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Re: I need advice on a new ISP

by John Stoffel

>>>>> "Chuck" == Chuck Anderson via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> writes: > On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 10:02:24PM -0400, Cara Salter via WLUG wrote: >> Hi Tim & Keith, >> >> On Tue, 2023-04-11 at 21:20 -0400, Tim Keller via WLUG wrote: >> > >> > Though from a pure linux nerd point of view, I've come to love >> > Linode. It's basically a cloud provider built by linux geeks. Also if >> > you look around there are all kinds of incentives where they'll give >> > you a 100 bucks to screw around. >> > The other cloud provider I've tinkered with is digital ocean, as well >> > as AWS/GCP/Oracle cloud. >> > The pro/con of going to the cloud is they hide most of the knobs.. >> >> My personal beef with Linode and AWS/GCP is the price. I've had great >> success with NetCup[0] which currently runs my mail and backup servers. >> They're pretty cheap but I've been using them for two-three years with >> minimal issues. >> >> >> I have worked on Linode, DigitalOcean, and Vultr before and they're all >> great offerings, just a tad on the expensive side for me. The other problem (which I have and aluded to earlier) is that @charter.net is blocking all emails from linode IP blocks. Which sucks since that's the ISP for my town, unless you're lucky enough to live on the few streets with FIOS. > If you can hold your nose, Oracle Cloud offers free forever instances. > That is where the WLUG website and DNS server is running these days. > https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/ > These are probablhy the most relevant free services you could use to > replicate what you have at home now: > - 2 AMD based Compute VMs with 1/8 OCPU** and 1 GB memory each > - Arm-based Ampere A1 cores and 24 GB of memory usable as 1 VM or up to > 4 VMs with 3,000 OCPU hours and 18,000 GB hours per month > ** 1 OCPU on x86 CPU Architecture (AMD and Intel) = 2 vCPUs; 1 OCPU > on Arm CPU Architecture (Ampere) = 1 vCPU > - 2 Block Volumes Storage, 200 GB total > - Outbound Data Transfer: 10 TB per month > - Email Delivery: 3,000 emails sent per day And what's the price? > This sounds like a good WLUG topic: Getting Started with the Cloud. > How to open a Cloud account, install and manage Linux, IP addresses, > firewall rules, etc. I could do a talk sometime about how I use ansible to setup Linodes and some of the issues and problems I've run into while doing so.

April 12, 2023

Re: I need advice on a new ISP

by Chuck Anderson

On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 10:02:24PM -0400, Cara Salter via WLUG wrote: > Hi Tim & Keith, > > On Tue, 2023-04-11 at 21:20 -0400, Tim Keller via WLUG wrote: > > > > Though from a pure linux nerd point of view, I've come to love > > Linode. It's basically a cloud provider built by linux geeks. Also if > > you look around there are all kinds of incentives where they'll give > > you a 100 bucks to screw around. > > The other cloud provider I've tinkered with is digital ocean, as well > > as AWS/GCP/Oracle cloud. > > The pro/con of going to the cloud is they hide most of the knobs.. > > My personal beef with Linode and AWS/GCP is the price. I've had great > success with NetCup[0] which currently runs my mail and backup servers. > They're pretty cheap but I've been using them for two-three years with > minimal issues. > > > I have worked on Linode, DigitalOcean, and Vultr before and they're all > great offerings, just a tad on the expensive side for me. If you can hold your nose, Oracle Cloud offers free forever instances. That is where the WLUG website and DNS server is running these days. https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/ These are probablhy the most relevant free services you could use to replicate what you have at home now: - 2 AMD based Compute VMs with 1/8 OCPU** and 1 GB memory each - Arm-based Ampere A1 cores and 24 GB of memory usable as 1 VM or up to 4 VMs with 3,000 OCPU hours and 18,000 GB hours per month ** 1 OCPU on x86 CPU Architecture (AMD and Intel) = 2 vCPUs; 1 OCPU on Arm CPU Architecture (Ampere) = 1 vCPU - 2 Block Volumes Storage, 200 GB total - Outbound Data Transfer: 10 TB per month - Email Delivery: 3,000 emails sent per day This sounds like a good WLUG topic: Getting Started with the Cloud. How to open a Cloud account, install and manage Linux, IP addresses, firewall rules, etc.

