#infrastructure-as-code — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #infrastructure-as-code, aggregated by home.social.
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Puppet Core 9.0.0 is now available, alongside Puppet Core 8.21.0.
If you're planning upgrades, the big areas to review are:
- Ruby 4.0 compatibility
- OpenSSL 3.5 updates
- JDK 21 requirements for Puppet Server
- PSON removal
- Deferred functions reverting to Puppet 7 default behavior
- Supported platform changes and agent OS removalsJason St-Cyr has put together a breakdown of the release notes and upgrade considerations:
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Puppet Core 9.0.0 is now available, alongside Puppet Core 8.21.0.
If you're planning upgrades, the big areas to review are:
- Ruby 4.0 compatibility
- OpenSSL 3.5 updates
- JDK 21 requirements for Puppet Server
- PSON removal
- Deferred functions reverting to Puppet 7 default behavior
- Supported platform changes and agent OS removalsJason St-Cyr has put together a breakdown of the release notes and upgrade considerations:
-
Puppet Core 9.0.0 is now available, alongside Puppet Core 8.21.0.
If you're planning upgrades, the big areas to review are:
- Ruby 4.0 compatibility
- OpenSSL 3.5 updates
- JDK 21 requirements for Puppet Server
- PSON removal
- Deferred functions reverting to Puppet 7 default behavior
- Supported platform changes and agent OS removalsJason St-Cyr has put together a breakdown of the release notes and upgrade considerations:
-
Puppet Core 9.0.0 is now available, alongside Puppet Core 8.21.0.
If you're planning upgrades, the big areas to review are:
- Ruby 4.0 compatibility
- OpenSSL 3.5 updates
- JDK 21 requirements for Puppet Server
- PSON removal
- Deferred functions reverting to Puppet 7 default behavior
- Supported platform changes and agent OS removalsJason St-Cyr has put together a breakdown of the release notes and upgrade considerations:
-
Puppet Core 9.0.0 is now available, alongside Puppet Core 8.21.0.
If you're planning upgrades, the big areas to review are:
- Ruby 4.0 compatibility
- OpenSSL 3.5 updates
- JDK 21 requirements for Puppet Server
- PSON removal
- Deferred functions reverting to Puppet 7 default behavior
- Supported platform changes and agent OS removalsJason St-Cyr has put together a breakdown of the release notes and upgrade considerations:
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“Looked fine” is not the same as “was safe.” Brian Teller’s lightning talk explores the risks and realities of AI-generated infrastructure plans.
https://dcstateofthestack.org/
#Terraform #InfrastructureAsCode #AI #DevOps -
“Looked fine” is not the same as “was safe.” Brian Teller’s lightning talk explores the risks and realities of AI-generated infrastructure plans.
https://dcstateofthestack.org/
#Terraform #InfrastructureAsCode #AI #DevOps -
“Looked fine” is not the same as “was safe.” Brian Teller’s lightning talk explores the risks and realities of AI-generated infrastructure plans.
https://dcstateofthestack.org/
#Terraform #InfrastructureAsCode #AI #DevOps -
Transférer des fichiers entre un hôte et une VM Vagrant https://www.it-connect.fr/vagrant-transferer-fichiers-hote-vm/ #InfrastructureasCode #Virtualisation #Astuce
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Transférer des fichiers entre un hôte et une VM Vagrant https://www.it-connect.fr/vagrant-transferer-fichiers-hote-vm/ #InfrastructureasCode #Virtualisation #Astuce
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Transférer des fichiers entre un hôte et une VM Vagrant https://www.it-connect.fr/vagrant-transferer-fichiers-hote-vm/ #InfrastructureasCode #Virtualisation #Astuce
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Transférer des fichiers entre un hôte et une VM Vagrant https://www.it-connect.fr/vagrant-transferer-fichiers-hote-vm/ #InfrastructureasCode #Virtualisation #Astuce
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Transférer des fichiers entre un hôte et une VM Vagrant https://www.it-connect.fr/vagrant-transferer-fichiers-hote-vm/ #InfrastructureasCode #Virtualisation #Astuce
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One configuration file. Your entire application stack, provisioned automatically.
This is how Upsun approaches infrastructure, and one of the capabilities mapped in the IDC ProductScape: Worldwide Cloud Deployment–Centric Application Platforms, 2026, where Upsun is featured for the first time.
👉 Explore the complimentary excerpt: https://upsun.com/2026-idc-productscape-upsun/
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One configuration file. Your entire application stack, provisioned automatically.
This is how Upsun approaches infrastructure, and one of the capabilities mapped in the IDC ProductScape: Worldwide Cloud Deployment–Centric Application Platforms, 2026, where Upsun is featured for the first time.
