My homelab is essentially my own passion project and only really I access it except for when I spin up the occasional game server for friends.

I'm currently running Proxmox and run a debian LXC container for each docker stack I have, and have OpnSense routing incoming traffic with Haproxy with ssl offloading. My currently running LXCs are: mediawiki, amp game server(2 Minecraft servers), freshrss, and currently playing around with n8n.

I'm looking to collapse my LXC's to just VMs. I'd like to be able to have 3 VMs running in a Docker Swarm together so I can upgrade a VM at a time and just swing my running containers to another docker node and then swing back when the VM is stable again.

I've looked at k0s, k3s, and k8s and it just seems way too much work and overhead for what I'm willing to do. I also want to keep using docker compose and want a decent webgui to manage my containers/nodes/swarm. I'm using DockHand right now, but need to research swarm support.

Anyone have any advice for something like this? Any specific terms, tech, software I should look into?

Also, gonna throw a curveball, but what would the effects be of running 3 different distros as my nodes in my swarm? Like a Debian node, Rocky Linux node and potentially arch node? I'm guessing I shouldn't due to docker engine differences potentially.

I'm just trying to have fun with things, break things, fix them, learn, etc.

Devices: Pixel 9 Pro XL(main) & Pixel Tablet(testbed)

Goal: To "degoogle" as much as possible. So, no Google apps, no Google Play Store, etc.

First Impressions

Web Installer Shoutout

I have some experience with flashing custom ROMs on Android devices. I remember flashing Android on my HTC HD2 ~20 years ago, put LineageOS on a Samsung tablet a couple of years ago, and messed around with custom roms on Xiaomi, Huawei, LG, and Samsung phones.

So I just have to point out that the Web Installer for Graphene was the easiest rom flash I have ever experienced. I was fully expecting having to go old school and do it manually, but I am so impressed with the ease of use here. Installing android-tools on my Arch laptop, rebooting, and then plugging my phone in and my web browser just hooking into my phone...just pure bliss.

Out-of-Box Experience and Aesthetics

I gotta say I was rather put off with the aesthetic of the OS after first setup. The black and white color scheme for the icons and wallpaper just made me...depressed? Like all the life or energy left my phone after installing Graphene. I think allowing a color/theme picker during first time setup, and potentially a few wallpapers to pick from, would go a long way for first impressions. I know you can do this after with ease, just "first impressions" wise it was a negative for me personally.

After downloading a new wallpaper and doing some color on the icons just made the device "come alive" in my eyes and felt more inviting. Just a tiny nitpick.

Setup

Scrcpy

One thing I was dreading to do was having to setup everything on my phone again. I use a password manager, so some of my passwords are 20+ characters. One tool I was able to find before setting up was "scrcpy" on Github, which allows you to mirror your android device screen to your desktop PC, complete with keyboard input and mouse emulating touch, as well as clipboard/copy+paste functionality. Not a huge need, but helped me immensely with my sanity. Just being able to quickly copy and paste github URLs into Obtanium was a huge win.

Device Settings

Overall I am impressed with the feature set of Graphene. All of the basics are there and I love being able to fine tune permissions and more. I haven't done anything crazy(no multiple profiles), but I do love the options available. One of my biggest pet peeves is the lack of options we have in modern software and services today.

Contacts, SMS, Call History

Straight up I forgot to export my Contacts AND I never turned on Contact backups to my Google account, lol.

But I did export my SMS/MMS via the SMS Backup & Restore utility. This turned out to be more work/questions/troubleshooting than I realized.

What I should've done before wiping my phone was:

1. Download and install the FossifyOrg apps for Contacts, Messages, and Phone.
2. Make those three the default apps, ensure data is visible in the new apps(can see contacts, texts, and call history)
3. In the Fossify app settings export all the data
4. Backup those exports off of the phone
5. Install GrapheneOS
6. Copy the exports onto the phone, reinstall the FossifyOrg apps
7. Import the data via the Fossify apps

I ended up having to go through all of my texts, read through the texts and use context clues to determine who I was talking to, and then added those numbers in my contacts with the person's name. Took me 10-15 minutes. Small blunder, but not a huge loss.

App Choices

Prior to installing Graphene on my phone, I wrote down all the apps I was using and I researched which ones had public repos to pull apk releases from and tested it on my Pixel Tablet with Obtanium, then whatever was left over try to find alternatives, and anything else...well use the website for the service.

For most of the apps I was able to find public repos and/or decent alternatives. For example instead of Gmail I just installed Thundebird and set it up through that(trying to slowly migrate from Gmail in general..., but that's another battle). Proton Mail and Proton VPN have their apps on their Github. I was using Proton Authenticator but...no public repo I could find, so I switched to Aegis, which imported my Proton Auth export just fine. I was already using KeePassDX and Syncthing to sync my passwords.

Other apps like banking, finance(brokerage, 401k), ebay, Costco, etc. I've just resigned to using the website directly. Sucks and is a huge inconvenience on most aspects...but...oh well? I don't "need" them. My only hold up is Zelle right now for the occasional taco truck payment, but my wife has a iPhone and can do the payments that way...

Steam I thought was going to be a huge loss or force me to use Google Play but...Steam actually provides their apk on their website. I still need to try to figure out a way to add it to Obtanium, but having to manually update my Steam apk is fine by me. QR/camera is not popping up for me, either a permission issue or because of some Play integrity thing maybe? Haven't troubleshooted much yet.

