42 replies to this topic

[Timelord]

For all PZC Members: I am offering free, full accounts on my servers, for you to use, instead of rubbish sites like MegaUpload/RapidShare.

 

Those file-sharing sites are full of adverts, malware, spam, and heavy scripts; and are extremely prone to vanishing over time. With this,people downloading from your site will have no download restrictions, no wait times, and can use downloading tools, such as IDM.

 

If you want an account, to use, with full FTP access, hull HTTPS access (yes, you can make a website), Shell access (SSH and Telnet), and other features, please post your request here.

 

Accounts will start with 500MB (maybe 1GB) of space, with more assigned in 500MB blocks, on request. This space is intended for use with PZC, and Armageddon games ZC-related stuff.

 

You can upload quests, scripts, tilesets, sounds, videos, full quest-related websites, etc; without the idiotic hoop-jumping of the MegaShare-type websites. There is no advertising, no cost, and the only thing I ask is that you don't use it for Warez, or for backing up huge files. (Small file archives are OK.)

 

My bandwidth is not as huge as ISPs, but you can expect fast upload speeds to the server (up to 50Mb/s), and reasonable download speeds (25Mb/s), which is more than adequate for ZC-related stuff.

 

Accounts like this usually cost between £7/$10 and £15/$20  per month. The one thing that is not included is an e-mail account. 

 

What is included:

 

A full account with your desired username (assuming it is not in use).

When you get your account, i will assign a generic password: You can reset  your password one of two ways: By request (which means that I would know it), or by logging in via SSH/Telnet and using the passwd command (which means that I would not know it). I can give you instruction to do this, if you do not know how to use a shell.

 

Personal web space (using HTTPS, Port 443); You can register a domain, and request that I point it to the DNS, if you so desire. You can make your own websites, and you may request WebDAV as well.

 

FTP Access (Ports 20/21). You may use this to upload files of any kind.

 

A full Shell Account: Accessed by SSH (Port 22), or Telnet (Port 23). You can use this for file uploads too, including cross-server uploads. If you have a Linux system, a Mac, or a Windows system with CygWin, you can scp files. This is also used for file operations, directory operations, and command-line utilities. I may toss in some CLI games (text-adventures) at some point.

 

Starting space of no less than 500MB; more on request, when needed.

 

Reasonable bandwidth. I will not overly monitor your bandwidth, but if I find you uploading streaming media, I will warn you.

 

Data reliability: My servers operate on RAID Arrays (RAID-10, RAID-1, and some RAID-5.) Your account will be either on a RAID-10, or a RAID-1 array, which means it is fully-mirrored.

 

Backups: I do routine server backups. I have LTO-4 drives to help with this. This does not mean I will prevent you from fragging your own files, but it does mean that if a disk in an array dies, that your data is still safe!

 

DNS: Available on request. Your account will be https://lodge.magesguild.org/~username by default. You must register (pay for, and supply) your own domain name, if desired. With a fully-resolved DNS TLD (e.g. www.yourname.com), your visitors may see an SSL certificate mismatch, as I do not have a wildcard cert.

 

I hope to upgrade to one in the future, but it costs a lot of money.

If you wish me to register a domain name for you, i will pass on my discounted cost with Dotster. Otherwise, you may use buy domain you wish, through any registrar, and point it to my DynDNS server, that resolves to my local DNS. (Likely, you will not need a domain name.)

 

DNS Mirroring: If you want a domain name that resolves over HTTP (Port 80), instead of HTTPS (port 443), I can set up a mirroring service for you on one of my remote servers, that will auto-mirror you account on a scheduled basis to that server, with a fully-qualified domain name. That will prvent the certificate mismatch, but updates will only happen every few days. You must specifically request this service, and I may elect to enable, or decline it as an option, until I know you better.

 

DNS Redirection: I can set up your domain to work on Port-80 (HTTP) via redirection. This will fix problems with SSL mismatches, but may cause problems if your viewers are using the ABE add-on for Firefox. Redirection works by resolving a request on normal HTTP (Port 80) to an alternative port, such as Port 8080.

 

Optional Viewing Restrictions: I can set up restrictions, requiring a valid user, or a valid username/password, to view specific content on your websites. I can set this up to require someone viewing your material to also have a registered account on the server, or create a basic login and password area, with usernames and passwords that you provide via .htaccess and .htpasswd files.

 

What you will not have:

SMTP/POP/IMAP e-mail. This is not included; I honestly do not desire to set up mail services for everyone, and I would only consider this for (cheap) paid accounts, at some later point. You probably would never need this anyway.

