Here are the new additions to the awesome-selfhosted repository during the month of September 2023:

• FreedomBox - Community project to develop, design and promote personal servers running free software for private, personal, communications. (Source Code) AGPL-3.0 Python/deb
• INGInious ⚠ - Intelligent grader that allows secured and automated testing of code made by students. (Source Code, Clients) AGPL-3.0 Python/Docker
• Websurfx ⚠ - Aggregate results from other search engines (metasearch engine) without ads while keeping privacy and security in mind. It is extremely fast and provides a high level of customization (alternative to SearX). AGPL-3.0 Rust/Docker
• Mataroa - Mataroa is a naked blogging platform for minimalists. (Source Code) MIT Python
• Flipt - Feature flag solution with support for multiple data backends (alternative to LaunchDarkly). (Demo, Source Code) GPL-3.0 Docker/K8S/Go

awesome-selfhosted is a repository on GitHub, which contains ton of software for you to self-host. The repository describes itself as “a list of Free Software network services and web applications which can be hosted on your own servers.”

If you need a device for self-hosting, a Raspberry Pi 4 is perfect to begin your journey!

The PALMSHELL NeXT H2 is an affordable micro server and single-board computer (SBC) powered by an AMD Ryzen Embedded R1505G processor. It offers impressive networking capabilities with two 10GbE SFP+ cages and one 2.5GbE RJ45 port. The system also supports up to 32GB of RAM and has storage options including an M.2 NVMe SSD and two SATA drives. It features wireless connectivity options such as WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and the possibility of adding a 4G LTE or 5G module. These network features make it an interesting option for various homelab uses. Theoretically, the device could support ECC memory as the Ryzen Embedded R1505G has such support, but this is not mentioned in the specifications for the NeXT H2 specifications, although it is mentioned in the specifications for the CPU. It should be noted that such support also depends on motherboard and firmware, not just on the CPU.

The system is equipped with a customized copper heatsink and a 3000 RPM PWM speed control fan for efficient cooling. It can be powered by a 12V to 19V DC power supply. The PALMSHELL NeXT H2 is designed to support multiple operating systems, including Ubuntu, Arch Linux, Fedora, Debian, OpenWrt, Windows, pfSense, and ROS.

The SBC without memory, storage, or wireless connectivity starts at $199. The barebone model with a metal enclosure is priced at $249. Two models with 8GB RAM/256GB SSD and 16GB/512GB configurations, along with the Intel AX210NGW WiFi 6E/BT 5.2 module, are available for $299 and $349, respectively. Power supply is not included with any of the options.

Source: CNX Software – Embedded Systems News.

Patches have been submitted to the Linux kernel mailing list to add support for the Milk-V Duo RISC-V development platform, reports Phoronix.

The Milk-V Duo features a CV1800B chip with two C906 processor cores. One core runs at 1GHz, while the second core runs at 700MHz. This dual RISC-V 64-bit chip is paired with 64MB of RAM. There is also an optional 10/100Mbps Ethernet via an add-on board. The board is targeted for use with Linux or RTOS. Interested individuals can learn more about this low-cost RISC-V embedded board on the milkv.io website. The patches for mainline Linux kernel support for the Milk-V Duo are currently under review on the LKML.

Source: Phoronix.

TrueNAS SCALE is introducing a new and improved WebUI in the upcoming Cobia (23.10) release. The first Release Candidate for Cobia was launched on September 19th, and it currently has over 2,000 systems running on it. The official release of 23.10 is scheduled for October. The Cobia release includes significant technical advancements such as the new dRAID “Distributed RAID” pool type, an improved Apps UI, and an integrated bug-reporting process.

The new Cobia WebUI has been rearchitected from the CORE WebUI to provide a simpler interface. It is designed to present only the necessary information on each page, with advanced features hidden by default and additional forms appearing as needed. Initial reviews of this modernized and streamlined UI have been positive.

Major improvements have been made to the WebUI in Cobia, including:

• Improved Apps Screens
• Reimagined ZFS Storage Dashboard
• New and Improved Pool Creation Wizard
• Built-in Feedback and Bug Reporting

The Apps Screens in TrueNAS SCALE have been significantly enhanced. Each App is now effectively a Kubernetes Helm Chart that points to container images and provides configuration information for integrating multiple containers into an application. The new Apps screens offer better-structured access to all Apps based on category, and the new Discovery screens assist with App discovery. The Information screen provides details about each App and its sources, and bulk operations for updating Apps are available.