April 12, 2023

Re: I need advice on a new ISP

by Cara Salter

Hi Tim & Keith, On Tue, 2023-04-11 at 21:20 -0400, Tim Keller via WLUG wrote: > > Though from a pure linux nerd point of view, I've come to love > Linode. It's basically a cloud provider built by linux geeks. Also if > you look around there are all kinds of incentives where they'll give > you a 100 bucks to screw around. > The other cloud provider I've tinkered with is digital ocean, as well > as AWS/GCP/Oracle cloud. > The pro/con of going to the cloud is they hide most of the knobs.. My personal beef with Linode and AWS/GCP is the price. I've had great success with NetCup[0] which currently runs my mail and backup servers. They're pretty cheap but I've been using them for two-three years with minimal issues. I have worked on Linode, DigitalOcean, and Vultr before and they're all great offerings, just a tad on the expensive side for me. -- Cara (she/her)

April 12, 2023

Re: I need advice on a new ISP

by Tim Keller

Keith, That sucks that your ISP is going (further it sounds) into the crapper. I suspect that your option in our area is likely Verizon of some kind, though maybe comcast/Spectrum competes in that area as well. In any case, to have a static IP they're likely going to force you to have a business line of some kind. Looking on the Verizon website "Fios Business" is $50/month for 50mbit up / 50mbit down. As for keeping your IP address, I agree with you, I don't see much hope there, but who knows. As for putting stuff in the cloud, it's just a virtual machine running who knows where. Though from a pure linux nerd point of view, I've come to love Linode. It's basically a cloud provider built by linux geeks. Also if you look around there are all kinds of incentives where they'll give you a 100 bucks to screw around. The other cloud provider I've tinkered with is digital ocean, as well as AWS/GCP/Oracle cloud. The pro/con of going to the cloud is they hide most of the knobs.. Tim. On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 12:25 AM Keith Wright via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> wrote: > Well, the BIG problem that I have feared so long has arrived. > > GTT (my ISP) sent me a letter. The letter does not mention it, but GTT > has filed for bankruptcy protection. > > The letter is full of things that I do not fully understand, but the > bottom line is: "We no longer want to do business with you. You have a > few months to get a new ISP, then we will unplug the wire." > > It seems there is not enough money to be made by charging a monthly fee > to leave everything as it is. > > I have had the same IPv4 address for almost exactly 20 years and a lot > things depend on that. There are three domain names that point to that > address. There is a name server, a mail server, and a web server. > > I don't know how many of those things can be kept working with a new > ISP. I will spend a few days asking for advice, and then decide. > > I don't have much hope of keeping the IP address with a new ISP, but I > would like to keep my domain names and continue to send and receive mail > with addresses in those domains, and to be able to put up web pages in > those domains with a minimum of censorship and advertising. I don't need > the name server if there is another way of doing this. > > Currently, that is all done via a DSL line to my basement. It seems > that the new way is to "spin up" a virtual machine in the "cloud", > and run Linux and servers from there. I don't know much about that. > > I live in Worcester, about a mile from WPI. > > More details can be read here: > http://www.free-comp-shop.com/none/lossage.html > at least for a few more months. > > -- Keith > _______________________________________________ > WLUG mailing list -- wlug(a)lists.wlug.org > To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org > Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ > Change Settings: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ > Web Forum/Archive: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/EUTXN… > -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

April 12, 2023

Re: I need advice on a new ISP

by John Stoffel

>>>>> "Keith" == Keith Wright via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> writes: > Well, the BIG problem that I have feared so long has arrived. > GTT (my ISP) sent me a letter. The letter does not mention it, but GTT > has filed for bankruptcy protection. Is this gtt.net? And you're only getting a DSL line from them? Sounds like they're just giving up the local home business, probably not the business service. > The letter is full of things that I do not fully understand, but the > bottom line is: "We no longer want to do business with you. You have a > few months to get a new ISP, then we will unplug the wire." Did you ask about your IP being transferable? It's probably not easy, but you might be able to do so. > It seems there is not enough money to be made by charging a monthly fee > to leave everything as it is. So they're providing you with internet access as well? Do you have a budget and could you get another local ISP with a cable modem? I suspect most places don't want to support DSL anymore if they can help it. > I have had the same IPv4 address for almost exactly 20 years and a > lot things depend on that. There are three domain names that point > to that address. There is a name server, a mail server, and a web > server. As long as your DNS is updated, it doesn't matter what the IP address is behind it. Is looks like keithdiane.net is your IP of 66.92.74.188 and you actually have the reverse DNS setup properly as well, which is good! So the biggest problem you're going to find is getting outgoing email from your own domain using a residential ISP. For more money I'm sure you can get a business ISP with a dedicated IP, but it's going to be much more money. > I don't know how many of those things can be kept working with a new > ISP. I will spend a few days asking for advice, and then decide. What are the services you want/need/like to have? 1. home internet access 2. email to/from @keithdiane.us 3. web server for one or more domains So number 1 is just the basic, and you'd need that no matter what to acess the internet, if you decide to NOT host your services at home any more. If you keep your servers a home, without anyone able to access them, then you don't need number 1. *grin* And it would make it cheaper. Number 2 is easy, I'd be happy to add your domain to my @stoffel.org linode if you like, or help you setup your own IMAP/email server in the cloud. Use linode, but thinking of moving to vultr.com because charter.net blocks all email from all Linode IPs. Sigh... Service 3, is also a Cheap $5/mon web server is trivial on Linode, and again I could host it for you if you like on my Linode, which isn't doing much more than email. One option in Worcester *might* be these guys: https://cyberonic.com/broadband/dsl/ They're near WPI as well. If you have cable TV right now, it might be possible to add on internet, but at a cost. Your budget will influence things alot here. > I don't have much hope of keeping the IP address with a new ISP, but > I would like to keep my domain names and continue to send and > receive mail with addresses in those domains, and to be able to put > up web pages in those domains with a minimum of censorship and > advertising. I don't need the name server if there is another way of > doing this. For the DNS, you currently have two servers listed, but only one is working, the "dsl.keithdiane.net" at the same IP as listed above. It's also trivial to spin up DSN in the cloud, because you don't have a backup DNS server for your domain at all. > Currently, that is all done via a DSL line to my basement. It seems > that the new way is to "spin up" a virtual machine in the "cloud", > and run Linux and servers from there. I don't know much about that. It can add up, I think I pat around $7/mon for my linode to host my @stoffel.org stuff. It works. > I live in Worcester, about a mile from WPI. It might be time to look around for other worcester DSL ISPs and see what they offer. Good luck! John

