System Admin Simplified

The following procedure demonstrates how to connect to the GlobalProtect VPN via command-line terminals. ========== 1. Install openconnect (at least version 8) and dnsmasq. 1.1. Debian-based Linux user@host: $ sudo apt-get update user@host: $ sudo apt-get install openconnect dnsmasq 2. Make a simple shell script to automate the login. #!/bin/sh #BEGIN CODE with the shebang above. user=`whoami`; if [ $user != "root" ]; then echo "sudo required"; exit; fi echo -n "VPN_PASSWORD" | sudo openconnect --protocol=gp --user=VPN_USERNAME --passwd-on-stdin https://VPN_DOMAIN_NAME #END CODE 3. Save the shell script and execute. 3.1. Using the shell command. user@host: $ sh myshellscript.sh 3.2. By itself after changing the mode to executable. user@host: $ chmod +x myshellscript.sh user@host: $ ./myshellscript.sh ==========

Home Assistant is an open-source home automation system powered by Python, primarily intended to run on single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi, with Linux as the host operating system. The following procedure shows how to run Home Assistant Core on FreeBSD servers, on either physical or virtual machines. ========== 1. PREPARING THE SERVER 1.1. Update the package list and upgrade the existing packages. root@host: # pkg update && pkg upgrade -y 1.2. Install Python and other required packages. root@host: # pkg install python38 py38-sqlite3 openssl autoconf libffi rust 1.3. Create a system account with disabled login (-w no), a dedicated home directory (-m), and some informational text (-c comment). root@host: #  pw useradd homeassistant -w no -m -c "Home Assistant" 1.3.1. If groups for hardware input/output are present, append the system account. Else, skip this step for now. root@host: #  pw groupmod gpio -m homeassistant root@host: #  pw groupmod i2c -m ...

The following steps provide all directories and files in the "data" folder with the appropriate ownership and permissions to ensure smooth operation of the web server. This also prevents unauthorized users from viewing and modifying them. ========== 1. Log in to "root". Regular users must be part of the "wheel" group in order to do this. user@host: $ su - 2. Change ownership of all items to user "root" and group "www". root@host: # chown -R root:www /usr/local/www/apache24/data 3. Change permission modes to 750 for directories only. User "root" can (r)ead, (w)rite, and e(x)ecute directories. Users included in the group "www" can (r)ead and e(x)ecute but NOT write to directories. All other users are excluded. root@host: # find /usr/local/www/apache24/data -type d -exec chmod 750 {} + 4. Change permission modes to 640 for files only. User "root" can (r)ead and (w)rite but NOT execute files. Users included i...

The following procedure activates HTTPS for the Home Assistant server. The secure protocol uses TLS/SSL certificates to encrypt the data transferred between user and server. Although it is possible to make this home automation system, whether in  Linux or  FreeBSD , accessible over the Internet, Home Assistant is usually operated within private networks, either physical or virtual. In this case, self-signed certificates may be acceptable to use and quicker to deploy. ========== 1. Log in as the system account. 1.1. Linux, with $HOME "bin" included in $PATH (-i) of system account (-u). user@host: $ sudo -i -u homeassistant 1.2. FreeBSD, coming from "root" superuser. root@host: # su - homeassistant 2. Go to the Home Assistant configuration directory. user@host: $ cd ~/.homeassistant 3. Make a directory for SSL certificates. user@host: $ mkdir ssl 4. Ensure that only the system account and members of its group can access the directory. user@host:...

Home Assistant is an open-source home automation system powered by Python, primarily intended to run on single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi. The following procedure shows how to run Home Assistant Core on common Debian-based Linux servers, in either physical or virtual machines. ========== 1. PREPARING THE SERVER 1.1. Update the package list and upgrade the existing packages. user@host: $ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade -y 1.2. Install Python and required packages. user@host: $ sudo apt-get install python3 python3-dev python3-venv libffi-dev libssl-dev autoconf 1.3. Create a system account (-r) with a dedicated home directory (-m). user@host: $  sudo useradd -r -m homeassistant 1.3.1. If groups for hardware input/output are present, append the system account. Else, skip this step for now. user@host: $ sudo usermod -a -G dialout,gpio,i2c homeassistant 1.4. Ensure that only the system account and members of its group...

The following steps provide all directories and files in the www folder with the appropriate ownership and permissions to ensure smooth operation of the web server. This also prevents unauthorized users from viewing and modifying them. ========== 1. Change ownership of all items to user "root" and group "www-data". user@host: $  sudo chown -R root:www-data /var/www 2. Change permission modes to 750 for directories only. User "root" can (r)ead, (w)rite, and e(x)ecute directories. Users included in the group "www-data" can (r)ead and e(x)ecute but NOT write to directories. All other users are excluded. user@host: $  sudo find /var/www -type d -exec chmod 750 {} + 3. Change permission modes to 640 for files only. User "root" can (r)ead and (w)rite but NOT execute files. Users included in the group "www-data" can (r)ead but NEITHER write NOR execute files. All other users are excluded. user@host: $  sudo fi...