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Page Revision: 2011-12-12 05:07


This is going to be an attempt at documenting the main aspects of my home (and, by extension, office) networking and computing setup, so that I have my thoughts in one place, and have an easier time of figuring out what's missing, and what to change, when another machine or technology enters the fray.

There's a very faint chance that something here might be useful to someone or that they get sent here by some confused search engine algorithm - if so, don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Home Server

An increasing requirement is an always-on server - I happen to currently favor a Mac Mini running Windows 7 (I stick to windows out of laziness - I'm just quicker on my feet in a windows environment). I would love a more power-efficient Pico-ITX or similar server, but Apple's power usage claims on the Mac Mini are already pretty impressive, and it doubles as a decent projector source.

Sync Folders

I'm a big fan of Unison as it's a dedicated cross-OS sync solution, but I'm more than a little saddened by its stagnation/abandonment (or, maybe more to the point, its use of OCaml that seems to guarantee its long-term demise); I'd love to create something equivalent (for my purposes at least) starting from a project like Duplicati, but in the meantime I keep using it as it's the only reliable cross-OS open-source solution I'm aware of. These instructions are tainted by my preference for Windows, but seem to work:

  • Install cygwin ssh on the server (currently v1.7.x). I used to shrink away from any setup that included cygwin because of the unmaintainable bloat I remembered, but recently gave it a try and was VERY pleasantly surprised by the package-manager-like setup program they have now. Easy to set up, easy to use, but you still need some googling:
    • Install base packages + nano (or your editor of choice) and OpenSSH, and auto-selected dependencies
    • if installing nano, you'll probably want to make it the default editor: echo export EDITOR=/usr/bin/nano >> ~/.bashrc
    • from a cygwin terminal started as Administrator, run "ssh-host-config"
      • priviledge separation: yes (it can only be safer, and I haven't found it breaking anything yet)
      • new local account: yes
      • service: yes
      • value of cygwin: (I left it blank - the defaults seem to work fine for me)
      • different name than cyg_server: no (will only be asked on windows 2003 and later)
      • create user cyg_server: yes (will only be asked on windows 2003 and later)
      • new password: something that you will never remember (you can always reset it and update the service(s) later)
    • As recommended here, might as well change /etc/sshd_config to prevent legacy SSH 1 connections, using nano to edit the file (for some reason cygwin protects its config files against local windows admins...?)
    • Similarly, change the port to (marginally) help avoid drive-by automated attacks
    • start the service ("net start sshd")
    • if you're running a host-based firewall like Windows Firewall, set up an appropriate exception (usually on your target port, TCP only)
    • If you're going to want access from outside your LAN (eg for remote backup), then set up a port forward on your router (TCP only)
    • If you're setting up a dedicated user for Unison (with limited rights, presumably) then run "mkpasswd -cl > /etc/passwd" afterwards to sync the passwd file.
    • Test eg with FileZilla
  • Install Unison on server
    • Drop GTK+ (2.22.0??) files somewhere known eg Progra~1, and add to path (optional, for GUI debugging)
    • Drop Unison files somewhere known eg Progra~1 (optional, for GUI debugging)
    • Copy Unison-Cmdline into C:\Windows\System32 (or somewhere else that will be in the PATH of a cygwin shell), as Unison.exe
  • Install Unison on Client
    • Drop GTK+ (2.22.0??) files somewhere known eg Progra~1, and add to path
    • Drop Unison files somewhere known eg Progra~1
    • Add plink.exe and the ssh.exe wrapper to plink (eg from here) in the Unison folder
      • We don't use cygwin SSH, although it also works, because cygwin SSH has irritating permissions/path issues outside of its shell env.
    • Generate a public/private keypair with puTTYgen, keep the private key file with the Unison setup (program file probably), and place the appropriate entry in the server's "authorized_keys" file for the target user (creating the .ssh folder for that user profile if necessary, and even the user's folder in /home).
    • Connect to the server from the client using puTTY, to save the trusted host key
    • Set up one or more appropriate "prf" files in your User profile's ".unison" folder, eg:
      #local folder to sync
      
