This blog is now hosted on a GPS/LTE modem (2021)

#1

Post by xx_ns » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:58 PM UTC

This blog is now hosted on a GPS/LTE modem (2021)
blog.nns.ee

Re: This blog is now hosted on a GPS/LTE modem (2021)

#2

Post by xx_ns » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:58 PM UTC

Just a little play on the recent HN post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46016902

Project that I did a few years ago. You might also be interested in the retrospective where I detail what all went wrong: https://blog.nns.ee/2025/04/01/modem-blog-retrospective/

Re: This blog is now hosted on a GPS/LTE modem (2021)

#3

Post by Havoc » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 9:02 PM UTC

That’s pretty awesome

Isn’t such an old kernel dangerous for hosting though?

Re: This blog is now hosted on a GPS/LTE modem (2021)

#4

Post by yjftsjthsd-h » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 9:05 PM UTC

There was also work to replace the modem OS wholesale: https://hackaday.com/2022/07/12/open-firmware-for-pinephone-...

That would, I expect, help with the unfortunately old kernel version and generally give greater confidence in what's running on the second computer inside the computer.

Re: This blog is now hosted on a GPS/LTE modem (2021)

#5

Post by xx_ns » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 9:27 PM UTC

Havoc wrote: post #3

That’s pretty awesome Isn’t such an old kernel dangerous for hosting though?

Good question! I wasn't too concerned about this, because the only way you could even interact with the OS where the server was running was via HTTP requests, which are fairly limited in nature. The OS or kernel itself wasn't directly exposed per se.

Re: This blog is now hosted on a GPS/LTE modem (2021)

#6

Post by 01HNNWZ0MV43FF » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 10:12 PM UTC

Symbiogenesis is 100% true for computers huh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiogenesis#Mitochondria

Re: This blog is now hosted on a GPS/LTE modem (2021)

#7

Post by pabs3 » Wed, Nov 26, 2025, 7:06 AM UTC

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #4

There was also work to replace the modem OS wholesale: https://hackaday.com/2022/07/12/open-firmware-for-pinephone-... That would, I expect, help with the unfortunately old kernel version and generally give greater confidence in what's running on the second computer inside the computer.

That isn't wholesale, it only replaces the OS on the ARM processor of the modem, the OS on the Hexagon processor of the modem handles radio stuff and lots of the layers of LTE.

https://github.com/the-modem-distro/

Re: This blog is now hosted on a GPS/LTE modem (2021)

#8

Post by pabs3 » Wed, Nov 26, 2025, 7:12 AM UTC

xx_ns wrote: post #5

Havoc wrote: post #3

That’s pretty awesome Isn’t such an old kernel dangerous for hosting though?

Good question! I wasn't too concerned about this, because the only way you could even interact with the OS where the server was running was via HTTP requests, which are fairly limited in nature. The OS or kernel itself wasn't directly exposed per se.

ISTR Linux has had RCEs in IPv6 related stuff in recent years.

https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-6200