#+KEYWORDS: freedombox, debian, beaglebone, red matrix, email, web server, home server, internet, censorship, surveillance, social network, irc, jabber
#+DESCRIPTION: Turn the Beaglebone Black into a personal communications server
- A purchased domain name and SSL certificate (only needed for Red Matrix)
- A laptop or desktop machine with the ability to write to a microSD card (might need an adaptor)
You will also need to know, or find out, the IP address of your internet router and have a suitable static IP address for the Beaglebone on your local network. The router should allow you to forward ports to the Beaglebone (often this is under firewall or "advanced" settings).
where /dev/sdX is the device name for the microSD card. Often it's /dev/sdb or /dev/sdc, depending upon how many drives there are on your system. The script will download the Debian installer and update the microSD card. It can take a while, so be patient.
When the initial setup is done follow the instructions on screen to run the main freedombone command.
The interactive server configuration setup is recommended for most users. On the system where freedombone is to be installed create a configuration file.
You can select which variant you wish to install and then enter the details as requested. A video of the install sequence can be [[./installer.ogv][seen here]].
Both of the IP addresses are local IP addresses, typically of the form 192.168.x.x, with one being for the system and the other being for the internet router.
Save the configuration file and exit from your editor.
Now you can begin the installation. If you are doing this on a Beaglebone Black:
#+BEGIN_SRC bash
freedombone --bbb -d [default domain name] -u [username] --ddns [dynamic DNS provider domain] --ddnsuser [dynamic DNS username] --ddnspass [dynamic DNS password]
The above command should be run in the same directory in which your configuration file exists. You can use any of your domains as the default one, but typically the default domain is the same as the one for your wiki.
Also see the manpage for additional options which can be used instead of a configuration file. If you don't specify a variant type with the final option then everything will be installed. If you have a *freedombone.cfg* file then it should be in the same directory from which the *freedombone* command is run.
* Post-Setup
Setup of the server and installation of all the relevant packages is not quick, and depends upon which variant you choose and your internet bandwidth. Allow about three hours for a full installation on the Beaglebone Black. On the Beaglebone installation is in two parts, since a reboot is needed to enable the hardware random number generator and zram.
When done you can ssh into the Freedombone with:
#+BEGIN_SRC bash
ssh username@domain -p 2222
#+END_SRC
Any manual post-installation setup instructions or passwords can be found in /home/username/README. You should remove any passwords from that file and store them within a password manager such as KeepassX.
On your internet router, typically under firewall settings, open the following ports and forward them to your server.
You can configure laptops or desktop machines which connect to the Freedombone server in the following way. This alters encryption settings to improve overall security.