Category: Guides

Practical, step-by-step articles for IT professionals. Focused on configuration, setup, hardening, and everyday problem solving. Written to be bookmarked and reused.

The Operator’s KVM Bible

~ Tom's IT Cafe ~ Leave a comment

When the enterprise behind one of the widespread hypervisors was acquired:
many sysadmins decided to move on.

  • Most of them chose a Linux-based open-source alternative.
  • Many of them migrated to the Microsoft ecosystem.
  • They chased the same workflow, the same features they had before.

Only a very few operators dared to rework their processes and architecture.

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machines) is part of the Linux kernel.
It is a stable and fast hypervisor.

  • A carefully configured host OS for KVM can reduce the attack surface compared to feature-heavy hypervisors.
  • The libvirt API enables secure automation and configuration management.
  • KVM can host Linux, Windows and BSD virtual machines as well.
  • It ships an ecosystem of mature tools for the operators in charge.

KVM is not a downgrade. It’s a sideways step.

Continue reading “The Operator’s KVM Bible” →

Gitea – Ansible Installer Role

~ Tom's IT Cafe ~ Leave a comment

Automation and configuration management are not just about comfort.
They provide security, auditability and operational freedom.

For this reason Tom’s IT Cafe provides an Ansible role that:

  1. Downloads and installs the Gitea Linux binary
  2. Sets up a system service (as a non-root user)
  3. Sets up PostgreSQL (or SQLite for lightweight setups)
  4. Optionally sets up a reverse proxy with Certbot or self-signed keys
  5. Highly configurable through variables

The role focuses on a small, auditable code base with strong security.

Continue reading “Gitea – Ansible Installer Role” →

Gitea – Your Self-Hosted Git Platform

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You feel the comfort of the cloud – low maintenance, fast setup.
Your source code, configuration and files are safe.

Or… are they?

You rely on a third party for infrastructure control, security operations and availability.
What would your business continuity plan look like if your SaaS provider became unavailable?

In this article we investigate a self-hosted solution for small businesses.

Continue reading “Gitea – Your Self-Hosted Git Platform” →