhosts.conf

1	nano /etc/denyhosts.conf

Setup the times and purge options as you see fit and then restart denyhosts.

/etc/init.d/denyhosts restart

1	/etc/init.d/denyhosts restart

And let’s FINALLY get to installing that webserver like I promised!

apt-get install apache2

1	apt-get install apache2

That’s it! your webserver’s installed! Now let’s configure it!

a2enmod rewrite
a2enmod ssl
a2enmod include
/etc/init.d/apache2 restart

a2enmod rewrite

a2enmod ssl

a2enmod include

/etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Now let’s build the config for the website you’ll be hosting.

cd /etc/apache2/sites-available/

1	cd /etc/apache2/sites-available/

touch example.com
nano example.com

1 2	touch example.com nano example.com

There are alot of options you can define in here, but to get you started make sure you have the DocumentRoot, ErrorLog and CustomLog defined in this config file.

&lt;VirtualHost *:80&gt;
     ServerAdmin <span class="mh-email"><a href='http://www.google.com/recaptcha/mailhide/d?k=01pOoGPb7cBhYenQYKL5cGnw==&c=7PPjn-8DhNzmvfxuLsH4JP-ub2s9GGhVkCgu7_1m4Mc=' onclick="window.open('http://www.google.com/recaptcha/mailhide/d?k=01pOoGPb7cBhYenQYKL5cGnw==&c=7PPjn-8DhNzmvfxuLsH4JP-ub2s9GGhVkCgu7_1m4Mc=', '', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=0,width=500,height=300'); return false;" title="Click and prove to me your not a spambot">HIDDEN EMAIL ADDRESS</a></span>
     ServerName domain.com
     ServerAlias www.domain.com
     DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public_html/
     ErrorLog /var/log/example.com/logs/error.log
     CustomLog /var/log/example.com/logs/access.log combined

ServerAdmin webmaster@domain.com

ServerName domain.com

ServerAlias www.domain.com

DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public_html/

ErrorLog /var/log/example.com/logs/error.log

CustomLog /var/log/example.com/logs/access.log combined

Using our example above, let’s create those directories.

mkdir -p /var/www/example.com/public_html
mkdir -p /var/log/example.com/logs

1 2	mkdir -p /var/www/example.com/public_html mkdir -p /var/log/example.com/logs

And bring this site online, and remove the default site

a2ensite domain.com
a2dissite default

1 2	a2ensite domain.com a2dissite default

Your website should now be online! w00t!

Let’s get the rest going so we can get something more dynamic then html websites.

apt-get install mysql-server

1	apt-get install mysql-server

Enter in a SQL root password when prompted. (SHOULDNT BE THE SAME AS YOUR ROOT PASSWORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

And let’s harden our SQL environment as this is not a developer server.

mysql_secure_installation

1	mysql_secure_installation

You don’t need to change your SQL root password if you set a good one above. if it’s the same as your normal root user’s password, change it ffs! Answer yes to the rest of the questions.

Now this next line will install php. Lot’s of php. This command should be entered in as one single line!

apt-get install php-pear php5-suhosin php5-mysql libapache2-mod-php5 libapache2-mod-ruby libapache2-mod-python php5 php5-common php5-curl php5-dev php5-gd php5-idn php-pear php5-imagick php5-imap php5-mcrypt php5-memcache php5-ming php5-mysql php5-pspell php5-recode php5-intl php5-snmp php5-sqlite php5-tidy php5-xmlrpc php5-xsl memcached

apt-get install php-pear php5-suhosin php5-mysql libapache2-mod-php5 libapache2-mod-ruby libapache2-mod-python php5 php5-common php5-curl php5-dev php5-gd php5-idn php-pear php5-imagick php5-imap php5-mcrypt php5-memcache php5-ming php5-mysql php5-pspell php5-recode php5-intl php5-snmp php5-sqlite php5-tidy php5-xmlrpc php5-xsl memcached

These settings will get you off to a good start, but more tuning can be done. Search for the following and make the needed changes in this file. (search in nano using “Ctrl+w” and typing in the keyword.

nano /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini

1	nano /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini

max_execution_time = 30
memory_limit = 64M
error_reporting = E_COMPILE_ERROR|E_RECOVERABLE_ERROR|E_ERROR|E_CORE_ERROR
display_errors = Off
log_errors = On
error_log = /var/log/php.log
register_globals = Off

max_execution_time = 30

memory_limit = 64M

error_reporting = E_COMPILE_ERROR|E_RECOVERABLE_ERROR|E_ERROR|E_CORE_ERROR

display_errors = Off

log_errors = On

error_log = /var/log/php.log

register_globals = Off

/etc/init.d/apache2 restart

1	/etc/init.d/apache2 restart

(You do remember you can type in ^ arestart ^ instead of that line throughout this gude if you used my .bashrc edits, right? )

And of course a web-gui to your SQL server is super handy, so let’s add that as well.

apt-get install phpmyadmin

1	apt-get install phpmyadmin

Select apache2 when asked, and choose yes to create the default database. Enter in the SQL root password, and then leave the next password prompt blank to have a random one generated, as you won’t need it.

Almost done!

Let’s set the permissions on the folders we created.

chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/example.com/public_html
chmod 774 /var/www/example.com/public_html

1 2	chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/example.com/public_html chmod 774 /var/www/example.com/public_html

And your set!

Let’s go one step further and setup a firewall to finish it up, just in case you’re not behind a seperate firewall (Check out untangle if you’re looking for a good one!)

apt-get install ufw

1	apt-get install ufw

This will install the “Uncomplicated Firewall” that works with iptables, and makes life alot easier!
For more help with ufw settings check out this guys site, it’s got a pretty good rundown and examples.

ufw logging on
ufw default deny
ufw allow ssh
ufw allow www
ufw allow https
ufw enable
          #* Answer yes when it asks to proceed *#
ufw status

ufw logging on

ufw default deny

ufw allow ssh

ufw allow www

ufw allow https

ufw enable

#* Answer yes when it asks to proceed *#

ufw status

You should now get a result that says the following:

Status: active

To                         Action      From
--                         ------      ----
22                         ALLOW       Anywhere
80                         ALLOW       Anywhere
443                        ALLOW       Anywhere

Status: active

To Action From

-- ------ ----

22 ALLOW Anywhere

80 ALLOW Anywhere

443 ALLOW Anywhere

Of course this is the basic setup, you can further limit ssh to local connections only etc.

And your website is ready for stage 2, Content! You now have a memcached apache http server with php5 and mysql ready for the world wide web! Good luck!

(The stage 2 post will come soon!)

** EDIT **

After a few month’s with this setup I’ve started getting several mail objects that say:

This is a RAID status update from mpt-statusd.
The mpt-status program reports that one of the RAIDs changed state:

Report from /etc/init.d/mpt-statusd on virtual-proxy

Being it’s a virtual machine there’s no raid state to worry about (at least not from the guest side…) so unless you have a reason for it, just stop the mpt-status daemon. Do the following:

sudo /etc/init.d/mpt-statusd stop

1	sudo /etc/init.d/mpt-statusd stop

to stop it from it’s currently running state, and then

sudo update-rc.d-insserv -f mpt-statusd remove

1	sudo update-rc.d-insserv -f mpt-statusd remove

which will remove it from several startup scripts that run on boot.

That’s it, no more mail from that problem Hope your install is running as smoothly as mine has been!

debian diy hosting howto linux mysql php ubunt webserver website

Stream My Pi

9 months ago

by Daniel Stinebaugh in android, bash, howto, linux, media pc, raspberry pi, Technology

Alright, so most of my friends already know, I’ve recieved one of my Raspberry Pi computers!

w00t!

So being my old love is streaming radio, I figured why not get this little guy pushing out some tunes for me!

MPD To the rescue!

Now I did a post for Ubuntu 10.04 a while ago where I had custom compiled a .deb file that included mp3 support, however the new version of MPD for the pi has it already built in! Double sweet!

So here’s how to get it started.

First install a few apps. I personally prefer ncmpcpp as my local client to control my MPD stream from the cli. And of course you’ll need to install MPD.

sudo apt-get update ; sudo apt-get install mpd ncmpcpp

1	sudo apt-get update ; sudo apt-get install mpd ncmpcpp

Type in “Y” when it asks if you would like to install the dependencies as well, let it run and install your requested apps.

Shucks, you’re already half way done!

Now you just need to configure your server (mpd) and client (ncmpcpp) to cut down on overhead I’ll just be using the built in httpd stream as well as the alsa mixer, however the config files are much more built out with better examples then they had on my last post, so configuring them should be quite simple these days.

