Categories
Linux

Deploying Guacamole (and Duo MFA) via Docker Containers on Ubuntu

This guide replaces any previous guacamole docker deployment guides on cb-net and will be kept up-to-date as new releases emerge.

Updated: 22/01/18 : New Guacamole release 0.9.14

Use this guide to deploy a fresh/ new install of guacamole on Ubuntu using Docker containers, instructions include Docker CE installation, Duo MFA configuration (if wanted, can be skipped) and Guacamole/ pre-requisite container deployment to get you up and running. Scenarios:

  • No Docker, and want to use Duo MFA: follows sections one, two and three
  • No Docker, but don’t want to use Duo MFA: follow section one and three only
  • Already have Docker and want to use MFA: follow sections two and three only
  • Already have Docker and don’t want to use MFA: follow section three only
Categories
WordPress

Increasing page width in the WordPress Theme Twenty Seventeen

As-per : https://www.vanilla-wp.org/twenty-seventeen-theme-full-width-wordpress/

You can increase the displayed page width in the Twenty Seventeen theme using the following “Additional CSS” (can be found under Customise > Additional CSS).

To modify the percentage of the screen that can be used change this percentage **only** – the other percentages affect padding/ borders etc and will affect how appears on smaller displays.

@media screen and (min-width: 48em) {
 .wrap {
 max-width: 70%;
 /* padding-left: 3em; */
 /* padding-right: 3em; */
 }
}

Full Additional  CSS to add to your site set to 70% width:

.wrap {
 /* margin-left: auto; */
 /* margin-right: auto; */
 max-width: 100%;
 /* padding-left: 2em; */
 /* padding-right: 2em; */
}
 
@media screen and (min-width: 48em) {
 .wrap {
 max-width: 70%;
 /* padding-left: 3em; */
 /* padding-right: 3em; */
 }
}
 
.page.page-one-column:not(.twentyseventeen-front-page) #primary {
 /*margin-left: auto;*/
 /*margin-right: auto;*/
 max-width: 100%;
}

@media screen and (min-width: 30em) {
 .page-one-column .panel-content .wrap
 {
 max-width: 100%;
 }
}
Categories
DevOps

Using Docker Compose with MySQL/ WordPress

The following Docker Compose can be used to create persistent MySQL and WordPress instances, save the compose within its own directory on your Docker host and execute the project using the command:

docker-compose up -d

The WordPress environment will be available on http://<IP address of Docker Host>:8082 – published port can be changed by modification of the compose file.

Compose file – note you will need to provide secure MySQL and WordPress DB passwords:

version: '2'

services:
 wp-mysql:
 image: mysql:latest
 volumes:
 - wp_mysql:/var/lib/mysql
 ports:
 - "3306:3306"
 restart: always
 environment:
 MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: "<mysql_root_password>"
 MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress
 MYSQL_USER: wordpress
 MYSQL_PASSWORD: "<wordpressdb_password>"

wp-wordpress:
 depends_on:
 - wp-mysql
 image: wordpress:latest
 volumes:
 - wp_data:/var/www/html/wp-content
 ports:
 - "8082:80"
 restart: always
 environment:
 WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: wp-mysql:3306
 WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wordpress
 WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: "<wordpressdb_password_as_above>"

volumes:
 wp_mysql:
 wp_data:

To stop the containers brought up by compose relating to this project:

docker-compose down

To stop the containers and cleanup volumes (thus losing data contained within them):

docker-compose down --volumes
Categories
DevOps

Installing Docker CE on Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS / 17.10

Use the commands below to install Docker CE and enable “br_netfilter” (bridge netfilter module) to ensure that ICC functions as expected on Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS and 17.10:

# Install and configure Docker CE
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install \
 linux-image-extra-$(uname -r) \
 linux-image-extra-virtual

sudo apt-get install \
 apt-transport-https \
 ca-certificates \
 curl \
 software-properties-common

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -

sudo add-apt-repository \
 "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
 $(lsb_release -cs) \
 stable"

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install docker-ce
sudo systemctl enable docker