      root = c:\Archive
      #server/shared mirror location
      root = ssh://Unison@192.168.2.30/D:/UnisonSync/Archive
      #Careful with this! Forces RSync mirroring! (deletes any local files that don't match - rarely use)
      #force = ssh://Unison@192.168.2.30/D:/UnisonSync/Archive
      #private key and port specifiers for plink
      sshargs = -i ConfuzzedToUnisonOnMinimac.ppk -P 12322
      #back up all deleted files in the unison profile folder, just in case!
      backup = Name *
      #accept (non-conflicting) changes automatically
      auto = true
      #start automatically (don't wait for the user to click anything)
      batch = true
      #trust file timestamps and sizes on windows, don't always re-hash in case someone's messing with us (much faster).
      fastcheck = true
      #don't bother with version control internals, trust that there is a connection to an authoritative VCS server
      ignore = Regex .*/*\.(svn|git).*
      #Winmerge: suggested at https://alliance.seas.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/wiki/index.php?n=Main.UnisonFAQOSSpecific
      # /e: Exit by single escape
      # /ub: Do not add paths to MRI
      # /dl, dr: Description, left, right
      # /wr Right side: read only
      # Merge only works when first root is local!
      # merge disabled because I want to automate the process (commandline) - but can be enabled for UI-interactive sync
      #merge = Name * -> "c:\Program Files\WinMerge\winmergeu" /ub /e /wr /dl "Local" /dr "Remote" "CURRENT1" "CURRENT2"
      # diff enabled because it never hurts to have that option (isn't automatic)
      diff = "c:\Program Files\WinMerge\winmergeu" /ub /e /wr /dl "Local" /dr "Remote" "CURRENT1" "CURRENT2"


SysLog Logging

If you want to keep track of what happens in your home network (esp. inbound access that could indicate a security breach), you need to have some sort of logging happening. I know there are a few large open-source network monitoring/administration systems out there, some of which are open-source (eg OpenNMS), but I like to keep things as simple as possible, using simple broadly-supported tools.

As such, SysLog is my monitoring protocol of choice, within my network. I used to favour Kiwi Syslog Server s a free option, but since I want on my open-source bender and discovered that cygwin is very usable these days, I've started using syslog-ng on Cygwin:

  • Install Cygwin syslog-ng on the server
    • (see above, incl installing nano)
    • see overview here, for example:
      • run setup
      • select "syslog-ng", and probably also cron, and continue
      • accept that it's going to have to install all sorts of prerequisites/dependencies, continue to end
      • run "syslog-ng-config" from a cygwin console that was started as Administrator, and install as service.
      • edit the /etc/syslog-ng/syslog-ng.conf config file with nano, configure logging preferences:
        • uncomment the network source line in the "log" section, to enable incoming log messages to the server from the network
        • change the filename to include datestamp in the name (unless you have cool logrotate-style functionality available somewhere), eg filename "/var/log/messages_$YEAR-$MONTH-$DAY", and see below for scheduled deletion of old files
        • (last time I checked the doc is here, consider checking there for any aditional rules / functionality)
        • (also see sample files here and here)
    • run the cron service setup, "cron-config" (from an administrator cygwin prompt)
      • I let cron start as localsystem, as I'm using LSA for OpenSSH authentication anyway. Avast! antivirus identifies this as a "potentially unsafe" program and asks me to sandbox it, but obviously that would defeat the purpose so I need to add an exemption. I'd love to know the history to that specific detection default...
    • set up new tasks with crontab, by running crontab -e (assuming you already have a default editor set up and are happy with it)
  • open the port (514 UDP by default) in windows firewall on the server, so that the syslog server is reachable from devices eg router
  • ensure that all network devices know where to log to (esp. router, see below)
  • once devices are logging, check activity eg with "tail -f /var/log/messages" or something like that (specific filename)

Network

I'm a big fan of technologies that make me the "owner" of my hardware, and as such DD-WRT (and others in the family, such as Tomato firmware) strike me as the coolest thing ever. Consequently, I try to buy devices that can are supported by open firmware (as far as I know DD-WRT has the broadest support).

