Posts

Introduction While creating CAA records, I found myself needing a new DNS provider. During that process, I thought it would be a good idea to document what it take to host a website and how the internet works (in a very limited sense). To host a website on the public internet, you need three things: domain name DNS record(s) web host Typically, most domain registrars offer basic DNS support. In addition, most web hosts also offer basic DNS support. However, you can (and probably should) have these three services hosted at three separate companies (you don’t want all your eggs in one basket). ...

Introduction Certification Authority Authorization (CAA) is a new DNS record specifying which Certificate Authorities (CAs) are allowed to issue certificates for a domain. Introduced by RFC 6844, CAA protects websites by only allowing certificates to be issued by specific CAs. If an attacker were to take over a website, they would only be able to obtain a certificate from a CA specified in DNS CAA records, limiting the damage they could do. While CAA records aren’t going to completely stop certificate misuse, they are easy to implement and are part of a larger security plan. ...

Introduction Recently, I’ve been thinking more and more about backups for my small (but growing) homelab. The golden rule is to follow the 3-2-1 method for backups: 3 backups 2 different types of media 1 backup offsite Current setup Currently, I keep an encrypted external HDD at home and another at work. Every couple weeks, I perform a backup to both and rotate the drives (this covers a 2-1-1 backup). ...

Hey! Listen! This post is part of a series on the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite. Check them all out! Date URL Part 2019-06-28 Migrating away from the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite Migrated to a Netgate SG-1100 2019-02-03 EdgeRouter CNAME records Setup CNAME records 2017-10-03 Dyn DDNS on EdgeRouter Setup DynDNS 2017-04-25 DuckDNS on EdgeRouter Setup DuckDNS 2017-01-08 Ubiquiti EdgeRouter serial console settings Serial console settings 2016-11-29 Ubiquiti UniFi controller setup on Raspberry Pi 3 Install UniFi Controller 2016-08-30 EdgeRouter Lite Dnsmasq setup Setup dnsmasq 2016-06-13 EdgeRouter Lite software upgrade Firmware upgrade 2016-05-12 EdgeRouter Lite OpenVPN setup OpenVPN server setup 2016-04-29 Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite setup Initial setup Introduction I’ve been using Dyn for my dynamic DNS for years. However, after the 2016 Dyn DDoS, I’ve decided to add a second dynamic DNS service provider, in case Dyn goes down again. ...

Introduction With the winter weather, we’ve been having brownouts and power losses more frequently. I wanted to purchase a UPS to protect my equipment from this, but I also wanted to receive alerts when the power goes out, and possibly shutdown equipment. For this, I need an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and a computer to monitor it with. Hardware As you guessed by now, I’m going to be using my Raspberry Pi to monitor the UPS. I’m using the Raspberry Pi because it is a low power device, it is always on (hosting a webserver, Unifi controller, and a few other things), and can be run off the UPS it is monitoring. ...

Hey! Listen! This post is part of a series on the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite. Check them all out! Date URL Part 2019-06-28 Migrating away from the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite Migrated to a Netgate SG-1100 2019-02-03 EdgeRouter CNAME records Setup CNAME records 2017-10-03 Dyn DDNS on EdgeRouter Setup DynDNS 2017-04-25 DuckDNS on EdgeRouter Setup DuckDNS 2017-01-08 Ubiquiti EdgeRouter serial console settings Serial console settings 2016-11-29 Ubiquiti UniFi controller setup on Raspberry Pi 3 Install UniFi Controller 2016-08-30 EdgeRouter Lite Dnsmasq setup Setup dnsmasq 2016-06-13 EdgeRouter Lite software upgrade Firmware upgrade 2016-05-12 EdgeRouter Lite OpenVPN setup OpenVPN server setup 2016-04-29 Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite setup Initial setup Introduction I’m planning on upgrading my EdgeRouter Lite (ERL) to the newly-released v1.9.1 (I’m following my upgrade guide). This time, I’m using a serial cable to connect to my ERL. This is the first time I’ve used serial, so I’m going to document the process. ...