 

Admin or SysOp Status: Not going to happen, unless you are a moderator, or SysOp here. I don;t need anyone breaking my servers.

 

Guest/Anonymous FTP/Telnet/SSH: These require a valid account. Visitors can download your files using a normal browser, or wget, etc., via HTTPS.

 

VNC/Remote Desktop Access: This is reserved for Admins, and SysOps.

 

Cost

Nothing. Free. Not a single pence!

 

Server Specs:

These are the systems in the grid: You will end up on one of these:

XServe Xeon System: Quad 2.8Ghz, running OSX 10.5.8 (based on BSD), with 10GB RAM.

XServe G5 System 1: Dual-G5 2.3GHz 970, running OSX 10.5.4, with 6GB RAM.

XServe G5 System 2: Single-G5 2.3Ghz 970, running OSX 10.5.4, with 4GB of RAM; offline for upgrades.

XServe G4 System: Dual-G4 1.33GHz 7450; running OSX 10.4.11, with 1GB RAM.

ProReliant Server: Running Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTE; set-up incomplete; coming soon.

 

RAID Arrays: RAID-10, RAID-1 (multiple), RAID-5 (multiple), RAID-0 (two) as DAS.

 

Switches: High-End Cisco Gigabit, Fully-Managed switches, and DD-WRT-based gateways.

 

If you want an account, post in this thread:

Please post your desired username: I will PM you a default password, and instructions to change it yourself.

 

I can safely allocate at least 500GB of space to PZC users at no cost.

 

Please, let's all boycott places like RapidShare. I hate them to death, which, aside from generally being a nice bloke, is why i am offering this.

 

If you wish, I can probably also swing you space on the Insomnia24/7 network, as I know CoolFire, however, I prefer to start you with an account on the servers that I own, and manage.

 

P.S. I am in the process of adding an IRC service too.

 

P.P.S. If the Mods,.Admins, and .SysOps here think this is a fantastic offer, please feel free to sticky this topic.

Edited by ZoriaRPG, 10 March 2014 - 12:25 PM.

[Sheik]

While I don't see me personally using this as I am more than fine with Dropbox right, I'd like to let you know that the gesture is very nice and certainly useful to many. So, thank you for the effort!

[anikom15]

You have a privacy policy?

[ShadowTiger]

That is extremely kind of you, ZoriaRPG. I have to say, as Shiek said so eloquently, this truly is a spontaneous and heartwarming gesture, and I am enthusiastically grateful.

May I be so bold as to take you up on your offer? I only intend on storing small amounts of files and images, mostly ZC-related, as I've recently begun ramping up my ZC activities, and I also recently lost my filehost for most of a decade. I'm using Dropbox for now, but who knows what'll happen with that.

My requested username is simply ShadowTiger, exactly as written. Ever so many thanks..

[trudatman]

not sure I'd use it if it's at all as confusing as the description, but I'd like one with my username, too.  thank you very much.

[Astromeow]

I would gladly partake. Astromeow as username. Thank you for hosting!

Edited by Astromeow, 12 March 2014 - 10:05 AM.

[Timelord]

You have a privacy policy?

 

A small update:

 

I started to create accounts for the three of you--in fact, you have accounts on my primary server--but, mid-stream, I decided to isolate the PZC accounts on a different machine, to better segregate them from the media servers, so I will be setting up that space, over the course of the next week.

 

It's not all that fast, primarily because I need to set up a new SSH jail, which is a term that most of you likely do not know. Simply put, an SSH jail prevents users from viewing paths outside their home directory, via chroot. It is a long, manual process, that takes a great deal of time to establish on a system, but I think it would be ideal to keep all of your sites separate from those on the other servers, particularly servers handling multimedia content.

 

This means that your accounts will be on either the G4, or the HP system.

 

I am also writing a different user policy, as anikon15 requested one, that differs from my standard policies, as it is for entirely free accounts, with different levels of liability. The liability concern, in part, is why i want to isolate the accounts, as that will prevent anyone from touching the filesystem on the servers for commercial clients.

 

I added a sub-domain to the grid for PZC thus far, and I set up port configurations. Please note that the services (SSH, SFTP, FTP, Telnet), will use non-standard ports; and the HTTP/HTTPS will use non-standard ports via port redirection. If you don;t understand networking, this is probably meaningless to you, but I will try to make a basic, simple, and human-readable user manual, to drop into your root directories, that clarifies everything.

 

It will be important for you to know the ports, for use with the services. (All decent SSH, Shell, and FTP clients support alternate ports.)

