GPU size estimation for LLMs
Ever wondered how much VRAM you actually need to run a 13B, 65B, or even 500B language model? This compact, no-fluff guide - mostly a personal reference - breaks down GPU memory needs by model size, quantization, and task complexity. Includes real-world GPU examples with affiliate links for anyone thinking of building or upgrading their own AI rig. Great for hobbyists, tinkerers, and anyone asking, 'Can I run that locally?'
Expanding GPU Capabilities on Notebooks and Mini PCs Without PCIe Slots via M.2 NVMe Slots
Ever wondered if your compact notebook or mini PC could power serious AI, LLMs, or scientific simulations? In this guide, we show you how to retrofit systems without PCIe slots using M.2 NVMe adapters and GPU expansion boards—enabling multi-GPU setups even on budget hardware. While not a full desktop replacement, this approach offers surprising performance for specific workloads. Perfect for tinkerers, researchers, and hardware hackers.
Running JupyterLab Behind an Apache Reverse Proxy
Want to access your internal JupyterLab instance securely over HTTPS? This quick guide shows how to set up Apache 2.4 as a reverse proxy for JupyterLab 4.2.5, with working websocket support and proper configuration on both ends. Learn how to avoid common pitfalls like broken kernels or missing output—and get your lab running smoothly behind your own public facing reverse proxy
Running Ollama on a CPU-Only Headless FreeBSD 14 System
This mini guide walks through compiling and running Ollama on a headless, CPU-only FreeBSD 14.2 system with an Intel Alder Lake-N97 processor. It covers why one might opt for CPU-based inference, the Vulkan-related issue preventing execution without a GUI, and how to disable Vulkan by recompiling from ports. The article provides step-by-step instructions for extracting, modifying, compiling, and installing Ollama, along with details on running inference and transferring models to air-gapped systems.
Freezing FreeBSD systems - NCQ on SSDs - a short troubleshooting journey
This article solves the mystery behind some of my FreeBSD systems that had appeared to be randomly freezing and provides a solution to this single specific problem.
Language negotiation for static website using Apache httpd
Discover how to implement language negotiation on a static website using Apaches mod_rewrite. This article provides a step-by-step guide to serving translated content based on users browser preferences, enabling a seamless multilingual experience without the need for complex server-side scripts or content management systems. Whether you are looking to add multilingual support to your Jekyll-generated site or simply explore the powerful features of Apache, this guide offers clear explanations and practical examples to help you get started.
Using ancient PHP versions from FreeBSD ports with suphp
This concise article provides a detailed guide on installing and running multiple outdated PHP versions on a FreeBSD system using suphp. It covers essential steps such as retrieving specific ports tree revisions, configuring distinct installation paths to prevent version conflicts, and setting up suphp for handling different PHP versions. Emphasizing strict security precautions, the article strongly advises against using this setup in public-facing systems and suggests its use solely for isolated, non-public applications.
Assigning unique device names for CP2102N serial port devices on FreeBSD
Just a short recipe on how to get unique device names for CP2102N serial or RS485 to USB adapters even when they're renumbered by the operating system.
Triggering Jenkins build from locally hosted git repository using the post-receive commit hook
A short summary on how to trigger Jenkins jobs by executing a post-receive commit hook in a git repository
Simple DHCP failover with ISC-DHCP
Mini summary on how to configure DHCP failover or load balancing when using ISC-DHCP for legacy IP networks. This is not a full explanation of all details, just a quick sample on how to get up failover in a few minutes.
How to use fetchmail to collect mail from different mail servers
A mini tutorial on how to configure fetchmail to collect E-Mails from different mailboxes on various remote servers onto a single local mail server on FreeBSD
Recipe how to recover Jenkins plain secret text credential via the web user interface
This short recipe explains how one can recover a Jenkins secret text credential directly using only the web interface
A short story of the migration process for The-Things-Network v2 to v3
This article is a mini summary of the steps that have been required to migrate from the v2 to the v3 stack of the things network, a community driven LoRA-WAN backend solution.
Router and switch mode in tinc - the difference and how to use tinc on Android
Mini article that explains the difference between switch and router mode and some of their applications when using the tinc VPN client
Configuring VLANs and bridges on FreeBSD Xen Dom0
A short summary on how one could configure network bridges on a FreeBSD dom0 for Xen
Adding Grafana annotations using HTTP API
Sometimes it's convenient to add annotations to Grafana dashboards and panels using Grafanas flexible HTTP API instead of writing them into a database and fetching them from there using Annotation queries. Since I lacked a complete example and it took me some minutes to find out how this works this blog post summarizes the process.
Building a TCP console server for Windows and FreeBSD
A common problem in industry and laboratories - accessing a serial port via the network to allow multiple machines or VMs access the same physical serial port. This blog post explains how to build such an console server on a FreeBSD host offering physical serial ports an FreeBSD as well as Windows clients who are able to access the ports like local ones.