Hey! Listen! This post is part of a series on the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite. Check them all out! Date URL Part 2019-06-28 Migrating away from the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite Migrated to a Netgate SG-1100 2019-02-03 EdgeRouter CNAME records Setup CNAME records 2017-10-03 Dyn DDNS on EdgeRouter Setup DynDNS 2017-04-25 DuckDNS on EdgeRouter Setup DuckDNS 2017-01-08 Ubiquiti EdgeRouter serial console settings Serial console settings 2016-11-29 Ubiquiti UniFi controller setup on Raspberry Pi 3 Install UniFi Controller 2016-08-30 EdgeRouter Lite Dnsmasq setup Setup dnsmasq 2016-06-13 EdgeRouter Lite software upgrade Firmware upgrade 2016-05-12 EdgeRouter Lite OpenVPN setup OpenVPN server setup 2016-04-29 Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite setup Initial setup Introduction As you know, I love my Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite. Since I bought it, I’ve been wanting to purchase one of the UniFi wireless APs ever since I saw the Ars Technica review of them. I ended up picking up the UniFi AC Pro on a Black Friday deal on Jet.com. ...

Hey! Listen! This post is part of a series on the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite. Check them all out! Date URL Part 2019-06-28 Migrating away from the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite Migrated to a Netgate SG-1100 2019-02-03 EdgeRouter CNAME records Setup CNAME records 2017-10-03 Dyn DDNS on EdgeRouter Setup DynDNS 2017-04-25 DuckDNS on EdgeRouter Setup DuckDNS 2017-01-08 Ubiquiti EdgeRouter serial console settings Serial console settings 2016-11-29 Ubiquiti UniFi controller setup on Raspberry Pi 3 Install UniFi Controller 2016-08-30 EdgeRouter Lite Dnsmasq setup Setup dnsmasq 2016-06-13 EdgeRouter Lite software upgrade Firmware upgrade 2016-05-12 EdgeRouter Lite OpenVPN setup OpenVPN server setup 2016-04-29 Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite setup Initial setup Introduction One of my only complaints about the EdgeRouter Lite is the usage of the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) DHCP server. My main issue is that the DHCP server does not integrate with the DNS server. Because of this, DHCP names/leases are not automatically added to DNS. This topic has been addressed a few times before (here, here, here, here, and here). ...

Hey! Listen! This post is part of a series on using your own router with Verizon FiOS. Check them all out! Date URL Part 2016-08-22 Verizon FiOS Router Maintenance Charge Maintenance Charges 2015-07-11 Use your own router with Verizon FiOS Initial Post Introduction If you’ve read my other post, you already know how to use your own router with Verizon FiOS. Interestingly enough, that post is my most popular, but I was surprised to see my pageviews double one day in July. I checked the referring links and was surprised to find I had been link to by ArsTechnica (thanks Ars!). The article that Ars posted was about Verizon charging a $2.80/month “Router Maintenance Charge” to continue supporting the older Actiontec routers. This was the first I’d heard of this. The information first went public via email (below), and then started popping up on DSLReports. ...

Hey! Listen! This post is part of a series on the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite. Check them all out! Date URL Part 2019-06-28 Migrating away from the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite Migrated to a Netgate SG-1100 2019-02-03 EdgeRouter CNAME records Setup CNAME records 2017-10-03 Dyn DDNS on EdgeRouter Setup DynDNS 2017-04-25 DuckDNS on EdgeRouter Setup DuckDNS 2017-01-08 Ubiquiti EdgeRouter serial console settings Serial console settings 2016-11-29 Ubiquiti UniFi controller setup on Raspberry Pi 3 Install UniFi Controller 2016-08-30 EdgeRouter Lite Dnsmasq setup Setup dnsmasq 2016-06-13 EdgeRouter Lite software upgrade Firmware upgrade 2016-05-12 EdgeRouter Lite OpenVPN setup OpenVPN server setup 2016-04-29 Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite setup Initial setup Introduction Ubiquiti just released the new v1.8.5 software for their EdgeMax devices, including the EdgeRouter Lite (ERL). I’ll be showing you how to install the new software via the CLI, which only takes a few minutes. ...