In order to get MPD working as your local user “pi” in this case, we’ll first need to create some directories and files. Enter in the following commands one at a time from the pi user’s home directory.

mkdir -p .mpd/db
cd .mpd
touch state pid
cd db
touch cache sticker.sql

mkdir -p .mpd/db

cd .mpd

touch state pid

cd db

touch cache sticker.sql

That will create the “state” and “pid” file in your .mpd folder and the “cache” and “sticker.sql” files in your .mpd/db folder.

Now let’s backup the original mpd.conf file and then edit the original file.

sudo cp /etc/mpd.conf /etc/mpd.conf.org
sudo nano /etc/mpd.conf

1 2	sudo cp /etc/mpd.conf /etc/mpd.conf.org sudo nano /etc/mpd.conf

You can copy it straight up if you like, as your username is most likely “pi” as well. I’ve set my default music folder to “/home/pi/Music” and Playlists to “/home/pi/Playlists” if you don’t have these directories either, go ahead and make them with the mkdir command, I’ll wait.

Alright, here’s my /etc/mpd.conf file (click it to expand, it’s kinda long):

# An example configuration file for MPD
# See the mpd.conf man page for a more detailed description of each parameter.
# Files and directories #######################################################
#
# This setting controls the top directory which MPD will search to discover the
# available audio files and add them to the daemon's online database. This
# setting defaults to the XDG directory, otherwise the music directory will be
# be disabled and audio files will only be accepted over ipc socket (using
# file:// protocol) or streaming files over an accepted protocol.
#
music_directory "/home/pi/Music"
#
# This setting sets the MPD internal playlist directory. The purpose of this
# directory is storage for playlists created by MPD. The server will use
# playlist files not created by the server but only if they are in the MPD
# format. This setting defaults to playlist saving being disabled.
#
playlist_directory "/home/pi/Playlists"
#
# This setting sets the location of the MPD database. This file is used to
# load the database at server start up and store the database while the
# server is not up. This setting defaults to disabled which will allow
# MPD to accept files over ipc socket (using file:// protocol) or streaming
# files over an accepted protocol.
#
db_file "/home/pi/.mpd/db/cache"
#
# These settings are the locations for the daemon log files for the daemon.
# These logs are great for troubleshooting, depending on your log_level
# settings.
#
# The special value "syslog" makes MPD use the local syslog daemon. This
# setting defaults to logging to syslog, otherwise logging is disabled.
#
log_file "/var/log/mpd/mpd.log"
#
# This setting sets the location of the file which stores the process ID
# for use of mpd --kill and some init scripts. This setting is disabled by
# default and the pid file will not be stored.
#
pid_file "/home/pi/.mpd/pid"
#
# This setting sets the location of the file which contains information about
# most variables to get MPD back into the same general shape it was in before
# it was brought down. This setting is disabled by default and the server
# state will be reset on server start up.
#
state_file "/home/pi/.mpd/state"
#
# The location of the sticker database. This is a database which
# manages dynamic information attached to songs.
#
sticker_file "/home/pi/.mpd/db/sticker.sql"
#
###############################################################################
# General music daemon options ################################################
#
# This setting specifies the user that MPD will run as. MPD should never run as
# root and you may use this setting to make MPD change its user ID after
# initialization. This setting is disabled by default and MPD is run as the
# current user.
#
user "pi"
#
# This setting specifies the group that MPD will run as. If not specified
# primary group of user specified with "user" setting will be used (if set).
# This is useful if MPD needs to be a member of group such as "audio" to
# have permission to use sound card.
#
#group "nogroup"
#
# This setting sets the address for the daemon to listen on. Careful attention
# should be paid if this is assigned to anything other then the default, any.
# This setting can deny access to control of the daemon. Choose any if you want
# to have mpd listen on every address
#
# For network
#bind_to_address "localhost"
bind_to_address "any"
#
# And for Unix Socket
#bind_to_address "/var/run/mpd/socket"
#
# This setting is the TCP port that is desired for the daemon to get assigned
# to.
#
port "6666"
#
# This setting controls the type of information which is logged. Available
# setting arguments are "default", "secure" or "verbose". The "verbose" setting
# argument is recommended for troubleshooting, though can quickly stretch
# available resources on limited hardware storage.
#
#log_level "default"
#
# If you have a problem with your MP3s ending abruptly it is recommended that
# you set this argument to "no" to attempt to fix the problem. If this solves
# the problem, it is highly recommended to fix the MP3 files with vbrfix
# (available as vbrfix in the debian archive), at which
# point gapless MP3 playback can be enabled.
#
gapless_mp3_playback "yes"
#
# This setting enables MPD to create playlists in a format usable by other
# music players.
#
#save_absolute_paths_in_playlists "no"
#
# This setting defines a list of tag types that will be extracted during the
# audio file discovery process. Optionally, 'comment' can be added to this
# list.
#
#metadata_to_use "artist,album,title,track,name,genre,date,composer,performer,disc"
#
# This setting enables automatic update of MPD's database when files in
# music_directory are changed.
#
auto_update "yes"
#
# Limit the depth of the directories being watched, 0 means only watch
# the music directory itself. There is no limit by default.
#
auto_update_depth "3"
#
###############################################################################
# Symbolic link behavior ######################################################
#
# If this setting is set to "yes", MPD will discover audio files by following
# symbolic links outside of the configured music_directory.
#
#follow_outside_symlinks "yes"
#
# If this setting is set to "yes", MPD will discover audio files by following
# symbolic links inside of the configured music_directory.
#
#follow_inside_symlinks "yes"
#
###############################################################################
# Zeroconf / Avahi Service Discovery ##########################################
#
# If this setting is set to "yes", service information will be published with
# Zeroconf / Avahi.
#
zeroconf_enabled "yes"
#
# The argument to this setting will be the Zeroconf / Avahi unique name for
# this MPD server on the network.
#
zeroconf_name "Music Player"
#
###############################################################################
# Permissions #################################################################
#
# If this setting is set, MPD will require password authorization. The password
# can setting can be specified multiple times for different password profiles.
#
#password "password@read,add,control,admin"
#
# This setting specifies the permissions a user has who has not yet logged in.
#
default_permissions "read,add,control,admin"
#
###############################################################################
# Input #######################################################################
#

input {
plugin "curl"
# proxy "proxy.isp.com:8080"
# proxy_user "user"
# proxy_password "password"
}