 

I wanted to reassure you that I am not trying to back out of this, but it will take a bit of time to set up the filesystem on the additional server, and to write the end-user agreement. It is a royal pain to set up chroot stuff on OSX, if you still want to use AFP, and the primary media server is under heavy multimedia use, whereas the secondary server is under heavy AFP use. That's why you will be on a tertiary server, under OSX, or Linux. I may go with the Linux server, if OSX tries to run me around in circles again, when setting up the jails, as the G4 runs 10.4.11, and openssh-daemon on that system is an older version, that lacks some of the chroot support of the newer versions.

 

If any of you need emergency space immediately, (e.g. ShadowTiger), please PM me, and I will set something up for you, and handle the migration later.

Edited by ZoriaRPG, 13 March 2014 - 02:01 AM.

[ShadowTiger]

Quite alright. Nothing is an emergency. It's extremely kind of you, absolutely, to devote so much time in such a selfless manner.

[Timelord]

I installed jailkit onto the G4 system today; which took about eleven hours to do, because python wasn't cooperating. Next, I have to remember how to configure it, which is easy on a Linux system, but not so easy on OSX. Once I do that, I should be able to transfer the accounts that I made for you to that system, and churn out a simple user-agreement pretty fast.

 

By the by, one of the reasons I'm doing this, is because so much ZC stuff has vanished from the net, including scripts in the Script DB, that were linked using sharing hosts. At least I know that i can depend on myself to provide LTS, and mirrors.

 

PZC should really allow attachments, for scripts, stored on the localhost, and force users to use these, in addition to any external hosting, to have a secure mirror.

[Timelord]

The server is ready, all accounts requested here are ready, and you all have PMs with login details, instructions, and the link to the TOU & Privacy Agreement.

[Xenix]

Hmm, I might have need of this. This is a really kind gesture.

I cannot express my gratitude in ways other than what has already been stated here.

Username: Sepulcher

[Evan20000]

I'm also interested as well, and am most grateful of this.

I'll probably use it to pass quests in development between a few people (My dropbox is out of space, so....).

[Timelord]

Done, and done. You both have a PM awaiting you.

[Timelord]

A few people that requested accounts, or expressed interest in this, wrote back with problems configuring their connections, or were confused by all the shell stuff. For those of you who only care about storing files, and don;t understand any of that stuff above...those who are asking 'How the flidd do I use this?'... Here is a guide for the simplest means of accessing the servers on your OS. If you need a more comprehensive guide, with screenshots, please ask in this thread.

 

Mac OS X FTP in The Finder

Aye, I know this will be a small crowd, and about half of the Mac users will already know this, but here we go anyway.

 

(1.) In the Finder, go to the 'Go' menu, and select 'Connect to Server'   

             Shortcut: (Open-Apple+K) a.k.a. (Command+K).

(2.) In the dialgoue box, type this:

ftp://lodge.magesguild.net:11121

  (a) Click the '+' button to save this for the future.

  (b) Click the 'Connect' button to start the connection.

(3.) A dialogue box opens, asking for your username, and for your password.

(4.) Enter your username, and password.

(5.) Click 'OK'

  (a) The server will mount a virtual drive, via the FTP connection. You will see this in your volumes list as 'lodge.magesguild.net:11121/' at the full path of /Volumes/lodge.magesguild.net:11121/

  (b) You can access the FTP mounted volume (disc) as if it was any other external drive.

 

MacOS X SSH (Important to change your password!):

(1.) Open the Terminal programme (/Applications/Terminal.app).

(2.) At your prompt, type this command: ssh -p 11122 -l username lodge.magesguild.net

  (a) Substitute username with your username (e.g. zoriarpg, like this: ssh -p 11122 0l zoriarpg lodge.magesguild.net)

  (b) You will (or may) be prompted to add the fingerprint to your system. This is a security feature, that encrypts your data transmissions.

  © Type: yes to proceed. (Note: Typing y is not enough: you must type the full yes reply.)

  (d) If you did this rightly, you will see a greeting message with some information that is important.

(3.) You will be then, immediately prompted for your password.

  (a) Enter your password. If you have not changed it, it will be the default that I sent you in the initial PM.

  (b) Hit Return

(4.) You will be given a greeting, for the Ouroboros Lodge servers, with system status info.

(5.) Immediately set a new password!

  (a) At the prompt, type the command passwd

  (b) Hit the return key.

  © You will be prompted to enter a new password. Most of the time, the characters that you type will be invisible, so type carefully.

