I Made A 1U Rack Filler In The Style Of Wopr Or 80S Blinking Light Computers

# I Made a 1U Rack Filler in the Style of WOPR or 80s Blinking Light Computers

Welcome fellow sysadmins and DevOps engineers! Today, we’ll build a self-hosted, open-source infrastructure automation solution reminiscent of the iconic WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) from the movie WarGames. This DIY 1U rack filler will bring a touch of retro charm to your homelab while providing modern DevOps capabilities.

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) or later, with at least 8GB RAM and 100GB storage
• A 1U rack mount case
• Network connectivity

Software Requirements

• Docker CE version 5.0.8 or higher: apt install docker-ce=5.0.8
• Docker Compose version 1.29.2 or higher: apt install docker-compose
• Git for cloning repositories

Solution Breakdown

Step 1: Clone the Repository

Clone this repository to your Ubuntu server:

git clone https://github.com/YourUsername/wopr-rackfiller.git

Step 2: Configure Environment Variables

Set up environment variables for easy customization and configuration:

cd wopr-rackfiller
nano .env

Replace YOUR_DOMAIN with your domain name or IP address, and add any other necessary settings. Save and exit the file.

Step 3: Initialize Docker Compose

Initialize the Docker Compose project:

cd wopr-rackfiller
docker-compose up --build -d

This command will build and start all services in docker-compose.yml.

Step 4: Configure Services

Services are configured in the docker-compose.yml file. Here’s a brief explanation of each service:

1. Ansible: Provides automation, configuration management, and application deployment capabilities.
2. Grafana: Monitors system performance and provides dashboards for quick analysis.
3. Prometheus: Collects metrics from various sources to be visualized by Grafana.
4. Loki: A highly scalable, cloud-native logging platform integrated with Prometheus.
5. Jaeger: Traces distributed requests and processes them for performance analysis.
6. OpenVPN Access Server: Secure remote access to your WOPR rack filler.
7. Wordpress: A simple web interface for managing your WOPR infrastructure.

You can modify the configuration files in each service’s directory (e.g., ansible, prometheus) as needed.

Step 5: Verify Installation

Verify that all services are running correctly by accessing their respective interfaces using the domain or IP address you set earlier and the appropriate port numbers.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues, refer to the official documentation for each service:

• Ansible
• Grafana
• Prometheus
• Loki
• Jaeger
• OpenVPN Access Server
• WordPress

Conclusion

You’ve now created a self-hosted, open-source infrastructure automation solution inspired by the iconic WOPR computer from WarGames. With this DIY 1U rack filler, you can manage your homelab with ease and add a touch of retro charm to your setup.

Remember to optimize performance by tweaking configuration settings, monitor system resources using Grafana and Prometheus, and secure your installation using OpenVPN Access Server. Happy automating!

Performance Optimization Tips

• Adjust resource limits for each service in the docker-compose.yml file to match available system resources.
• Configure caching and optimization settings in services like Grafana, Prometheus, and Ansible.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

• Make sure to keep your environment variables secure by not committing sensitive information to the repository or exposing them publicly.
• Regularly update and patch your WOPR installation to mitigate security vulnerabilities.
• Monitor system resources to ensure stable performance and prevent crashes or service interruptions.