#
###############################################################################

# Audio Output ################################################################
#
# MPD supports various audio output types, as well as playing through multiple
# audio outputs at the same time, through multiple audio_output settings
# blocks. Setting this block is optional, though the server will only attempt
# autodetection for one sound card.
#
# See &lt;http://mpd.wikia.com/wiki/Configuration#Audio_Outputs&gt; for examples of
# other audio outputs.
#
# An example of an ALSA output:
#
audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "My ALSA Device"
device "hw:0,0" # optional
format "44100:16:2" # optional
mixer_device "default" # optional
mixer_control "PCM" # optional
mixer_index "0" # optional
}
#
# An example of an OSS output:
#
#audio_output {
# type "oss"
# name "My OSS Device"
# device "/dev/dsp" # optional
# format "44100:16:2" # optional
# mixer_device "/dev/mixer" # optional
# mixer_control "PCM" # optional
#}
#
# An example of a shout output (for streaming to Icecast):
#
#audio_output {
# type "shout"
# encoding "ogg" # optional
# name "My Shout Stream"
# host "localhost"
# port "8000"
# mount "/mpd.ogg"
# password "hackme"
# quality "5.0"
# bitrate "128"
# format "44100:16:1"
# protocol "icecast2" # optional
# user "source" # optional
# description "My Stream Description" # optional
# genre "jazz" # optional
# public "no" # optional
# timeout "2" # optional
#}
#
# An example of a recorder output:
#
#audio_output {
# type "recorder"
# name "My recorder"
# encoder "vorbis" # optional, vorbis or lame
# path "/var/lib/mpd/recorder/mpd.ogg"
## quality "5.0" # do not define if bitrate is defined
# bitrate "128" # do not define if quality is defined
# format "44100:16:1"
#}
#
# An example of a httpd output (built-in HTTP streaming server):
#
audio_output {
type "httpd"
name "Stream of Pi"
encoder "lame" # optional, vorbis or lame
port "8000"
# quality "5.0" # do not define if bitrate is defined
bitrate "128" # do not define if quality is defined
format "44100:16:1"
}
#
# An example of a pulseaudio output (streaming to a remote pulseaudio server)
#
#audio_output {
# type "pulse"
# name "My Pulse Output"
# server "remote_server" # optional
# sink "remote_server_sink" # optional
#}
#
## Example "pipe" output:
#
#audio_output {
# type "pipe"
# name "my pipe"
# command "aplay -f cd 2&gt;/dev/null"
## Or if you're want to use AudioCompress
# command "AudioCompress -m | aplay -f cd 2&gt;/dev/null"
## Or to send raw PCM stream through PCM:
# command "nc example.org 8765"
# format "44100:16:2"
#}
#
## An example of a null output (for no audio output):
#
#audio_output {
# type "null"
# name "My Null Output"
#}
#
# This setting will change all decoded audio to be converted to the specified
# format before being passed to the audio outputs. By default, this setting is
# disabled.
#
#audio_output_format "44100:16:2"
#
# If MPD has been compiled with libsamplerate support, this setting specifies
# the sample rate converter to use. Possible values can be found in the
# mpd.conf man page or the libsamplerate documentation. By default, this is
# setting is disabled.
#
#samplerate_converter "Fastest Sinc Interpolator"
#
###############################################################################
# Volume control mixer ########################################################
#
# These are the global volume control settings. By default, this setting will
# be detected to the available audio output device, with preference going to
# hardware mixing. Hardware and software mixers for individual audio_output
# sections cannot yet be mixed.
#
# An example for controlling an ALSA, OSS or Pulseaudio mixer; If this
# setting is used other sound applications will be affected by the volume
# being controlled by MPD.
#
mixer_type "hardware"
#
# An example for controlling all mixers through software. This will control
# all controls, even if the mixer is not supported by the device and will not
# affect any other sound producing applications.
#
#mixer_type "software"
#
# This example will not allow MPD to touch the mixer at all and will disable
# all volume controls.
#
#mixer_type "disabled"
#
###############################################################################
# Normalization automatic volume adjustments ##################################
#
# This setting specifies the type of ReplayGain to use. This setting can have
# the argument "album" or "track". See &lt;http://www.replaygain.org&gt; for more
# details. This setting is disabled by default.
#
#replaygain "album"
#
# This setting sets the pre-amp used for files that have ReplayGain tags. By
# default this setting is disabled.
#
#replaygain_preamp "0"
#
# This setting enables on-the-fly normalization volume adjustment. This will
# result in the volume of all playing audio to be adjusted so the output has
# equal "loudness". This setting is disabled by default.
#
#volume_normalization "no"
#
###############################################################################
# MPD Internal Buffering ######################################################
#
# This setting adjusts the size of internal decoded audio buffering. Changing
# this may have undesired effects. Don't change this if you don't know what you
# are doing.
#
#audio_buffer_size "2048"
#
# This setting controls the percentage of the buffer which is filled before
# beginning to play. Increasing this reduces the chance of audio file skipping,
# at the cost of increased time prior to audio playback.
#
buffer_before_play "8%"
#
###############################################################################
# Resource Limitations ########################################################
#
# These settings are various limitations to prevent MPD from using too many
# resources. Generally, these settings should be minimized to prevent security
# risks, depending on the operating resources.
#
connection_timeout "60"
max_connections "10"
max_playlist_length "1634"
max_command_list_size "2048"
max_output_buffer_size "8192"
#
###############################################################################
# Character Encoding ##########################################################
#
# If file or directory names do not display correctly for your locale then you
# may need to modify this setting. After modification of this setting mpd
# --create-db must be run to change the database.
#
filesystem_charset "UTF-8"
#
# This setting controls the encoding that ID3v1 tags should be converted from.
#
id3v1_encoding "UTF-8"
#
###############################################################################
# SIDPlay decoder #############################################################
#
# songlength_database:
# Location of your songlengths file, as distributed with the HVSC.
# The sidplay plugin checks this for matching MD5 fingerprints.
# See http://www.c64.org/HVSC/DOCUMENTS/Songlengths.faq
#
# default_songlength:
# This is the default playing time in seconds for songs not in the
# songlength database, or in case you're not using a database.
# A value of 0 means play indefinitely.
#
# filter:
# Turns the SID filter emulation on or off.
#
#decoder {
# plugin "sidplay"
# songlength_database "/media/C64Music/DOCUMENTS/Songlengths.txt"
# default_songlength "120"
# filter "true"
#}
#
###############################################################################

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# An example configuration file for MPD

# See the mpd.conf man page for a more detailed description of each parameter.

# Files and directories #######################################################

# This setting controls the top directory which MPD will search to discover the

# available audio files and add them to the daemon's online database. This

# setting defaults to the XDG directory, otherwise the music directory will be

# be disabled and audio files will only be accepted over ipc socket (using

# file:// protocol) or streaming files over an accepted protocol.

music_directory "/home/pi/Music"

# This setting sets the MPD internal playlist directory. The purpose of this

# directory is storage for playlists created by MPD. The server will use

# playlist files not created by the server but only if they are in the MPD

# format. This setting defaults to playlist saving being disabled.

playlist_directory "/home/pi/Playlists"

# This setting sets the location of the MPD database. This file is used to

# load the database at server start up and store the database while the

# server is not up. This setting defaults to disabled which will allow

# MPD to accept files over ipc socket (using file:// protocol) or streaming

# files over an accepted protocol.

db_file "/home/pi/.mpd/db/cache"

# These settings are the locations for the daemon log files for the daemon.

# These logs are great for troubleshooting, depending on your log_level

# settings.

# The special value "syslog" makes MPD use the local syslog daemon. This

# setting defaults to logging to syslog, otherwise logging is disabled.

log_file "/var/log/mpd/mpd.log"

# This setting sets the location of the file which stores the process ID

# for use of mpd --kill and some init scripts. This setting is disabled by

# default and the pid file will not be stored.

pid_file "/home/pi/.mpd/pid"

# This setting sets the location of the file which contains information about

# most variables to get MPD back into the same general shape it was in before

# it was brought down. This setting is disabled by default and the server

# state will be reset on server start up.

state_file "/home/pi/.mpd/state"

# The location of the sticker database. This is a database which

# manages dynamic information attached to songs.

sticker_file "/home/pi/.mpd/db/sticker.sql"

###############################################################################

# General music daemon options ################################################

# This setting specifies the user that MPD will run as. MPD should never run as

# root and you may use this setting to make MPD change its user ID after

# initialization. This setting is disabled by default and MPD is run as the

# current user.

user "pi"

# This setting specifies the group that MPD will run as. If not specified

# primary group of user specified with "user" setting will be used (if set).

# This is useful if MPD needs to be a member of group such as "audio" to

# have permission to use sound card.

#group "nogroup"

# This setting sets the address for the daemon to listen on. Careful attention

# should be paid if this is assigned to anything other then the default, any.

# This setting can deny access to control of the daemon. Choose any if you want

# to have mpd listen on every address

# For network

#bind_to_address "localhost"

bind_to_address "any"

# And for Unix Socket

#bind_to_address "/var/run/mpd/socket"

# This setting is the TCP port that is desired for the daemon to get assigned

# to.

port "6666"

# This setting controls the type of information which is logged. Available

# setting arguments are "default", "secure" or "verbose". The "verbose" setting

# argument is recommended for troubleshooting, though can quickly stretch

# available resources on limited hardware storage.

#log_level "default"

# If you have a problem with your MP3s ending abruptly it is recommended that

# you set this argument to "no" to attempt to fix the problem. If this solves

# the problem, it is highly recommended to fix the MP3 files with vbrfix

# (available as vbrfix in the debian archive), at which

# point gapless MP3 playback can be enabled.

gapless_mp3_playback "yes"

# This setting enables MPD to create playlists in a format usable by other

# music players.

#save_absolute_paths_in_playlists "no"

# This setting defines a list of tag types that will be extracted during the

# audio file discovery process. Optionally, 'comment' can be added to this

# list.

#metadata_to_use "artist,album,title,track,name,genre,date,composer,performer,disc"

# This setting enables automatic update of MPD's database when files in

# music_directory are changed.

auto_update "yes"

# Limit the depth of the directories being watched, 0 means only watch

# the music directory itself. There is no limit by default.

auto_update_depth "3"

###############################################################################

# Symbolic link behavior ######################################################

# If this setting is set to "yes", MPD will discover audio files by following

# symbolic links outside of the configured music_directory.

#follow_outside_symlinks "yes"

# If this setting is set to "yes", MPD will discover audio files by following

# symbolic links inside of the configured music_directory.

#follow_inside_symlinks "yes"

###############################################################################

# Zeroconf / Avahi Service Discovery ##########################################

# If this setting is set to "yes", service information will be published with

# Zeroconf / Avahi.

zeroconf_enabled "yes"

# The argument to this setting will be the Zeroconf / Avahi unique name for

# this MPD server on the network.

zeroconf_name "Music Player"

###############################################################################

# Permissions #################################################################

# If this setting is set, MPD will require password authorization. The password

# can setting can be specified multiple times for different password profiles.

#password "password@read,add,control,admin"