I recently purchased what appears to be the best of both worlds - the "TP-Link TL-WR841ND v7", an absolutely dirt-cheap router (less than 30 EUR) that happens to be supported by DD-WRT, and here's the high-level setup:

  • Administration -> Management: Password
  • Setup -> Basic: IP Address (192.168.2.1)
  • Setup -> MAC Address Clone: Set this to a fixed tht is the SAME as the sometime-default, because otherwise the WAN mac, and therefore the interim IP address, wavers along the lifetime of the router boot/uptime... (use the default MAC but ending in 2, as this seems to be the pre-cloning MAC)
  • Administration -> Management: Web access - HTTPS only, internal only, no telnet or SSH (except temporarily for backup & upgrade...?)
  • Administration -> Management: Max Ports: 4096
  • Administration -> Management: TCP Timeout: 300 secs (UDP default 120)
  • Wifi
    • Primary "TWireless" with WPA2-PSK-AES, ending in "7"
    • WDS of type "LAN" to AP, defaults
  • DHCP Fixed (list snipped)
  • Port Forwarding (list snipped)
  • QoS
    • Enable, on WAN, default packet scheduler, with upling & downlink specified.
    • Set the IP Phone MAC address with "Premium" priority (need to "Add" to set the prriority)
    • Add a "MiniMac-BT" service for the appropriate port range, apply
    • Select the new "MiniMac-BT" service at "Bulk" priority (means no reservations at all)
  • Dynamic DNS
    • Setting is in Setup -> DDNS
    • I use DynDNS.org - venerable, and as far as I know reliable.
    • I can easily find my dynamic hostname (I frequently forget it) by looking up my internal website hostname on iptools.com - my website hostname is a CNAME entry to my dyndns hostname.
  • SysLog forwarding
    • Enable the syslog option with a server IP (the server defined above) in Services -> Services, "System Log" setting.
    • Enable security logging events, under Security -> Firewall -> Log Management, enable, set to high, and enable "Accepted" to have a record of every accepted connection (and thereby a reasonable audit trail of ports accessed across your network).

Additional parameters that I would have liked to set up, but caused reliability problems (within-network inter-host connectivity failures, WDS connectivity failures, etc):

  • guest "GuestWireless" with WPA2-PSK-AES password on a note on the fridge
    • Setup -> Networking: create "br1" bridge for 192.168.4.1, save/apply
    • Setup -> Networking: create a bridge assignment, "br1" to the virtual wifi interface ("ath0.1")
    • Setup -> Networking: multiple DNCP Server, create "DHCP 0" on "br1" (NOT "ath0.1"), On, defaults.
      • At this point you have a guest SSID and subnet, with internet access, but full cross-talk!
    • Administration -> Commands: Save Firewall script (from http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Multiple_WLANs):
      iptables -I FORWARD -i br1 -o br0 -m state --state NEW -j DROP
      
      iptables -I FORWARD -i br0 -o br1 -m state --state NEW -j DROP
      iptables -I FORWARD -i br1 -d `nvram get wan_ipaddr`/`nvram get wan_netmask` -m state --state NEW -j DROP
      iptables -I INPUT -i br1 -m state --state NEW -j DROP
      iptables -I INPUT -i br1 -p udp --dport 67 -j ACCEPT
      iptables -I INPUT -i br1 -p udp --dport 53 -j ACCEPT
      iptables -I INPUT -i br1 -p tcp --dport 53 -j ACCEPT

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