Accessing Jenkins RSS/ATOM feed programmatically
In case one wants to push one's Jenkins RSS feeds to some internal devices or publish them with different credentials than are needed to access the Jenkins server this is a simple scripted solution on how to do this.
ISC-DHCPD events triggering native hooks from within a chroot
Mini blog post that shows how I integrated DHCP events into my automation solution by pushing commit, release and expiry events into my message broker infrastructure
Windows 10 recovery from damaged registry hive files
One approach to recover a Windows 10 system from damaged registry hive files in case of missing restore points and registry backups.
Automatic sitemap generation with Jekyll
A short summary on how to generate a sitemap for search engines automatically when using the Jekyll static site generator
Automatic Jenkins udpate using Shellscripts and Jenkins
This article describes a simple and working solution to automatically upgrade jenkins running on a local servlet container such as Apache Tomcat by using a simple POSIX compliant shellscript (working on Linux, Unices, etc.) as well as a simple Jenkins job itself.
LoRA WAN device activation (OTAA and ABP)
Minimal description of the two possible activation procedures of LoRA WAN device activation and the meaning of device activation for the network. This article has been written since the difference between OTAA and ABP as well as the reasoning seems to be a problem for some developers.
LoRA WAN stuff often not seen
A short summary of LoRA WAN stuff that's often not seen by device and application manufacturers and developers. This blog post tries to give a short overview of network behavior and internals.
Recovering MySQL or MariaDB database via dump and restore
This blog post summarizes the steps for disaster recovery on MariaDB or MySQL in case the database system doesn't start up any more or contains damaged table definitions which might even prevent one from dropping tablespaces or databases.
Use an RaspberryPi as UMTS/LTE gateway
Since a friend required this - a short writeup on how to use your RaspberryPi (with FreeBSD) with an UMTS/LTE modem to provide internet connectivity to your local network.
Automatic Ethernet and WiFi failover on FreeBSD
Short introduction on how to use lagg(4) to perform automatic switching from ethernet to WiFi and back on FreeBSD.
Simple usage of Kerberos for SSH authentication on FreeBSD
A short primer on how to get started using Kerberos for authentication inside your network. This includes setup of an kerberos key distribution center (KDC) on an secure host as well as of the server machines against which one will authenticate as well as the required configuration on the clients.
Using an IPv6 tunnel broker
How to get an IPv6 network connection working if your ISP doesn't support IPv6 even today. Also includes a short description on how to do this on an connection using dynamic endpoint adresses.
Configuring ADSL PPTP connection (for example with Austrian DSL providers) on FreeBSD with mpd5
A short summary on how to configure mpd5 to authenticate against an external PPP provider for PPPoA usage (via PPTP). This is required for authentication with most Austrian (A)DSL providers when using their modems in single user mode.
What is Multifactor authentication (MFA) and how to use a Yubikey on FreeBSD for Web and PAM (Local, SSH, etc.) authentication
This article contains a short tutorial about multifactor authentication, various factors that may be used and a tutorial on how to use the Yubikey hardware token for web- and local as well as SSH (pam) authentication on FreeBSD.
What are JSON web tokens any why would one want to use them?
Just a short description of what a JWT is, what it can do for one and how they are realized - and why one would want to use them to identify users in one's web application by using JWTs instead of session IDs.
The Blogsphere - How pingbacks work
The blogsphere is a web of interconnected websites. As usual websites are linked like all pages in the WWW but on the other hand they provide an easy way of notifying each other of being referenced by a third party. Pingback is - besides trackbacks - the (XML-RPC based) technology used for that notification.
Wie DKIM und SPF funktioniert (und weshalb Mail-Forwarding eine schlechte Idee ist)
This is an article (in German because of it's specific audience) about SPF and DKIM features that prevent mail spoofing and it's effects on mail forwarding
Adding tags for indexing webpages with Jekyll
An easy method to add tags to your static Jekyll generated pages and blogs
How to setup an TOR hidden service
A short description how to setup a TOR hidden service or an stealth hidden service and why one would want to do that even if one doesn't offer illegal content
Automatic domain validation TLS certificates with acme.sh and let's encrypt with own DNS servers
A tutorial on how to automatically manage TLS certificates for various services with DNS challenges and an zone served out of a bind zonefile that is protected via DNSSEC.
Speicherprobleme bei Android auf älteren Geräten umgehen
A short description of the davlik.vm.* tuneables for memory management tuning on Android devices
How to enable EAP-MD5 on Windows 7
A short description how to enable EAP-MD5 authentication for wired 802.1x authentication on Windows 7 since it has been (correctly) disabled for security reasons