# This setting specifies the permissions a user has who has not yet logged in.

default_permissions "read,add,control,admin"

###############################################################################

# Input #######################################################################

input {

plugin "curl"

# proxy "proxy.isp.com:8080"

# proxy_user "user"

# proxy_password "password"

}

###############################################################################

# Audio Output ################################################################

# MPD supports various audio output types, as well as playing through multiple

# audio outputs at the same time, through multiple audio_output settings

# blocks. Setting this block is optional, though the server will only attempt

# autodetection for one sound card.

# See <http://mpd.wikia.com/wiki/Configuration#Audio_Outputs> for examples of

# other audio outputs.

# An example of an ALSA output:

audio_output {

type "alsa"

name "My ALSA Device"

device "hw:0,0" # optional

format "44100:16:2" # optional

mixer_device "default" # optional

mixer_control "PCM" # optional

mixer_index "0" # optional

}

# An example of an OSS output:

#audio_output {

# type "oss"

# name "My OSS Device"

# device "/dev/dsp" # optional

# format "44100:16:2" # optional

# mixer_device "/dev/mixer" # optional

# mixer_control "PCM" # optional

# An example of a shout output (for streaming to Icecast):

#audio_output {

# type "shout"

# encoding "ogg" # optional

# name "My Shout Stream"

# host "localhost"

# port "8000"

# mount "/mpd.ogg"

# password "hackme"

# quality "5.0"

# bitrate "128"

# format "44100:16:1"

# protocol "icecast2" # optional

# user "source" # optional

# description "My Stream Description" # optional

# genre "jazz" # optional

# public "no" # optional

# timeout "2" # optional

# An example of a recorder output:

#audio_output {

# type "recorder"

# name "My recorder"

# encoder "vorbis" # optional, vorbis or lame

# path "/var/lib/mpd/recorder/mpd.ogg"

## quality "5.0" # do not define if bitrate is defined

# bitrate "128" # do not define if quality is defined

# format "44100:16:1"

# An example of a httpd output (built-in HTTP streaming server):

audio_output {

type "httpd"

name "Stream of Pi"

encoder "lame" # optional, vorbis or lame

port "8000"

# quality "5.0" # do not define if bitrate is defined

bitrate "128" # do not define if quality is defined

format "44100:16:1"

}

# An example of a pulseaudio output (streaming to a remote pulseaudio server)

#audio_output {

# type "pulse"

# name "My Pulse Output"

# server "remote_server" # optional

# sink "remote_server_sink" # optional

## Example "pipe" output:

#audio_output {

# type "pipe"

# name "my pipe"

# command "aplay -f cd 2>/dev/null"

## Or if you're want to use AudioCompress

# command "AudioCompress -m | aplay -f cd 2>/dev/null"

## Or to send raw PCM stream through PCM:

# command "nc example.org 8765"

# format "44100:16:2"

## An example of a null output (for no audio output):

#audio_output {

# type "null"

# name "My Null Output"

# This setting will change all decoded audio to be converted to the specified

# format before being passed to the audio outputs. By default, this setting is

# disabled.

#audio_output_format "44100:16:2"

# If MPD has been compiled with libsamplerate support, this setting specifies

# the sample rate converter to use. Possible values can be found in the

# mpd.conf man page or the libsamplerate documentation. By default, this is

# setting is disabled.

#samplerate_converter "Fastest Sinc Interpolator"

###############################################################################

# Volume control mixer ########################################################

# These are the global volume control settings. By default, this setting will

# be detected to the available audio output device, with preference going to

# hardware mixing. Hardware and software mixers for individual audio_output

# sections cannot yet be mixed.

# An example for controlling an ALSA, OSS or Pulseaudio mixer; If this

# setting is used other sound applications will be affected by the volume

# being controlled by MPD.

mixer_type "hardware"

# An example for controlling all mixers through software. This will control

# all controls, even if the mixer is not supported by the device and will not

# affect any other sound producing applications.

#mixer_type "software"

# This example will not allow MPD to touch the mixer at all and will disable

# all volume controls.

#mixer_type "disabled"

###############################################################################

# Normalization automatic volume adjustments ##################################

# This setting specifies the type of ReplayGain to use. This setting can have

# the argument "album" or "track". See <http://www.replaygain.org> for more

# details. This setting is disabled by default.

#replaygain "album"

# This setting sets the pre-amp used for files that have ReplayGain tags. By

# default this setting is disabled.

#replaygain_preamp "0"

# This setting enables on-the-fly normalization volume adjustment. This will

# result in the volume of all playing audio to be adjusted so the output has

# equal "loudness". This setting is disabled by default.

#volume_normalization "no"

###############################################################################

# MPD Internal Buffering ######################################################

# This setting adjusts the size of internal decoded audio buffering. Changing

# this may have undesired effects. Don't change this if you don't know what you

# are doing.

#audio_buffer_size "2048"

# This setting controls the percentage of the buffer which is filled before

# beginning to play. Increasing this reduces the chance of audio file skipping,

# at the cost of increased time prior to audio playback.

buffer_before_play "8%"

###############################################################################

# Resource Limitations ########################################################

# These settings are various limitations to prevent MPD from using too many

# resources. Generally, these settings should be minimized to prevent security

# risks, depending on the operating resources.

connection_timeout "60"

max_connections "10"

max_playlist_length "1634"

max_command_list_size "2048"

max_output_buffer_size "8192"

###############################################################################

# Character Encoding ##########################################################

# If file or directory names do not display correctly for your locale then you

# may need to modify this setting. After modification of this setting mpd

# --create-db must be run to change the database.

filesystem_charset "UTF-8"

# This setting controls the encoding that ID3v1 tags should be converted from.

id3v1_encoding "UTF-8"

###############################################################################

# SIDPlay decoder #############################################################

# songlength_database:

# Location of your songlengths file, as distributed with the HVSC.

# The sidplay plugin checks this for matching MD5 fingerprints.

# See http://www.c64.org/HVSC/DOCUMENTS/Songlengths.faq

# default_songlength:

# This is the default playing time in seconds for songs not in the

# songlength database, or in case you're not using a database.

# A value of 0 means play indefinitely.

# filter:

# Turns the SID filter emulation on or off.

#decoder {

# plugin "sidplay"

# songlength_database "/media/C64Music/DOCUMENTS/Songlengths.txt"

# default_songlength "120"

# filter "true"

###############################################################################

I went and left all of the default comments in there, but of course if you want to make it more readable feel free to remove what you don’t use.

So, yea. MPD’s ready. Just restart it.

sudo /etc/init.d/mpd restart

1	sudo /etc/init.d/mpd restart

Now let’s get our client up and running so we can start playing some music!

This one’s a little more tricky as the default config file is hiding and compressed.

First let’s create the local config directory like we did for MPD.

mkdir ~/.ncmpcpp

1	mkdir ~/.ncmpcpp

and let’s copy the example config over to our new directory.

cp /usr/share/doc/ncmpcpp/config /home/pi/.ncmpcpp

1	cp /usr/share/doc/ncmpcpp/config /home/pi/.ncmpcpp

and then extract it.

gzip -d ~/.ncmpcpp/config.gz

1	gzip -d ~/.ncmpcpp/config.gz

Now go ahead and edit that file.

nano ~/.ncmpcpp/config

1	nano ~/.ncmpcpp/config

Again, these are the settings I used, but it’s well documented so feel free to make changes as well. Here is my config for ncmpcpp (again, click it to expand it, it’s even longer…)