# Enable br_netfilter/ iptables filtering on Docker bridge interfaces
sudo vi /etc/modules-load.d/bridge.conf:

   br_netfilter

sudo vi /etc/sysctl.d/bridge.conf:

   net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-ip6tables = 1
   net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables = 1
   net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-arptables = 1

sudo sysctl net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables=1
sudo sysctl net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-ip6tables=1
sudo sysctl net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-arptables=1

sudo systemctl restart docker
Categories
DevOps

Docker Container Network Isolation

TL:DR: when testing Docker with “–icc=false” on Ubuntu Server 16.04.3 I found that br_netfilter was required but not configured by default. Even when enabled, I found that the Docker Host physical network was not protected against container breakout. Testing with IP Masquerade disabled addressed Docker Host physical network  security, however, with ICC and IP Masquerade disabled it was just as “easy” to manage the environment with “–iptables=false” and a firewall script.

I recently ran through an exercise where I was testing Docker Container Network Isolation in a lab environment – this involved reviewing the impact of disabling ICC, IP Masquerade and Docker’s interaction with IP tables itself. The scenarios I was trying to provide isolation for are as follows:

  • Docker Container access to Docker Containers within the same Docker network
  • Docker Container access to other Docker Containers in different Docker network
  • Docker Container access to Docker host
  • Docker Container access to Docker host physical network/ other hosts
Categories
Alexa

Alexa and Plex… so close!

TL:DR : The Alexa skill may well require a manual Port Forwarding rule/ Plex Media Server configured to playback music on the Echo device itself. FLAC content (at time of writing) will randomly stop mid-song, or at the end of a song but fail to progress to the next track. MP3 content does not exhibit this issue. Either use MP3 media, or don;t expect to play music via your Echo device (for now).

Update 13/01/18: Plex have released a statement on these issues, available here: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/303556/update-on-playback-issues – in effect, the audio stream stopping issues should be fixed soon. The Need for NAT loopback/ hairpin is also being worked on.

Like “millions” of others over the Christmas period we obtained a generation 2 Echo device, with the (initial) sole purpose of replacing the DAB radio that struggles for reception in our kitchen.  Having set the device up I started looking at what integrations there were for devices/ services we consume at home – Plex is the centre of our home Television and Music entertainment, so this seemed like an obvious candidate. On paper the Alex Plex skill enables (amongst other things):

  • Control of RasPlex devices, playing video/ audio content on any device (all of our Plex clients are Raspberry Pi 3’s running RasPlex)
  • The ability to play music via the Echo device itself

The pre-requisites are fairly simple – your Plex Media server must be configured for “remote access,” and you have to install/ configure the Alex Plex “skill.”  I’ve been a long-term user of Plex on a variety of devices, so I knew remote access was in-place and working well. Sounds simple enough right…? Well, yes and no.

Enabling the skill was simple enough, but on instructing Alex to “ask Plex to play music by Incubus” I received a response stating that Alexa was “playing music by Incubus” but then silence. I tried this several times, all to no avail. RasPlex device control worked immediately, and I was able to play music without issue on these devices, instructing Alexa to “ask Plex to play music by Incubus on Kitchen TV” for example. Output from the Echo itself just would not work.

I headed to the Plex and Reddit/plex forums and sifted through a ton of similar issues. Eventually I got the damn thing playing music on the Echo itself by performing two changes:

  • Enabling “ASUS” Loopback NAT (changed from “Merlin”) on my Internet router
  • Configuring a manual Port Forwarding rule for Plex to port 34200/ configuring my plex server to use Port 32400 externally

Now I was presented with a further issue, music stopped “randomly” in the middle of a track. I could resume playback with a simple “Alexa, resume” command, but needless to say 30 – 60 seconds at a time, this got frustrating pretty quick. After a raft of testing I found that my older, MP3 based content would play through, without issue, but FLAC media would not. Again, trawling forums, I found others who had come to similar conclusions. Something appears to go wrong with transcoding media for the Echo. Workaround for now, use MP3 media or simply don’t use the Echo for music playback.