April 11, 2023

Re: Next Meeting date will be April 20th 2023.

by John Stoffel

>>>>> "Tim" == Tim Keller via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> writes: > I'm moving the meeting to next week as I've got a family obligation > on Thursday. Thanks for understanding. Tim. Unfortunately, I'm booked for tue/thu for the next three months, so I won't be around in person. Unless I stop in on my way home and grab a beer/burger afterwards. John

April 11, 2023

Re: Shippy 1984

by hammerron

I guess I'm very old school. I downloaded Shippy 1984 the other day. I really like it. Ron On 4/7/23 09:42, Dennis Payne via WLUG wrote: > I was playing around with Shippy 1984. It is a Space Invaders/Galaxian > style game. It is available on Fedora. It's pretty ugly. I decided to > play around with a graphics update. Not all of the changes are in git > yet. Some refinement is still needed. > > https://youtu.be/ZAzFP90lgW0 >

April 11, 2023

I need advice on a new ISP

by Keith Wright

Well, the BIG problem that I have feared so long has arrived. GTT (my ISP) sent me a letter. The letter does not mention it, but GTT has filed for bankruptcy protection. The letter is full of things that I do not fully understand, but the bottom line is: "We no longer want to do business with you. You have a few months to get a new ISP, then we will unplug the wire." It seems there is not enough money to be made by charging a monthly fee to leave everything as it is. I have had the same IPv4 address for almost exactly 20 years and a lot things depend on that. There are three domain names that point to that address. There is a name server, a mail server, and a web server. I don't know how many of those things can be kept working with a new ISP. I will spend a few days asking for advice, and then decide. I don't have much hope of keeping the IP address with a new ISP, but I would like to keep my domain names and continue to send and receive mail with addresses in those domains, and to be able to put up web pages in those domains with a minimum of censorship and advertising. I don't need the name server if there is another way of doing this. Currently, that is all done via a DSL line to my basement. It seems that the new way is to "spin up" a virtual machine in the "cloud", and run Linux and servers from there. I don't know much about that. I live in Worcester, about a mile from WPI. More details can be read here: http://www.free-comp-shop.com/none/lossage.html at least for a few more months. -- Keith

April 11, 2023

Next Meeting date will be April 20th 2023.

by Tim Keller

I'm moving the meeting to next week as I've got a family obligation on Thursday. Thanks for understanding. Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

April 10, 2023

Re: Fight or Perish

by John Stoffel

>>>>> "Dennis" == Dennis Payne via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> writes: > Fight or Perish is a free software clone of Gauntlet. It never > really progressed past a prototype from the original creator. I've > been working to fix it up. I've written an Open Game Source article > about my work. Man, that brings back memories of playing Gauntlett with my friends after our explorer post meetings at Nathan's in NY. "Elf needs food... badly!" was and is a favorite line from that game. > https://identicalsoftware.com/games/fop I read some of your articles as well, first I've ever heard about the Roguelike Challenge, which was exciting because "Crawl" is one of my favorite games of all time, and my kids roll their eyes when they find me playing it in all it's ASCII glory. I play very 0.18 usually, I don't like the change they made to later versions to make the walls dark blue, which I find is really hard to see on screens. Blue is a hard color to do well I find. So I've been slowly playing around with hacking crawl to do new things, but mostly I just play. Badly. But I do want to fix the change where they got rid of the square cursor, and now they just bold tiles which is much more difficult to see. At least to my old old eyes. :-) Thanks for sharing Denis! I'll have to try some of these out at some point. John

April 8, 2023