####################################################
## this is example configuration file, copy it to ##
## ~/.ncmpcpp/config and set up your preferences ##
####################################################
#
##### directories ######
##
## Directory for storing ncmpcpp related files.
## Changing it is useful if you want to store
## everything somewhere else and provide command
## line setting for alternative location to config
## file which defines that while launching ncmpcpp.
##
#
ncmpcpp_directory = "~/.ncmpcpp"
#
##
## Directory for storing downloaded lyrics. It
## defaults to ~/.lyrics since other MPD clients
## (eg. ncmpc) also use that location.
##
#
lyrics_directory = "~/.lyrics"
#
##### connection settings #####
#
## set it in order to make tag editor and renaming files work properly
#
mpd_host = "localhost"
#
mpd_port = "6666"
#
mpd_music_dir = "/home/pi/Music"
#
mpd_connection_timeout = "5"
#
mpd_crossfade_time = "5"
#
#mpd_communication_mode = "notifications" (polling/notifications)
#
##### music visualizer #####
##
## Note: In order to make music visualizer work you'll
## need to use mpd fifo output, whose format parameter
## has to be set to 44100:16:1 for mono visualization
## or 44100:16:2 for stereo visualization. Example
## configuration (it has to be put into mpd.conf):
##
## audio_output {
## type "fifo"
## name "My FIFO"
## path "/tmp/mpd.fifo"
## format "44100:16:2"
## }
##
#
##
## If you set format to 44100:16:2, make it 'yes'.
##
#
#visualizer_in_stereo = "no"
#
#visualizer_fifo_path = ""
#
##
## Note: Below parameter is needed for ncmpcpp
## to determine which output provides data for
## visualizer and thus allow syncing between
## visualization and sound as currently there
## are some problems with it.
##
#
#visualizer_output_name = ""
#
##
## Note: Below parameter defines how often ncmpcpp
## has to "synchronize" visualizer and audio outputs.
## 30 seconds is optimal value, but if you experience
## synchronization problems, set it to lower value.
## Keep in mind that sane values start with &gt;=10.
##
#
#visualizer_sync_interval = "30"
#
##
## Note: To enable spectrum frequency visualization
## you need to compile ncmpcpp with fftw3 support.
##
#
#visualizer_type = "wave" (spectrum/wave)
#
#visualizer_look = "◆│"
#
##### system encoding #####
##
## ncmpcpp should detect your charset encoding
## but if it failed to do so, you can specify
## charset encoding you are using here.
##
## Note: You can see whether your ncmpcpp build
## supports charset detection by checking output
## of `ncmpcpp --version`.
##
## Note: Since MPD uses utf8 by default, setting
## this option makes sense only if your encoding
## is different.
##
#
#system_encoding = ""
#
##### delays #####
#
## delay after playlist highlighting will be disabled (0 = don't disable)
#
playlist_disable_highlight_delay = "5"
#
## defines how long various messages are supposed to be visible
#
message_delay_time = "4"
#
##### song format #####
##
## for song format you can use:
##
## %l - length
## %f - filename
## %D - directory
## %a - artist
## %A - album artist
## %t - title
## %b - album
## %y - year
## %n - track number (01/12 -&gt; 01)
## %N - full track info (01/12 -&gt; 01/12)
## %g - genre
## %c - composer
## %p - performer
## %d - disc
## %C - comment
## $R - begin right alignment
##
## you can also put them in { } and then it will be displayed
## only if all requested values are available and/or define alternate
## value with { }|{ } eg. {%a - %t}|{%f}
##
## Note: If you want to set limit on maximal length of a tag, just
## put the appropriate number between % and character that defines
## tag type, e.g. to make album take max. 20 terminal cells, use '%20b'.
##
## Note: Format that is similar to "%a - %t" (i.e. without any additional
## braces) is equal to "{%a - %t}", so if one of the tags is missing,
## you'll get nothing.
##
## text can also have different color than the main window has,
## eg. if you want length to be green, write $3%l$9
##
## available values:
##
## - 0 - default window color (discards all other colors)
## - 1 - black
## - 2 - red
## - 3 - green
## - 4 - yellow
## - 5 - blue
## - 6 - magenta
## - 7 - cyan
## - 8 - white
## - 9 - end of current color
##
## Note: colors can be nested.
##
#
#song_list_format = "{%a - }{%t}|{$8%f$9}$R{$3(%l)$9}"
#
#song_status_format = "{{%a{ \"%b\"{ (%y)}} - }{%t}}|{%f}"
#
#song_library_format = "{%n - }{%t}|{%f}"
#
#tag_editor_album_format = "{(%y) }%b"
#
##
## Note: Below variables are for alternative version of user's interface.
## Their syntax supports all tags and colors listed above plus some extra
## markers used for text attributes. They are followed by character '$'.
## After that you can put:
##
## - b - bold text
## - u - underline text
## - r - reverse colors
## - a - use alternative character set
##
## If you don't want to use an attribute anymore, just put it again, but
## this time insert character '/' between '$' and attribute character,
## e.g. {$b%t$/b}|{$r%f$/r} will display bolded title tag or filename
## with reversed colors.
##
#
#alternative_header_first_line_format = "$b$1$aqqu$/a$9 {%t}|{%f} $1$atqq$/a$9$/b"
#
#alternative_header_second_line_format = "{{$4$b%a$/b$9}{ - $7%b$9}{ ($4%y$9)}}|{%D}"
#
##
## Note: Below variables also supports
## text attributes listed above.
##
#
#now_playing_prefix = "$b"
#
#now_playing_suffix = "$/b"
#
#browser_playlist_prefix = "$2playlist$9 "
#
#selected_item_prefix = "$6"
#
#selected_item_suffix = "$9"
#
## colors are not supported for below variable
#
#song_window_title_format = "{%a - }{%t}|{%f}"
#
##### columns settings #####
##
## syntax of song columns list format is "column column etc."
##
## - syntax for each column is:
##
## (width of column)[column's color]{displayed tag}
##
## Note: Width is by default in %, if you want a column to
## have fixed size, add 'f' after the value, e.g. (10)[white]{a}
## will be the column that take 10% of screen (so the real column's
## width will depend on actual screen size), whereas (10f)[white]{a}
## will take 10 terminal cells, no matter how wide the screen is.
##
## - color is optional (if you want the default one, type [])
##
## Note: You can give a column additional attributes by putting appropriate
## character after displayed tag character. Available attributes are:
##
## - r - column will be right aligned
## - E - if tag is empty, empty tag marker won't be displayed
##
## You can also:
##
## - give a column custom name by putting it after attributes,
## separated with character ':', e.g. {lr:Length} gives you
## right aligned column of lengths named "Length".
##
## - define sequence of tags, that have to be displayed in case
## predecessor is empty in a way similar to the one in classic
## song format, i.e. using '|' character, e.g. {a|c|p:Owner}
## creates column named "Owner" that tries to display artist
## tag and then composer and performer if previous ones are
## not available.
##
#
#song_columns_list_format = "(7f)[green]{l} (25)[cyan]{a} (40)[]{t|f} (30)[red]{b}"
#
##### various settings #####
#
##
## Note: Custom command that will be executed each
## time song changes. Useful for notifications etc.
##
## Attention: It doesn't support song format anymore.
## Use `ncmpcpp --now-playing SONG_FORMAT` instead.
##
#execute_on_song_change = ""
#
#playlist_show_remaining_time = "no"
#
#playlist_shorten_total_times = "no"
#
#playlist_separate_albums = "no"
#
#playlist_display_mode = "classic" (classic/columns)
#
#browser_display_mode = "classic" (classic/columns)
#
#search_engine_display_mode = "classic" (classic/columns)
#
#playlist_editor_display_mode = "classic" (classic/columns)
#
#discard_colors_if_item_is_selected = "yes"
#
#incremental_seeking = "yes"
#
#seek_time = "1"
#
#autocenter_mode = "no"
#
#centered_cursor = "no"
#
##
## Note: You can specify third character which will
## be used to build 'empty' part of progressbar.
##
#progressbar_look = "=&gt;"
#
#default_place_to_search_in = "database" (database/playlist)
#
#user_interface = "classic" (classic/alternative)
#
#media_library_left_column = "a" (possible values: a,y,g,c,p, legend above)
#
#default_find_mode = "wrapped" (wrapped/normal)
#
#default_space_mode = "add" (add/select)
#
#default_tag_editor_left_col = "albums" (albums/dirs)
#
#default_tag_editor_pattern = "%n - %t"
#
#header_visibility = "yes"
#
#statusbar_visibility = "yes"
#
#titles_visibility = "yes"
#
#header_text_scrolling = "yes"
#
#fancy_scrolling = "yes"
#
#cyclic_scrolling = "no"
#
#lines_scrolled = "2"
#
#follow_now_playing_lyrics = "no"
#
#fetch_lyrics_for_current_song_in_background = "no"
#
#store_lyrics_in_song_dir = "no"
#
##
## Note: If you set this variable, ncmpcpp will try to
## get info from last.fm in language you set and if it
## fails, it will fall back to english. Otherwise it will
## use english the first time.
##
## Note: Language has to be expressed as an ISO 639 alpha-2 code.
##
#lastfm_preferred_language = ""
#
#ncmpc_like_songs_adding = "no" (enabled - add/remove, disabled - always add)
#
#show_hidden_files_in_local_browser = "no"
#
#display_screens_numbers_on_start = "yes"
#
##
## How shall key_screen_switcher work?
##
## - "previous" - switch between current and last used screen
## - "sequence: 2 -&gt; 9 -&gt; 5" - switch between given sequence of screens.
##
## Screen numbers you can use after 'sequence' keyword are:
##
## - 1 - help
## - 2 - playlist
## - 3 - browser
## - 4 - search engine
## - 5 - media library
## - 6 - playlist editor
## - 7 - tag editor
## - 8 - outputs
## - 9 - visualizer
## - 10 - clock
##
## As you can see, above example will switch between
## playlist, visualizer and media library screens.
##
#screen_switcher_mode = "sequence: 2 -&gt; 3"
#
##
## Default width of locked screen (in %).
## Acceptable values are from 20 to 80.
##
#
#locked_screen_width_part = "50"
#
#ask_for_locked_screen_width_part = "yes"
#
##
## Note: You can define startup screen for ncmpcpp
## by choosing screen number from the list above.
##
#startup_screen = "2"
#
#jump_to_now_playing_song_at_start = "yes"
#
#ask_before_clearing_main_playlist = "no"
#
#clock_display_seconds = "no"
#
#display_volume_level = "yes"
#
#display_bitrate = "no"
#
#display_remaining_time = "no"
#
#regular_expressions = "basic" (basic/extended)
#
##
## Note: If below is enabled, ncmpcpp will ignore leading
## "The" word while sorting items in browser, tags in
## media library, etc.
##
#ignore_leading_the = "no"
#
#block_search_constraints_change_if_items_found = "yes"
#
#mouse_support = "yes"
#
#mouse_list_scroll_whole_page = "yes"
#
#empty_tag_marker = "&lt;empty&gt;"
#
#tag_editor_extended_numeration = "no"
#
#media_library_display_date = "yes"
#
#media_library_display_empty_tag = "yes"
#
#media_library_disable_two_column_mode = "no"
#
#enable_window_title = "yes"
#
##
## Note: You can choose default search mode for search
## engine. Available modes are:
##
## - 1 - use mpd built-in searching (no regexes, pattern matching)
## - 2 - use ncmpcpp searching (pattern matching with support for regexes,
## but if your mpd is on a remote machine, downloading big database
## to process it can take a while
## - 3 - match only exact values (this mode uses mpd function for searching
## in database and local one for searching in current playlist)
##
#
#search_engine_default_search_mode = "1"
#
##
## Note: Below variables can allow you to physically
## remove files and directories from your hdd using
## ncmpcpp's browser screen.
##
#
#allow_physical_files_deletion = "no"
#
#allow_physical_directories_deletion = "no"
#
#external_editor = ""
#
#use_console_editor = "no" (set to yes, if your editor is console app)
#
##### colors definitions #####
#
#colors_enabled = "yes"
#
#empty_tag_color = "cyan"
#
#header_window_color = "default"
#
#volume_color = "default"
#
#state_line_color = "default"
#
#state_flags_color = "default"
#
#main_window_color = "yellow"
#
#color1 = "white"
#
#color2 = "green"
#
#main_window_highlight_color = "yellow"
#
#progressbar_color = "default"
#
#statusbar_color = "default"
#
#alternative_ui_separator_color = "black"
#
#active_column_color = "red"
#
#visualizer_color = "yellow"
#
#window_border_color = "green"
#
#active_window_border = "red"
#