  (d) Hit return.

  (e) You will be prompted to confirm your password. Type it again, and hit Return.

  (f) If you have any problems, and wish me, or another SysOp to set a password for you manually, please PM me with your desired password. (You can always change it again later.)

(6.) Unless you need to do other filesystem operations at this time, type exit followed by pressing Return.

(7.) You will return to your local system prompt.

 

Windows XP/Windows 2000/Windows 2003 FTP (Native; no other software needed.):

(1.) Click Start

(2.) Click 'My network places'

(3.) Double-click 'Add Network Place'

  (a) This opens the Network place Wizard

  (b) Click 'Next'

  © Select 'Choose another network location'. (Note: This is usually the default option.)

  (d) Click 'Next'.

  (e) In the field that you see, enter this exactly: ftp://lodge.magesguild.net:11121

  (f) Click 'Next'

  (g) Turn off the option 'Log in anonymously' by deselecting the checkmark.

  (h) A field appears to enter your username.

  (g) Type your username in the field, all in lowercase.

  (i) Click 'Next'

  (j) A field appears, where you can name your network location. name it to something you will remember.

  (k) Click 'Next'.

  (l) A dialogue box appears, with the option 'Open this network place when I click Finish'. Leave this on for instant access.

  (m) Click 'Finish'

(4.) A dialogue box appears, prompting you for your password.

  (a) Type your password in the field.

  (b) Click 'OK'

(5.) The connection will open, as if the new network place was a disc on your system.

 

Note: You can easily return to this network place by visiting Network places:

(1.) Click 'Start'.

(2.) Click 'My Network Places'.

(3.) Double-click the network place that you named in step 3-J.

(4.) The connection will open; you may need to re-enter your password.

 

You may now use Windows Explorer (the Windows desktop GUI) to do FTP operations.

 

Windows Vista/Windows 7 Native FTP:

This works almost in the same manner as the XP method, except that the options have moved a bit.

(1.) Click 'Start'

(2.) Click 'Computer'

(3.) The 'My Computer' window opens.

(4.) Right-click in any empty area of the 'My Computer' window.

(5.) Click 'Add a Network Location' in the contextual (pop-up) menu.

(a) This opens the Network place Wizard

  (b) Click 'Next'

  © Select 'Choose another network location'. (Note: This is usually the default option.)

  (d) Click 'Next'.

  (e) In the field that you see, enter this exactly: ftp://lodge.magesguild.net:11121

  (f) Click 'Next'

  (g) Turn off the option 'Log in anonymously' by deselecting the checkmark.

  (h) A field appears to enter your username.

  (g) Type your username in the field, all in lowercase.

  (i) Click 'Next'

  (j) A field appears, where you can name your network location. name it to something you will remember.

  (k) Click 'Next'.

  (l) A dialogue box appears, with the option 'Open this network place when I click Finish'. Leave this on for instant access.

  (m) Click 'Finish'

(6.) A dialogue box appears, prompting you for your password.

  (a) Type your password in the field.

  (b) Click 'OK'

(7.) The connection will open, as if the new network place was a disc on your system.

 

Note: You can easily return to this network place by visiting Network places:

(1.) Click 'Start'.

(2.) Click 'Computer'.

(3.) Double-click the network place that you named in step 5-J.

(4.) The connection will open; you may need to re-enter your password.

 

Other Windows FTP Software:

You can use other FTP software to connect to the servers. be sure to set the port to 11121.

 

SSH on Windows Important to change your password!):

 

SSH on Windows by a DOS Prompt on XP/Windows 2000/Windows 2003:

(1). Click Start

(2) Run CMD by...

  (a) on XP, Windows 2000, or Windows 2003, click 'Run'

  (b) A field appears, into which you can enter a command.

  © Type cmd

  (d) Click OK.

(3.)  A DOS prompt window opens.

(4.) Type this command: ssh -p 11122 -l username lodge.magesguild.net

  (a) Replace username with your username; as an example ssh -p 11122 -l zoriarpg lodge.magesguild.net

  (b) Press Enter

  © Type: yes to proceed. (Note: Typing y is not enough: you must type the full yes reply.)

  (d) If you did this rightly, you will see a greeting message with some information that is important.

(5.) You will be then, immediately prompted for your password.

  (a) Enter your password. If you have not changed it, it will be the default that I sent you in the initial PM.

  (b) Hit Return

(6.) You will be given a greeting, for the Ouroboros Lodge servers, with system status info.

(7.) Immediately set a new password!

  (a) At the prompt, type the command passwd

  (b) Hit the return key.

