Micheal’s rantings, ravings, and general banter

While trying to get to sleep at 4:30AM or so, I had some crazy ideas for hack projects (the real hacks, modifying software, hardware …), and various other things.

Project list included the following:

• Create a captive portal on my wireless network using WPA2 Enterprise and RADIUS so that DHCP could be used.
• Define the network better (specify IP ranges within the subnet)
• Reformat the existing home server, reinstall Debian Etch (currently it runs on unstable, a mishmash of Etch and Lenny, I think. Kinda hard to tell these days.), and install Xen for virtualization.
• Setup several Debian installs on the freshly installed server.
  • Server 1: Asterisk, to provide VoIP services to the home
  • Server 2: Webhosting, email, etc.
  • Server 3: Home Automation server, probably running MisterHouse.
  • Server 4: SSO, Single Sign-On, so users of the services would need only one username/password.
  • Server 5: Media Server, probably running MythTV.
• Won’t be stopping there, get multiple hardwares for failover, each running a 1TB (possibly more) RAID 5. 4GB of RAM (possibly more, depending on performance). Nice multi-core 64bit CPUs.
• Get new clients. Macbook Pros, possibly an iMac or two, a Windows PC or two for gaming and such, and some PDAs/hand-held devices to do things like control the media service, to put on some mood music while setting out the candles for a date … Okay, so the date part may never happen (hey, a geek can dream, can’t he?), but hopefully the rest will.
• Provide a massive, multi-terabyte SAN, or Storage Area Network. Clients could backup to the SAN, the SAN could offer extra storage for the media service, and so on.

You’d think I was a large webhost/service provider, but nope. Currently in a house of 5, myself included. Hey, I like technology. I like to play. Best of both worlds, right?

So here’s the general idea behind some of these servers/projects (since conceivably, each one can take up multiple physical/virtual servers).

1. Project VoIP. VoIP is really a big deal. More and more people are buying in to it, and for good reason. I wouldn’t necessarily go all out and get a VoIP service and such, at least not yet. But it would be nice to provide an intercom system and various other capabilities. How about calling an extension to get today’s weather? Already possible and rather easy to do. How about calling your home from somewhere else and telling the oven to preheat to 450 starting at 6PM? Now that idea excites me. Imagine the possibilities with a proper setup of a home VoIP service.
2. Project Hosting. Webhosting. Providing the family with webhosting, a family portal to post weekly schedules, ideas for shopping lists, etc. Save the paper! Maybe a 6th server is needed to provide separate mail services, so all of the services can talk to each other, provide mailboxes for the whole family, etc. But for now the email server will live on the webhosting server. This is the goliath. It would provide any number of web-enabled services. SVN over HTTP/S? Not a problem. Play with the 3P’s (Python, Perl, PHP), Ruby, all of it. Each family member could easily get their own website(s). Want to show off to friends? Not a problem, I even have a simple program planned to give to friends to add the IP address to their hosts file, and port forward the appropriate ports in to the server, so they can see your lovely website.
3. Project SARAH. I shall call this project SARAH, Smart Automation and Remotely-Administrated Home. I hereby trademark, register, copyright, and whatever else the name and acronym. Wouldn’t it be great to talk to your home and have it turn lights on and off, set oven timers, and more? A lot of that is already possible with home automation software and hardware.
4. Project SSO. A relatively small service, simply needs to provide AAA (authentication, authorization, and accounting), or at least some form of it. Most reasonable is LDAP since it is the most flexible. Easy to get RADIUS for the wireless to talk to it. Even could add custom attributes to allow or deny a user to certain resources.
5. Project Media. Media service. Have music playing all over the house, watch and record TV using your own DVR. Store pictures and display them on your TV for company. Even cooler would be calling the VoIP service and controlling the media service. Sit down with guests, pick up a phone hanging on the wall, dial a special extension, and say “Display Photo Album 02-14-09.” “Hey look, here I am enjoying a candlelit dinner by myself.” “Here I am moping around the house.” Good times.

Well there you go. There’s some insight in to the inner-workings of a self-proclaimed uber-geek. While I certainly won’t be doing all of this for some time (if ever, but I certainly hope so. I’m drooling at the thought of it), but I do hope to get my home network fixed up, clean up the subnet, and setup a very simple intercom system over the course of this summer, along with webhosting/email/FTP/etc. Maybe I’ll even setup a wiki with details … Hrm.