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####################################################

## this is example configuration file, copy it to ##

## ~/.ncmpcpp/config and set up your preferences ##

####################################################

##### directories ######

## Directory for storing ncmpcpp related files.

## Changing it is useful if you want to store

## everything somewhere else and provide command

## line setting for alternative location to config

## file which defines that while launching ncmpcpp.

ncmpcpp_directory = "~/.ncmpcpp"

## Directory for storing downloaded lyrics. It

## defaults to ~/.lyrics since other MPD clients

## (eg. ncmpc) also use that location.

lyrics_directory = "~/.lyrics"

##### connection settings #####

## set it in order to make tag editor and renaming files work properly

mpd_host = "localhost"

mpd_port = "6666"

mpd_music_dir = "/home/pi/Music"

mpd_connection_timeout = "5"

mpd_crossfade_time = "5"

#mpd_communication_mode = "notifications" (polling/notifications)

##### music visualizer #####

## Note: In order to make music visualizer work you'll

## need to use mpd fifo output, whose format parameter

## has to be set to 44100:16:1 for mono visualization

## or 44100:16:2 for stereo visualization. Example

## configuration (it has to be put into mpd.conf):

## audio_output {

## type "fifo"

## name "My FIFO"

## path "/tmp/mpd.fifo"

## format "44100:16:2"

## }

## If you set format to 44100:16:2, make it 'yes'.

#visualizer_in_stereo = "no"

#visualizer_fifo_path = ""

## Note: Below parameter is needed for ncmpcpp

## to determine which output provides data for

## visualizer and thus allow syncing between

## visualization and sound as currently there

## are some problems with it.

#visualizer_output_name = ""

## Note: Below parameter defines how often ncmpcpp

## has to "synchronize" visualizer and audio outputs.

## 30 seconds is optimal value, but if you experience

## synchronization problems, set it to lower value.

## Keep in mind that sane values start with >=10.

#visualizer_sync_interval = "30"

## Note: To enable spectrum frequency visualization

## you need to compile ncmpcpp with fftw3 support.

#visualizer_type = "wave" (spectrum/wave)

#visualizer_look = "◆│"

##### system encoding #####

## ncmpcpp should detect your charset encoding

## but if it failed to do so, you can specify

## charset encoding you are using here.

## Note: You can see whether your ncmpcpp build

## supports charset detection by checking output

## of `ncmpcpp --version`.

## Note: Since MPD uses utf8 by default, setting

## this option makes sense only if your encoding

## is different.

#system_encoding = ""

##### delays #####

## delay after playlist highlighting will be disabled (0 = don't disable)

playlist_disable_highlight_delay = "5"

## defines how long various messages are supposed to be visible

message_delay_time = "4"

##### song format #####

## for song format you can use:

## %l - length

## %f - filename

## %D - directory

## %a - artist

## %A - album artist

## %t - title

## %b - album

## %y - year

## %n - track number (01/12 -> 01)

## %N - full track info (01/12 -> 01/12)

## %g - genre

## %c - composer

## %p - performer

## %d - disc

## %C - comment

## $R - begin right alignment

## you can also put them in { } and then it will be displayed

## only if all requested values are available and/or define alternate

## value with { }|{ } eg. {%a - %t}|{%f}

## Note: If you want to set limit on maximal length of a tag, just

## put the appropriate number between % and character that defines

## tag type, e.g. to make album take max. 20 terminal cells, use '%20b'.

## Note: Format that is similar to "%a - %t" (i.e. without any additional

## braces) is equal to "{%a - %t}", so if one of the tags is missing,

## you'll get nothing.

## text can also have different color than the main window has,

## eg. if you want length to be green, write $3%l$9

## available values:

## - 0 - default window color (discards all other colors)

## - 1 - black

## - 2 - red

## - 3 - green

## - 4 - yellow

## - 5 - blue

## - 6 - magenta

## - 7 - cyan

## - 8 - white

## - 9 - end of current color

## Note: colors can be nested.

#song_list_format = "{%a - }{%t}|{$8%f$9}$R{$3(%l)$9}"

#song_status_format = "{{%a{ \"%b\"{ (%y)}} - }{%t}}|{%f}"

#song_library_format = "{%n - }{%t}|{%f}"

#tag_editor_album_format = "{(%y) }%b"

## Note: Below variables are for alternative version of user's interface.

## Their syntax supports all tags and colors listed above plus some extra

## markers used for text attributes. They are followed by character '$'.

## After that you can put:

## - b - bold text

## - u - underline text

## - r - reverse colors

## - a - use alternative character set

## If you don't want to use an attribute anymore, just put it again, but

## this time insert character '/' between '$' and attribute character,

## e.g. {$b%t$/b}|{$r%f$/r} will display bolded title tag or filename

## with reversed colors.

#alternative_header_first_line_format = "$b$1$aqqu$/a$9 {%t}|{%f} $1$atqq$/a$9$/b"

#alternative_header_second_line_format = "{{$4$b%a$/b$9}{ - $7%b$9}{ ($4%y$9)}}|{%D}"

## Note: Below variables also supports

## text attributes listed above.

#now_playing_prefix = "$b"

#now_playing_suffix = "$/b"

#browser_playlist_prefix = "$2playlist$9 "

#selected_item_prefix = "$6"

#selected_item_suffix = "$9"

## colors are not supported for below variable

#song_window_title_format = "{%a - }{%t}|{%f}"

