Introduction
The Blackwall is a multi-host modular NixOS network. It utilises a single NixOS configuration to manage multiple physical interconnected hosts to distribute processing power, storage capabilities as well as enforce logical segmentation.
Multi-host
The original idea was a single device running everything 1; having now looked into raid arrays and ZFS configs, I’ve decided it’d probably be better to utilise multiple types of devices to their own strengths
NixOS
I’ve also since become far more profficient with NixOS and believe it is the ‘end-game’ of home server OS options. By managing multiple hosts on a single modular nix configuration, it becomes infinitely easier to treat all hosts as if they’re part of a single interconnected system and brings the logical segmentation much closer to hypervisors like Proxmox, without virtualisation.
Theme
The aesthetic design of the Blackwall network is similar to its namesake. In Cyberpunk 2077, shortly after completing one of your first quests and receiving a new ‘ping’ hack, you can also find a lore book describing how a hacker named Rache Bartemoss released viruses upon the internet causing AI to go rampant and render the internet generally unusable.
In the present-day game, the Blackwall is a ‘firewall’ that protects the new state Intranets from the AIs in the old web.
Today we face a similar problem where due to AI, the general Internet has become unusable due to mass-produced low-effort content 2. This server project serves as my efforts to create a closed-off space for my personal info and my data as well as work on my projects in peace.
Myself
I am a British/Irish computer scientist with a BSc (Honours) in Cyber Security from MMU, UK. I have experience working in:
- Web development
- Service Desk
- National CSIRT Analyst
My interests range from motorsports to bikes; I own a Honda Grom and a Mazda MX-5 NB ’03.
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The original plan was to build everything in a Beelink ME Pro N150. This device is now Cynosure. ↩