👉 Explore the complimentary excerpt: https://upsun.com/2026-idc-productscape-upsun/
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One configuration file. Your entire application stack, provisioned automatically.
This is how Upsun approaches infrastructure, and one of the capabilities mapped in the IDC ProductScape: Worldwide Cloud Deployment–Centric Application Platforms, 2026, where Upsun is featured for the first time.
👉 Explore the complimentary excerpt: https://upsun.com/2026-idc-productscape-upsun/
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One configuration file. Your entire application stack, provisioned automatically.
This is how Upsun approaches infrastructure, and one of the capabilities mapped in the IDC ProductScape: Worldwide Cloud Deployment–Centric Application Platforms, 2026, where Upsun is featured for the first time.
👉 Explore the complimentary excerpt: https://upsun.com/2026-idc-productscape-upsun/
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Learn everything you need to know about Infrastructure As Code via these 92 free HackerNoon blog posts. https://hackernoon.com/92-blog-posts-to-learn-about-infrastructure-as-code #infrastructureascode
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Learn everything you need to know about Infrastructure As Code via these 92 free HackerNoon blog posts. https://hackernoon.com/92-blog-posts-to-learn-about-infrastructure-as-code #infrastructureascode
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Learn everything you need to know about Infrastructure As Code via these 92 free HackerNoon blog posts. https://hackernoon.com/92-blog-posts-to-learn-about-infrastructure-as-code #infrastructureascode
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Learn everything you need to know about Infrastructure As Code via these 92 free HackerNoon blog posts. https://hackernoon.com/92-blog-posts-to-learn-about-infrastructure-as-code #infrastructureascode
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Learn everything you need to know about Infrastructure As Code via these 92 free HackerNoon blog posts. https://hackernoon.com/92-blog-posts-to-learn-about-infrastructure-as-code #infrastructureascode
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iX-Workshop: IT-Infrastrukturen mit OpenTofu aufbauen und verwalten
Erfahren Sie, wie Sie mit OpenTofu die IT-Infrastruktur im Unternehmen als Code definieren, bereitstellen und administrieren.
#Automatisierung #CloudComputing #InfrastructureasCode #IT #ITInfrastruktur #iXWorkshops #Linux #Rechenzentrum #news
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iX-Workshop: IT-Infrastrukturen mit OpenTofu aufbauen und verwalten
Erfahren Sie, wie Sie mit OpenTofu die IT-Infrastruktur im Unternehmen als Code definieren, bereitstellen und administrieren.
#Automatisierung #CloudComputing #InfrastructureasCode #IT #ITInfrastruktur #iXWorkshops #Linux #Rechenzentrum #news
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iX-Workshop: IT-Infrastrukturen mit OpenTofu aufbauen und verwalten
Erfahren Sie, wie Sie mit OpenTofu die IT-Infrastruktur im Unternehmen als Code definieren, bereitstellen und administrieren.
#Automatisierung #CloudComputing #InfrastructureasCode #IT #ITInfrastruktur #iXWorkshops #Linux #Rechenzentrum #news
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iX-Workshop: IT-Infrastrukturen mit OpenTofu aufbauen und verwalten
Erfahren Sie, wie Sie mit OpenTofu die IT-Infrastruktur im Unternehmen als Code definieren, bereitstellen und administrieren.
#Automatisierung #CloudComputing #InfrastructureasCode #IT #ITInfrastruktur #iXWorkshops #Linux #Rechenzentrum #news
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iX-Workshop: IT-Infrastrukturen mit OpenTofu aufbauen und verwalten
Erfahren Sie, wie Sie mit OpenTofu die IT-Infrastruktur im Unternehmen als Code definieren, bereitstellen und administrieren.
#Automatisierung #CloudComputing #InfrastructureasCode #IT #ITInfrastruktur #iXWorkshops #Linux #Rechenzentrum #news
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Security findings are only useful if they lead to action.
System hardening isn't just about finding security gaps, it's about fixing them and keeping them fixed. How can Puppet help? This walkthrough takes security assessment results into enforceable policies, reducing configuration drift, and maintaining secure configurations over time.
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Security findings are only useful if they lead to action.
System hardening isn't just about finding security gaps, it's about fixing them and keeping them fixed. How can Puppet help? This walkthrough takes security assessment results into enforceable policies, reducing configuration drift, and maintaining secure configurations over time.
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Security findings are only useful if they lead to action.
System hardening isn't just about finding security gaps, it's about fixing them and keeping them fixed. How can Puppet help? This walkthrough takes security assessment results into enforceable policies, reducing configuration drift, and maintaining secure configurations over time.
