My SDBA Coding Bootcamp: Episode 2

BTW I use whatever will get this **** going. (language warning again)

Does anyone know who originally made this? It is brilliant.

Ah, second day of this. That must mean it is a habit now, right? I hope the excitement to do this continues. You really have to have something to look forward to each day to make life happy, right (namely, something other than sheet cake)?

I woke up this morning wondering if cancelling the bootcamp was the right thing to do. I hate that feeling of when you aren’t sure if a decision was right but either direction would have made you feel that way. Due to the financing, I actually would have paid only $17 a month for five months. BUT it also would have been time consuming. And when you are freelancing on a $/hr basis, the time is money slogan becomes very literal. Also the government student loans are starting in September last I heard. Once I ran all the $$ numbers, I probably would have HAD to get a “real” job once the bootcamp ended to pay for all my debt.

It is what it is, and what is is done now. I think I just hate it because I always fancy myself as the “take high risks and get high rewards” type. But getting into freelancing during a literal goddamned pandemic was already an ultimate decision of that type. I can’t keep piling those sorts of decisions on top of each other. At some point they will topple over.

But enough existentialism. So I started the first step getting my website going: Figuring out if I can afford AWS. It would be awesome to be able to use those services because I also want to get my AWS certifications. Not to be a pick-me girl, but I am never been the type to memorize a bunch of shit and pass a test. I have known some other people who have been able to do that with AWS tests, but even my practice results were abysmal. Part of the reason I am an IT person and not a neuroscientist like I originally planned. Anyway, here is what I got when I ran some initial numbers through the AWS Pricing Calculator:

Even the EC2 t2.micro (before you ask, but free tier dried up awhile ago) would be a lot tbh. I tried some of the other reserved options that are supposed to give you savings, but they are not much better for this case. I have looked at spot instances in the past as well. For those that are not familiar, spot instances is basically AWS letting you bid on the extra unused space. You set a price for what you are willing to pay, and when it goes above what you set, the instance terminates. (all assuming the space is available — you also are subject to lose the EC2 at anytime if AWS just wants the space back). They are cool for quick, cheap and dirty desires (that’s what he/she/ze said). But I do want this constantly running for a long time. Oh well, Lord knows there are plenty of other VPS services.

Thankfully I didn’t have to search for very long. I tried Linode and found they had $100 credit for first-time users (ends in September but even then a small server is $5). That $100 could let me play with some more interesting things for a minute though…like there is some Kubernetes thing they have. It sounds great as long as you remember to turn the shit off! Otherwise, well, that’s how they make their money.

Setting a server in linode is pretty standard. I had also used Digital Ocean in the past, and honestly Linode seemed even more straightforward. I would give y’all a referral code, but apparently you have to have spent $25 in linode before that. So when I have, I will stick it in a later article so I can really look like a sell-out.

I just thought this was amusing.

Here is a dank meme no one has used in awhile.

I decided to pick Ubuntu 21.04 (gasp!). I am trying to create a website, not simply a set of bragging rights. Well, I guess it sort of is, if I am making all this to generate more business….Whatever. At least it isn’t Windows.

So the only thing that might be difficult is dealing with SSHehehehehe. Listen, don’t feel bad if you don’t understand how to set-up SSH. The only reason I can do it is because I have done it and had it do me ~23 times at this point.

Here is an article I found that I think covers it well.

SSH Tutorial for Beginners - How Does SSH Work

We are using the public-private key pair.

You has a public key, and then through the magic of math, no one knows the private key who isn’t supposed to. (from above article in case you skipped it. I know you did Frank. I know you think you are too good for this.)

Here are the main points if you are still confused:

• There is a public and a private key. You generate them with `ssh-keygen -t rsa in mac and linux (any *nix based system really). Windows involved puTTY and all that. It gets very sticky. LOLOLOLOLO……..
• By default it will put it in a hidden directory called .ssh. It is almost always under the home directory. You have to do l -a or ls -a to see it. I would let ssh-keygen put it in the default directory. Trust me on this.
• You will give the public key to services, like DigitalOcean or Linode.
• NEVER GIVE THE PRIVATE KEY TO ANYONE. The security of the entire system is based on it. Don’t even send it to your best friend with benefits who knows all your other secrets anyway. Every time you send anything anywhere there is a chance of it getting intercepted. This is why SSH is more secure than a password. A password has to be stored somewhere. Even if it is just your brain. With SSH only your computer knows the “password”
• Each device will need its own public-private key pair. So when I want to connect another device, I will need to generate a pair on that computer and give the public key to the server. Don’t stick the public and private key on a flashdrive and put it on another computer. I have been tempted to do that. That is like building a whole moat just to let a tree fall perfectly across it. And then leave the tree there.

I should give a disclaimer in case there are any veterans out there: don’t hesitate to correct anything I say in my articles. I will try to be transparent about what I am sure about and what I am not. I know there is a lot more to SSH but I gave here what I feel absolutely comfortable imparting. If you comment something really good, I will include it in future articles.

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Yeeee.