##### columns settings #####

## syntax of song columns list format is "column column etc."

## - syntax for each column is:

## (width of column)[column's color]{displayed tag}

## Note: Width is by default in %, if you want a column to

## have fixed size, add 'f' after the value, e.g. (10)[white]{a}

## will be the column that take 10% of screen (so the real column's

## width will depend on actual screen size), whereas (10f)[white]{a}

## will take 10 terminal cells, no matter how wide the screen is.

## - color is optional (if you want the default one, type [])

## Note: You can give a column additional attributes by putting appropriate

## character after displayed tag character. Available attributes are:

## - r - column will be right aligned

## - E - if tag is empty, empty tag marker won't be displayed

## You can also:

## - give a column custom name by putting it after attributes,

## separated with character ':', e.g. {lr:Length} gives you

## right aligned column of lengths named "Length".

## - define sequence of tags, that have to be displayed in case

## predecessor is empty in a way similar to the one in classic

## song format, i.e. using '|' character, e.g. {a|c|p:Owner}

## creates column named "Owner" that tries to display artist

## tag and then composer and performer if previous ones are

## not available.

#song_columns_list_format = "(7f)[green]{l} (25)[cyan]{a} (40)[]{t|f} (30)[red]{b}"

##### various settings #####

## Note: Custom command that will be executed each

## time song changes. Useful for notifications etc.

## Attention: It doesn't support song format anymore.

## Use `ncmpcpp --now-playing SONG_FORMAT` instead.

#execute_on_song_change = ""

#playlist_show_remaining_time = "no"

#playlist_shorten_total_times = "no"

#playlist_separate_albums = "no"

#playlist_display_mode = "classic" (classic/columns)

#browser_display_mode = "classic" (classic/columns)

#search_engine_display_mode = "classic" (classic/columns)

#playlist_editor_display_mode = "classic" (classic/columns)

#discard_colors_if_item_is_selected = "yes"

#incremental_seeking = "yes"

#seek_time = "1"

#autocenter_mode = "no"

#centered_cursor = "no"

## Note: You can specify third character which will

## be used to build 'empty' part of progressbar.

#progressbar_look = "=>"

#default_place_to_search_in = "database" (database/playlist)

#user_interface = "classic" (classic/alternative)

#media_library_left_column = "a" (possible values: a,y,g,c,p, legend above)

#default_find_mode = "wrapped" (wrapped/normal)

#default_space_mode = "add" (add/select)

#default_tag_editor_left_col = "albums" (albums/dirs)

#default_tag_editor_pattern = "%n - %t"

#header_visibility = "yes"

#statusbar_visibility = "yes"

#titles_visibility = "yes"

#header_text_scrolling = "yes"

#fancy_scrolling = "yes"

#cyclic_scrolling = "no"

#lines_scrolled = "2"

#follow_now_playing_lyrics = "no"

#fetch_lyrics_for_current_song_in_background = "no"

#store_lyrics_in_song_dir = "no"

## Note: If you set this variable, ncmpcpp will try to

## get info from last.fm in language you set and if it

## fails, it will fall back to english. Otherwise it will

## use english the first time.

## Note: Language has to be expressed as an ISO 639 alpha-2 code.

#lastfm_preferred_language = ""

#ncmpc_like_songs_adding = "no" (enabled - add/remove, disabled - always add)

#show_hidden_files_in_local_browser = "no"

#display_screens_numbers_on_start = "yes"

## How shall key_screen_switcher work?

## - "previous" - switch between current and last used screen

## - "sequence: 2 -> 9 -> 5" - switch between given sequence of screens.

## Screen numbers you can use after 'sequence' keyword are:

## - 1 - help

## - 2 - playlist

## - 3 - browser

## - 4 - search engine

## - 5 - media library

## - 6 - playlist editor

## - 7 - tag editor

## - 8 - outputs

## - 9 - visualizer

## - 10 - clock

## As you can see, above example will switch between

## playlist, visualizer and media library screens.

#screen_switcher_mode = "sequence: 2 -> 3"

## Default width of locked screen (in %).

## Acceptable values are from 20 to 80.

#locked_screen_width_part = "50"

#ask_for_locked_screen_width_part = "yes"

## Note: You can define startup screen for ncmpcpp

## by choosing screen number from the list above.

#startup_screen = "2"

#jump_to_now_playing_song_at_start = "yes"

#ask_before_clearing_main_playlist = "no"

#clock_display_seconds = "no"

#display_volume_level = "yes"

#display_bitrate = "no"

#display_remaining_time = "no"

#regular_expressions = "basic" (basic/extended)

## Note: If below is enabled, ncmpcpp will ignore leading

## "The" word while sorting items in browser, tags in

## media library, etc.

#ignore_leading_the = "no"

#block_search_constraints_change_if_items_found = "yes"

#mouse_support = "yes"

#mouse_list_scroll_whole_page = "yes"

#empty_tag_marker = "<empty>"

#tag_editor_extended_numeration = "no"

#media_library_display_date = "yes"

#media_library_display_empty_tag = "yes"

#media_library_disable_two_column_mode = "no"

#enable_window_title = "yes"

## Note: You can choose default search mode for search

## engine. Available modes are:

## - 1 - use mpd built-in searching (no regexes, pattern matching)

## - 2 - use ncmpcpp searching (pattern matching with support for regexes,

## but if your mpd is on a remote machine, downloading big database

## to process it can take a while

## - 3 - match only exact values (this mode uses mpd function for searching

## in database and local one for searching in current playlist)

#search_engine_default_search_mode = "1"

## Note: Below variables can allow you to physically

## remove files and directories from your hdd using

## ncmpcpp's browser screen.

#allow_physical_files_deletion = "no"

#allow_physical_directories_deletion = "no"

#external_editor = ""

#use_console_editor = "no" (set to yes, if your editor is console app)

##### colors definitions #####

#colors_enabled = "yes"

#empty_tag_color = "cyan"

#header_window_color = "default"

#volume_color = "default"

#state_line_color = "default"

#state_flags_color = "default"

#main_window_color = "yellow"

#color1 = "white"

#color2 = "green"

#main_window_highlight_color = "yellow"

#progressbar_color = "default"

#statusbar_color = "default"

#alternative_ui_separator_color = "black"

#active_column_color = "red"

#visualizer_color = "yellow"

#window_border_color = "green"

#active_window_border = "red"

So yea. That’s it! You should be up and running!

Start ncmpcpp in a tty with the logical command of “ncmpcpp” This will open the client app and allow you to start playing music! Being it’s a command line app, most of the work is done with keyboard commands. Press the number “1″ on your keyboard (NOT on the 10key if you have one to the right of your normal keyboard but the numbers above the qwerty row) and you will be shown a VERY long list of keyboard commands to control ncmpcpp, however the arrow and space and enter key’s will get you through most of it easily.

Plug it in to your amplifier, or better yet, grab your android phone and grab the free app called “MPDroid” it’s the best app I’ve found to interface with MPD. Now you can control your music from your phone, and get a stream of it sent TO your phone as well! No wires needed! (however it will be significantly buffered, so be patient when you first choose to start your stream)

Not too bad right!

Enjoy and if you have any questions, feel free to post a comment, here or in our forums, or even in my IRC hangout at italktomachines.com !

mpd music ncmpcpp raspberry pi raspi streaming

Auto Start your WiFi on Raspberry Pi

9 months ago

by Daniel Stinebaugh in bash, howto, linux, raspberry pi, scripting

So I just got my new Hawking HWUN3 USB wireless N adapter that I purchased for my Raspberry Pi, and wanted it to connect on boot being I only access it via SSH and to plug it in to a wired adapter in order to start the wireless connection so that I can unplug it just didn’t make sense. So here’s how I got it installed and starting on boot.

This network adapter is perfect, I didn’t need to compile a thing, it was recognized right out of the box. LOVE IT!

I ran ifconfig and it was right there, happy and waiting.

[codesyntax lang="bash" lines="no" title="ifconfig output"]

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:0e:3b:1e:b8:4d
inet addr:192.168.0.51 Bcast:192.168.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:464 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:267 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:68999 (67.3 KiB) TX bytes:40100 (39.1 KiB)

[/codesyntax]

Then you’ll need to do a little bash scripting, you can create a script in “/etc/init.d/” and then run “update-rc.d scriptname defaults” to install it, however I decided to instead just add it to the end of “/etc/rc.local” as this will run after everything else has already loaded after a reboot. Of course you can have init start your script at the end of the boot cycle (or anywhere in between) but the rc.local just takes less planning.

By default the “/etc/rc.local” file does nothing, but I left the existing code in and just commented it out. You can do what you like of course. Here is the contents of my rc.local file

[codesyntax lang="bash" lines="normal" title="rc.local"]

#!/bin/sh -e
#
# rc.local
#
# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.
# Make sure that the script will “exit 0″ on success or any other
# value on error.
#
# In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution
# bits.
#
# By default this script does nothing.