One of my biggest "hurdles" is/was music. I already planned on cancelling Spotify, but my plan was to move to Plex Amp(been running Plex for 10+ years at home) and wouldn't you know it...Plex doesn't have their apks available at all outside of Google Play Store. So I had to spin up a Jellyfin server, luckily I am already running Tailscale, and ended up finding and installing "Finamp" and everything seems to be working fine. I don't listen to a huge catalogue of music so this was an easier switch for me than probably others will experience.

RCS (My other biggest hurdle)

I have to do a mini-rant here. I was under the impression that RCS was supposed to be an open standard(or, "more open" standard) compared to something like iMessage or WhatsApp. I know this is my fault for not keeping up with the news, but I am beyond upset with how Google is handling this. Since I am doing "degoogle" I did not install Google Play, so no Google Messages. Little did I know that I was not receiving work related group chats because it was sending the messages to my Google Messages profile and not my phone number via MMS. I didn't know this until a coworker was asking why I wasn't responding to our boss on the group chat.

Luckily my boss knows what Graphene is and after a short explanation we both agreed that it is pretty ridiculous that Google is gatekeeping RCS. So I have unregistered my phone number with Google and now I have to wait...THIRTY DAYS? WHAT THE FUCK.

What's worse is that I can not sign into the website for Google Messages because it requires a phone number/phone auth...even Apple allows you to still communicate over iMessage with your Apple ID. Why the fuck can't I do the same with Google Messages with my Google Account until the thirty days is up at least?

I am sure I may not have to wait the full thirty days...but here we are a week later and I still cannot receive group chats via MMS. I can send texts and pictures to the group. I can text 1:1 to people via SMS and send photos over MMS to another singular person and they can send me pictures via MMS. But group chats are straight broken for me right now and I know it's Google's fault due to RCS.

Right now I was able to get my wife to install and use Signal, so that's a huge win. Hopefully I can convince others but again...another battle.

What I Wish I Did/Knew Before Installing Graphene

1. Disable Google RCS ASAP(or Apple's equivalent): https://messages.google.com/disable-chat
2. Download and backup contacts/sms/call logs via Fossify apps(if you're degoogle'ing)
3. Inform partner/close family and workmates prior to switching in case I don't get their texts/calls
4. Read over the Usage and Features pages on Graphene's site a bit more closely...

Going Forward

I am both excited and terrified for the next year or two in tech. There's a lot to look forward to and also a lot to be weary of. I have already gone full Linux for my desktop/laptop late last year(shout-out to Cachy!) and so far I have zero plans on leaving Graphene. Once my MMS issue goes away I will be mostly stable. I am currently looking into user profiles a bit more and seeing how things play out over the next month or two. My usual day-to-day on my phone is pretty standard(messaging the wife, listening to music on my commute, browsing the web), but my month-to-month used to involve going over my finances via my banking apps and making sure CC payments were posted correctly. I plan on doing this via the websites going forward, but it is a kick in the nuts for me convenience wise.

Summary

I am happy with GrapheneOS. I think whether you plan on deGoogle'ing entirely OR you just want more control over your device, Graphene gives you those options and Google does not. If you're on the fence I say go for it. Again my biggest pet peeve in life is not having OPTIONS. With Graphene I am given a dozen different ways to setup my phone for my specific use cases, but with Google it is "their way or the highway" mentality.

Update 1.5: New Map, further hit registration improvements, bug fixes Namak Returns: Jump into a fresh new take on the beloved and chaotic map The game has been updated to version 1.5 06/23/23

New Map: Namak Supported Modes & Sizes

Domination:
254 • 128 • 64
Inf Conquest:
254 • 128 • 64
Conquest
: 128 • 64

Additional Updates

C4 bug fixed.
Community Servers - SteamID names rate limit fixed.
Firewall updates against DDOS attacks.
Construction base safe zone received some tweaks.
New unique layout for 32v32 CONQ and INFCONQ on Sandy Sunset.
Destroyed Helicopter's colliders will be more accurate to the visual model.
XP Bar will no longer be visible when player is down.
A notification will appear on top left when server intentionally ignores hit reg on extreme packet loss situations
Player Hitbox - bullet detection improved on close range cases. (proning - trying to kill)
Some maps received bug and exploit fixes.

1.51:

HOTFIX NOTES:

Fixed a collision issue with bullets and water
Fixed a major issue related to network packet loss

• Added an on-screen level progression bar (this can be disabled from Gameplay -> Show Level Progression) - hi bigfry 👋
• Added a squad list in the bottom left corner (this can be disabled from Gameplay settings)
• Increased the HP of Blackhawk - KA60 by 50%, 2000 HP ---> 3000 HP
• Improved hitbox detection and hit registration
• Changed AK15's ext-magazine stats
• Vehicles will no longer be able to resupply while firing. 60 seconds cooldown implemented to prevent continuous supplying and firing (particularly for APCs)
• Fixed the issue where the "Give Up" UI could not be seen during night vision
• Adjusted layers on CONQ for Salhan, Construction, and Azagor. Player names will be limited to prevent clipping in the squad menu
• In loadout, the 'Supporter Icon' will indicate which skins are part of the supporter pack
• Players will no longer be able to damage enemy vehicles that are parked in the base (only applicable in safe zones where neither players nor vehicles can inflict or receive damage)
• Simplified the representation of special keys in keybindings in the game UI for a more compact display (e.g. '+' instead of 'PLUS')
• C4s will no longer pass through fences and bushes
• Removed canted sights from Ultimax (not possible due to the handle)
• Fixed the issue where the RSH12 vertical recoil indicator would clip outside the bar
• Fixed the issue where the scroll wheel couldn't be assigned in keybindings
• Fixed UMP45 skins

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