A social instance image allows you to easily set up a fediverse server, which federates using the OStatus or ActivityPub protocol. You will need:
* An old laptop, capable of booting from USB
* A USB drive, preferably Sandisk and 16GB or larger
* An ethernet patch cable
* A domain name of your own
* A dynamic DNS account
The installation process is the same as usual, with the only difference being that on initial setup it will go straight to the domain setup details for your instance. In summary:
Also note that if the laptop has a removable SSD drive it's possible to copy the image directly to that if you have enough equipment.
* Connect the laptop to your internet router
With the ethernet cable.
#+BEGIN_CENTER
[[file:images/laptop_router.jpg]]
#+END_CENTER
* Boot the laptop from the USB drive
You may need to alter the BIOS settings to get this to work reliably.
#+BEGIN_CENTER
[[file:images/bios_boot_usb.jpg]]
#+END_CENTER
* Forward ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) from your internet router to the laptop
Log into your internet router using a non-Tor browser (usually it's on an address like 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.1.254). Often port forwarding settings are together with firewall settings.
#+BEGIN_CENTER
[[file:images/port_forwarding.png]]
#+END_CENTER
* From another machine ssh into the laptop
#+begin_src bash
ssh fbone@freedombone.local -p 2222
#+END_SRC
Or alternatively you can log in directly on the laptop. The initial username is *fbone* and the password is *freedombone*. You should make sure you write down or copy the new password when it is shown.
* Follow the setup procedure
Enter your user details, domain name and dynamic DNS settings.