## Print the IP address
#_IP=$(hostname -I) || true
#if [ "$_IP" ]; then
# printf “My IP address is %s\n” “$_IP”
#fi

echo “Starting WiFi…”
wpa_supplicant -B -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
sleep .5s
dhclient wlan0
echo “WiFi should be started”

exit 0

[/codesyntax]

The code doesn’t actually do anything until line 18. On line 19 you’ll see that we’re starting the wpa_supplicant in the background (-B) for interface wlan0 (-i wlan0) using the configuration file found at “/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf” (-c)

We will need to create that file. Also I should note, wpasupplicant was already installed on my image, however if you need it installed, just issue the following command.

[codesyntax lang="bash" lines="no" title="install wpa supplicant"]

sudo apt-get install wpasupplicant

1	sudo apt-get install wpasupplicant

[/codesyntax]

now let’s create the ever important wpa_supplicant.conf file. This will hold your ssid name and pre-shared key (password) of course replace YOURSSID and YOURPASSWORD with your own info respectively.

[codesyntax lang="bash" lines="fancy" title="create wpa_supplicant.conf file"]

sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

1	sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

[/codesyntax]

and the contents of that file should look something like this:

[codesyntax lang="bash" lines="fancy" title="wpa_supplicant.conf"]

network={
ssid="YOURSSID"
psk="YOURPASSWORD"
}

network={

ssid="YOURSSID"

psk="YOURPASSWORD"

}

[/codesyntax]

That’s it! You should be connected! Go ahead and reboot, and then run iwconfig and you should be connected to your designated access point, all without using the GUI!

Here’s a pic of my pi, with the usb stick, and some ram heat sinks I picked up at Frys for like $10 ( and I still have 6 more lying around now.. guess I’ll need more pi!)

And here’s a screen dump showing it recognized by my pi.

[codesyntax lang="text" lines="fancy" title="pi screendump"]

Using username “pi”.
pi@192.168.0.51′s password:
Linux raspberrypi 3.1.9+ #168 PREEMPT Sat Jul 14 18:56:31 BST 2012 armv6l

The programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free software;
the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the
individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.

Debian GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent
permitted by applicable law.

Type ‘startx’ to launch a graphical session

Last login: Wed Jul 25 19:45:17 2012 from 192.168.0.119
pi@raspberrypi ~ $ iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:”editedformysaftey”
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.452 GHz Access Point: BC:C5:C3:6C
Bit Rate=65 Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:on
Link Quality=70/70 Signal level=-37 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:47 Invalid misc:3 Missed beacon:0

pi@raspberrypi ~ $ ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr b8:27:16:60
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:1104 (1.0 KiB) TX bytes:1104 (1.0 KiB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:3b:1e:b8
inet addr:192.168.0.51 Bcast:192.168.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:464 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:267 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:68999 (67.3 KiB) TX bytes:40100 (39.1 KiB)

pi@raspberrypi ~ $ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0424:9512 Standard Microsystems Corp.
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0424:ec00 Standard Microsystems Corp.
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0e66:0013 Hawking Technologies HWUN3 Hi-Gain Wireless-N Adapter [Ralink RT3070]
pi@raspberrypi ~ $

[/codesyntax]

One thing to note, your network led’s wont be working, because your not using your nic…. You’ll want to watch the led on the actual usb stick to see if there’s activity. If it’s up and online, the light will be steady green, and only flash with transmissions. If it’s constantly off and only blinks every few seconds, something’s wrong and you’ll need to do some troubleshooting.

Hope this helps someone, and if not, at least I can forget about how I did it until my next pi comes in a few more days!

bash linux raspberry pi scripting wifi

Installing Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS using Hardware Raid1

10 months ago

by Daniel Stinebaugh in linux

So my new 10,000 rpm raptor drives came in today, and I’ve had a sabrent hardware 4 port sata raid controller sitting around for a while, and decided to put them to work in a desktop server I plan on migrating the site’s I host (including this one) over to during the next few weeks.

One of the main reasons for the move is I this new raid1 setup will help ensure that me and my clients data will remain safe, in the case of a hardware failure. While I do currently backup with mysqldump and some rsync magic, restoration is alot easier using raid, then moving and re-installing everything from backups, not to mention just add’s to the geek cred

However I ran into a problem installing grub the error stated:

Unable to install GRUB in /dev/mapper

Executing ‘grub-install ‘/dev/mapper’ failed.

This is a fatal error

and because I haven’t had a lot of experience with either raid configurations or ever having installed linux to a machine with such a configuration I needed to do some research.

I found a few good posts, but most of them recommended creating another partition just for grub, and then using the raid drives for the rest of the install.

To me that sounded like a poor workaround, I want the data to be mirrored on both drives, equally, grub and all.

That led me to try a few other avenues to figure out the correct and easy way to get through the install.

Long story short, here’s a breakdown of how to get it setup and working, the easy way. In this breakdown I’ll assume you can follow the easy installer prompts for Ubuntu, have “activated the serial ata raid devices”, have taken note of the array’s name (you can take note of it on the “[!!] Partition disks” screen that looks like the purple box on the left. (sorry not a vm so I had to take a picture of the screen…) in my case the name of the array is “sil_biegdfaaeabh”, and have continued onto the part of the install where it asks where to install grub.

First let’s find the name of the raid array, in case you forgot to take note of the name as mentioned in the previous paragraph (as I’ve done a few times when just mindlessly pressing next in the wee hours of the morning..) press Ctrl +alt+F2 to drop into a busybox terminal session. Press enter when prompted to start the terminal.
Type in the command [codesyntax lang="bash" lines="no" title="command"]

ls -l /dev/mapper

1

ls -l /dev/mapper

[/codesyntax] and find that funny-named array after the entry named controller and then head back to your install terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1.
enter that name after the /dev/mapper that is populated by default. In my case:
[codesyntax lang="bash" lines="no" title="install grub to:"]

/dev/mapper/sil_biagdfaaeabh

1

/dev/mapper/sil_biagdfaaeabh

[/codesyntax]Of course CHANGE THE NAME and substitute your OWN in the example above!
Continue setting up Ubuntu as you see fit, as the rest should complete without any further hassle!

In my case, I think after an update&&upgrade and mabye

[codesyntax lang="bash" title="command"]

sudo apt-get –-no-install-recommends install ubuntu-desktop

1	sudo apt-get –-no-install-recommends install ubuntu-desktop

[/codesyntax] IF you feel like having a desktop to work with, of course. I’m starting to like XFCE a lot more these days, and the Midori browser is coming along nicely, so also give that a consideration. Some tasks I just find easier with a mouse and desktop, notice I didn’t say faster, but this post is all about easy!

Then it’s on to something like ISPConfig3, I’m still loving the ease of administration of my web hosting and haven’t seen anything else close to as feature packed!

As for the actual migration, I’ll probably be too busy with it to document it fully, but I might write-up some helpful reminders for you and I if I find the time.

config linux raid ubuntu

Untangle on the Edge

11 months ago

by Daniel Stinebaugh in Blah, linux

So my new employer is very generous on the old hardware that is going to be recycled and let me take home an old desktop (sans hard drive of course).

Awesome! Now what to do with it…

Wait, I remember a cool router I used to use a few years ago when I first moved out of my parents house.

Untangle.

So I ran down to my local Fry’s Electronics, picked up a new hard drive (IDE is really expensive!) more ram (so is ddr ram…) and two gigabit network cards. (pretty cheap!)

Viola, a great and very powerful new router!

Untangle offers you two options to setup your untangle router, either as the edge device (directly connected to the internet) or as a transparent bridge (behind a firewall or router just doing traffic filtering). I went with it as my edge device.

The UI is great and I’ve always liked the interface, it looks like a rack of independant network devices that you can configure the same way, independantly.

It does everything a good UTM router does, and then some, and most of the options are available for free. (I did end up buying the web cache as it really does help speed up most web browsing.) and the pay for additions are pretty averagely priced.

The “lite” package is made out of entirely opensource software, and provides a great platform for free,

It also does reporting, generates a key based VPN connection for each client independently using OpenVPN (there’s also an IPSec VPN available for purchase as well.)

If you haven’t heard of it, check it out. If your looking for a new router for your network, they also provide hardware appliances as well, if you have an old beige box lying around, why not add a nic card or two and give it a shot yourself!

edge network router untangle

linux

All in one webserver from the ground up. A Virtualized Debian How-to

Stream My Pi

Auto Start your WiFi on Raspberry Pi

Installing Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS using Hardware Raid1

Untangle on the Edge

about.me

Daniel Stinebaugh

I Talk To Machines

linux

All in one webserver from the ground up. A Virtualized Debian How-to

Help this spread:

Stream My Pi

Help this spread:

Auto Start your WiFi on Raspberry Pi

Help this spread:

Installing Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS using Hardware Raid1

Help this spread:

Untangle on the Edge

Help this spread:

about.me

Daniel Stinebaugh

I Talk To Machines