The ZFS Storage Dashboard in Cobia has also been reimagined to handle larger systems with more than a thousand drives. A new Pool Creation Wizard simplifies the process of creating pools based on available resources, automatically selecting drives for vdevs (drive groups) based on their size. The updated Storage Dashboard provides a simple dashboard to display the status of each pool and allows for the creation of new pools or expansion of existing ones using unassigned disks.

A new Feedback and Bug Reporting system has been introduced with TrueNAS SCALE Cobia RC.1. Users can provide feedback on the design of the page, add important details for their use case, and optionally capture a screenshot of the current page. Bug reports can also be submitted, including a brief summary of the issue and the option to attach debug files. Users will receive a TrueNAS ticket link to monitor the status and resolution of their bug.

While TrueNAS encourages users to try out the early releases of TrueNAS SCALE Cobia and provide feedback, it is recommended to use TrueNAS SCALE 22.12.3.3 for cases where reliability and primary data retention are required. TrueNAS SCALE 22.12.4, which is planned for release in early October, will be the last major update for the 22.12 release branch. TrueNAS SCALE Cobia will gradually become the recommended version in Q4 2023 and beyond.

Users have the option to automatically migrate storage services and VMs from CORE to SCALE, and TrueNAS provides the ability to replace TrueNAS CORE Plugins and jails with Apps. For further advice or answers to questions, users can visit the TrueNAS Community Forums or Discord Channel.

Source: TrueNAS.

In this week’s issue (#39, 2023) of README Highlight, we are taking a look at the following project: Uptime Kuma.

Uptime Kuma is an easy-to-use self-hosted monitoring tool. It allows users to monitor the uptime of various services, including HTTP(s), TCP, HTTP(s) Keyword, HTTP(s) Json Query, Ping, DNS Record, Push, Steam Game Server, and Docker Containers.

Some of the key features of Uptime Kuma include:

• Fancy, Reactive, Fast UI/UX
• Notifications via Telegram, Discord, Gotify, Slack, Pushover, Email (SMTP), and over 90 other notification services
• 20-second intervals for monitoring
• Multi-language support
• Multiple status pages
• Ping chart
• Certificate info
• Proxy support
• 2FA support

Uptime Kuma can be installed using Docker or on a non-Docker environment. For Docker installation, users can run the following command:

docker run -d --restart=always -p 3001:3001 -v uptime-kuma:/app/data --name uptime-kuma louislam/uptime-kuma:1

For non-Docker installation, users need to have node, npm, git, and pm2 installed. They can then clone the Uptime Kuma repository and run the necessary setup commands. Uptime Kuma also provides a Windows Portable (x64) version for easy installation on Windows systems. For more advanced installation options, users can refer to the project’s documentation. To keep Uptime Kuma up to date, users can follow the instructions provided in the project’s documentation.

The Uptime Kuma project has a roadmap and milestones for future development, which can be found on its GitHub page.

The project is sponsored by GitHub Sponsors and OpenCollective sponsors. Users can contribute to the project by testing pull requests, testing beta versions, reporting bugs or requesting features, translating the project into different languages, and creating pull requests.

For more information and to try out Uptime Kuma, visit the Uptime Kuma GitHub repository.

Source: Uptime Kuma README.

Xen Orchestra has released version 5.89. This update brings a range of enhancements and updates to various components, including XO Lite. Let’s dive in and explore the details.

XO Lite

XO Lite has received several enhancements in this release. XO Lite now comes as a standard RPM package within XCP-ng 8.3, making it easier to keep up with updates. Bulk actions for VM migration and snapshot have been introduced, allowing for multiple operations to be executed simultaneously. The pool dashboard now includes a summary of missing patches for XCP-ng hosts, providing better visibility of critical updates.

Backup

Bug fixes and improvements have been made to enhance system resilience and add failsafes for specific scenarios. To prevent unexpected results during VM backup, a lock is now placed on VMs to prevent migration operations. This ensures system integrity and avoids any unpredictable outcomes.

Other Changes

Several quality-of-life enhancements and useful features have been added in this release.

A new feature allows for the download of all host system logs with a simple button press. This comprehensive tarball of logs is valuable for deep investigations. Disk health monitoring has been improved, allowing for the monitoring of disk status via an API call and displaying the information in the Xen Orchestra UI.

Xen Orchestra can now restart the server directly from the UI, providing a handy tool for canceling blocked tasks or unlocking stuck processes. Thin-reclaim for block-based SRs is now supported, allowing for cleaning operations if the SAN supports it.

The task system now logs failed sign-in attempts, providing information about potential brute-force attempts on Xen Orchestra accounts. Host and pool details now include the product brand and version, providing additional information in the UI.

The Xen Orchestra GitHub repository has also undergone cleanup, with a significant reduction in open issues.