Self-hosted server platform arkOS starts crowdfund for new features | Hacker News Reader

Self-hosted server platform arkOS starts crowdfund for new features

fund.arkos.io

42 pointsjcook81816 comments

Seems like a good idea in theory, but I know that my ISP sends you a threatening letter in the post if you have too much incoming traffic - and it's unbelievably slow anyway. I wish this project a whole lot of luck though, because I really wish for a future of the internet where you don't rely on products that bombard you with adverts.

The project plans to expand to other architectures (including VPSes) with a successful funding campaign, meaning that you don't have to host at home to get the same easy experience. So maybe that would be an option for you.

Thanks for your support!! :D

Here's the thing, I would only give arkOS a good look if it were available for other architectures/devices (mainly AWS or other VPS). While I have a few rPi's around for hacking I refuse to host something like email, owncloud or calendar on a device that's relying on a residential connection. Most email blacklists include IP ranges for large ISPs and I simply don't have the requisite upstream at home to host something like owncloud effectively.

That said, I'm happy to donate towards the project because it is cool

I use bittorrent sync on a (really cheap) OVH dedicated server to much success and if I could replace it with something pretty like your product then I almost certainly would.

That is the prime use case for arkOS :) With everyone's support easy and secure self-hosted file sync will be possible for arkOS.

Interesting pendulum going on here:

A big reason we moved to Dropbox and the cloud was to avoid the single-point-of-failure and security problems associated with self-hosting. Most home users aren't going to take the time to make sure their arkOS is constantly up-to-date and configured securely, and anything hosted from one particular location is liable to data loss from all sorts of physical issues (hardware failure, theft, natural disaster, etc.).

I have a Dropbox Pro account because I'd rather pay someone a small amount of money to take care of these things for me than risk my data being destroyed by a fluke. The ability to access files from across devices is a big benefit too, but a big part of the cloud push is to move critical data off of individual devices, and I don't see arkOS handling that in its current pitch.

Thanks for your input bsimpson. I definitely agree that self-hosting does present a whole new set of issues when it comes to reliability, security and accessibility. That is why the project has put a focus on developing tools like VPS architecture compatibility, dynamic DNS and port proxying relays, encrypted and automatic backup services, and more. Hosting your data on the Raspberry Pi is just the tip of the iceberg for the project - we want to make it as safe as possible while still keeping the control and privacy that is increasingly important these days.

IMO security is solved by sandboxing and Chrome-style auto updates and reliability is solved by data centers and mandatory backups, but I guess the plug/RPi people disagree.

arkOS will provide three of those four things. (Obviously not the data centers part). The privacy implications counter the need for data centers for interested users, but of course everyone will need to evaluate their own individual pros and cons.

Is there documentation available about the various layers of this project: operating system, networking, applications, and so on? You will receive much more and better quality feedback with more documentation.

For example, I would advise that after installing arkOS the web server for the Genesis application be only accessible from the LAN until the user changes the default password(s), by configuring TCP Wrapper. But it's hard to tell if this is already done without actually going through the installation.

arkOS is a great idea. I hope you succeed.

Hi eliteraspberrie - You will find all the documentation you need on https://arkos.io. There is explanation about the various frameworks and plugins that work with Genesis, what they do, how to use them, how to develop with them, and so on.

There is a Security framework in Genesis that can be used to prevent access from external (non-local network) clients. Genesis does not have a default setting for this at this point, but I will see what I can do to implement it as this makes good sense.

Thank you! :)

Pretty neat - there's definitely a market for this kind of thing that extends beyond ownCloud and is easy to set up. Targeting RasPi users initially isn't a bad idea, but I'd like to see support for other architectures as well, as maaarghk says.

A tangential point: I like how the BBS and funding are all integrated within the site.

I don't see email in the list of "what it does now" ... is that so basic of a arkOS function that it is presumed, and doesn't need to be mentioned ?

Or are you not providing what I would argue is the number one priority for self reliance, privacy and control on the Internet ?

Hi rsync -- Email capability is in the works, you can find that mentioned on the site under the "On the Agenda" "The true centre of your self-hosted Internet" sections.

Thanks!

This is around like 6 months, no progress beside nginx and transmission inclusion has been made in that time. It's nice idea but without community I don't see this project succeeding.

Hi! A ton of progress has been made beside those things. And the frameworks behind them (database management, SSL certificate management, webapp download/installs, etc) are nothing to shake a stick at. Check this out for a full list https://github.com/cznweb/genesis/releases

The project has already started developing its community at https://bbs.arkos.io and has an active mailing list, Twitter following and others in diverse social media. I'm working hard to get people active and involved, and contribution/bugfixes are very easy to do.

Thanks!

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