  © You will be prompted to enter a new password. Most of the time, the characters that you type will be invisible, so type carefully.

  (d) Hit return.

  (e) You will be prompted to confirm your password. Type it again, and hit Return.

  (f) If you have any problems, and wish me, or another SysOp to set a password for you manually, please PM me with your desired password. (You can always change it again later.)

(8.) Unless you need to do other filesystem operations at this time, type exit followed by pressing Return.

 

 

SSH on Windows 7, by the DOS Prompt (Also probably for Windows Vista, and Windows :

(1.) Click on the Start button.
(2.) In the search box, type the following: command

(3.) Click on Command Prompt in the search results listing.

(4.)  A DOS prompt window opens.

(5.) Type this command: ssh -p 11122 -l username lodge.magesguild.net

  (a) Replace username with your username; as an example ssh -p 11122 -l zoriarpg lodge.magesguild.net

  (b) Press Enter

  © Type: yes to proceed. (Note: Typing y is not enough: you must type the full yes reply.)

  (d) If you did this rightly, you will see a greeting message with some information that is important.

(6.) You will be then, immediately prompted for your password.

  (a) Enter your password. If you have not changed it, it will be the default that I sent you in the initial PM.

  (b) Hit Return

(7.) You will be given a greeting, for the Ouroboros Lodge servers, with system status info.

(8.) Immediately set a new password!

  (a) At the prompt, type the command passwd

  (b) Hit the return key.

  © You will be prompted to enter a new password. Most of the time, the characters that you type will be invisible, so type carefully.

  (d) Hit return.

  (e) You will be prompted to confirm your password. Type it again, and hit Return.

  (f) If you have any problems, and wish me, or another SysOp to set a password for you manually, please PM me with your desired password. (You can always change it again later.)

(9.) Unless you need to do other filesystem operations at this time, type exit followed by pressing Return.

 

SSH on Windows Using Putty:

(1.) Open Putty

(2.) In the field for 'Hostname or IP address', enter the text lodge.magesguild.net

(3.) In the field for 'port', enter the value 11122

 

 

(4.) Click 'Open'; you may be prompted to accept the fingerprint. Yes, is the correct choice.

(5.) A shell window opens.

(6.) You will be prompted for your username; you may be prompted to accept the fingerprint. Yes, is the correct choice.

  (a) Type your username, and press Enter.

(7.) You will see a welcome message.

(8.) You will be prompted to enter your password. Do so now, and press Return.

(9.) You will see the Lodge Ouroboros login banner, followed by your prompt.

(10.) Immediately set a new password!

  (a) At the prompt, type the command passwd

  (b) Hit the return key.

  © You will be prompted to enter a new password. Most of the time, the characters that you type will be invisible, so type carefully.

  (d) Hit return.

  (e) You will be prompted to confirm your password. Type it again, and hit Return.

  (f) If you have any problems, and wish me, or another SysOp to set a password for you manually, please PM me with your desired password. (You can always change it again later.)

(6.) Unless you need to do other filesystem operations at this time, type exit followed by pressing Return.

(7.) The connection will close.

 

You can use alternative SSH and FTP software on Windows, MacOS, and other operating systems. Be sure to use Port 11121 for FTP, and port 11122 for SSH!

 

Linux/Unix/BSD/*Nix:

Most Linux/BSD/*Nix users will already know how to use a shell. Simply use the same ftp and ssh commands, as usual, with the substitute ports 11121 and 11122 for FTP, and for SSH respectively. If you are among the fer that don;t know how to do thisk please post a reply here, or send me a PM.

 

Android Users: I suggest the programme JuiceSSH for SSH, and the programme AndFTP for FTP operations.

 

I hope that this covers everything that you need to know, on how to start using this service.

 

@Mods P.S. I am intentionally double-posting here, so that people can clearly see that something is updated; especially those who have requested accounts. I promise to only do this for important stuff, like the requested How-To.

 

Other Updates: I added some basic cooperative / collaboration areas; and started an open, script repository area, and will be adding a repository for 'example' quest files. If people want database-tools for collaboration and version control, please let me know, and I will see what I can put together that is of use to you.

Edited by ZoriaRPG, 16 March 2014 - 02:48 AM.

[ShadowTiger]

After all the work you've put into the tutorial alone, I find that I really want to send you some money for this. It's the very least I could do. I don't know if my standards are wibbly-wobbly and whatnot, but this feels extremely selfless to me, and I don't feel at all comfortable just accepting this kindness without some form of reciprocity.