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Security findings are only useful if they lead to action.
System hardening isn't just about finding security gaps, it's about fixing them and keeping them fixed. How can Puppet help? This walkthrough takes security assessment results into enforceable policies, reducing configuration drift, and maintaining secure configurations over time.
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Security findings are only useful if they lead to action.
System hardening isn't just about finding security gaps, it's about fixing them and keeping them fixed. How can Puppet help? This walkthrough takes security assessment results into enforceable policies, reducing configuration drift, and maintaining secure configurations over time.
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Puppet Core 8.20 is here with security and platform updates:
- Ubuntu 26.04 support added for Puppet agents (x86_64, ARM)
- OpenSSL, net-imap, concurrent-Ruby updates addressing 13 CVEs
- Correct handling of sensitive values in transactionstore.yaml
- Atomic plist writes on macOS to prevent partial or zero-length reads
- Safer PXP agent temp files on Windows to resolve file-rename race conditionsThe full release notes: https://help.puppet.com/core/current/Content/PuppetCore/PuppetReleaseNotes/release_notes_puppet_x-8-20-0.htm
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Puppet Core 8.20 is here with security and platform updates:
- Ubuntu 26.04 support added for Puppet agents (x86_64, ARM)
- OpenSSL, net-imap, concurrent-Ruby updates addressing 13 CVEs
- Correct handling of sensitive values in transactionstore.yaml
- Atomic plist writes on macOS to prevent partial or zero-length reads
- Safer PXP agent temp files on Windows to resolve file-rename race conditionsThe full release notes: https://help.puppet.com/core/current/Content/PuppetCore/PuppetReleaseNotes/release_notes_puppet_x-8-20-0.htm
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Puppet Core 8.20 is here with security and platform updates:
- Ubuntu 26.04 support added for Puppet agents (x86_64, ARM)
- OpenSSL, net-imap, concurrent-Ruby updates addressing 13 CVEs
- Correct handling of sensitive values in transactionstore.yaml
- Atomic plist writes on macOS to prevent partial or zero-length reads
- Safer PXP agent temp files on Windows to resolve file-rename race conditionsThe full release notes: https://help.puppet.com/core/current/Content/PuppetCore/PuppetReleaseNotes/release_notes_puppet_x-8-20-0.htm
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Puppet Core 8.20 is here with security and platform updates:
- Ubuntu 26.04 support added for Puppet agents (x86_64, ARM)
- OpenSSL, net-imap, concurrent-Ruby updates addressing 13 CVEs
- Correct handling of sensitive values in transactionstore.yaml
- Atomic plist writes on macOS to prevent partial or zero-length reads
- Safer PXP agent temp files on Windows to resolve file-rename race conditionsThe full release notes: https://help.puppet.com/core/current/Content/PuppetCore/PuppetReleaseNotes/release_notes_puppet_x-8-20-0.htm
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Puppet Core 8.20 is here with security and platform updates:
- Ubuntu 26.04 support added for Puppet agents (x86_64, ARM)
- OpenSSL, net-imap, concurrent-Ruby updates addressing 13 CVEs
- Correct handling of sensitive values in transactionstore.yaml
- Atomic plist writes on macOS to prevent partial or zero-length reads
- Safer PXP agent temp files on Windows to resolve file-rename race conditionsThe full release notes: https://help.puppet.com/core/current/Content/PuppetCore/PuppetReleaseNotes/release_notes_puppet_x-8-20-0.htm
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The Double-Edged Sword of Digital Freedom: The Risks of Infinito.Nexus with Native Tor Support
⚠️ Disclaimer
This article was generated entirely by artificial intelligence without editorial review.
To publish this analysis quickly, I deliberately chose to release it without manual editing or fact-checking. The purpose of this article is not to provide a polished technical specification, but to stimulate discussion about the societal, ethical, and security implications of the next generation of Infinito.Nexus with native Tor support.
Some technical assumptions, predictions, or conclusions may therefore be incomplete, inaccurate, or open to debate. They should be understood as informed analysis rather than verified fact.
The scenarios described in this article are intended to illustrate both the opportunities and the risks of increasingly accessible privacy-preserving infrastructure. They do not advocate, encourage, or endorse illegal activity. The same technologies that can strengthen digital sovereignty, protect journalists, human rights organizations, researchers, and political opposition operating under censorship can also be misused by malicious actors.
The goal of this article is to encourage an open discussion about the consequences of making powerful decentralized infrastructure available to a much broader audience. As with encryption, Linux, Git, peer-to-peer networks, and the Internet itself, technological progress creates both new freedoms and new responsibilities.
Please read this article critically, verify important claims independently, and view it as a starting point for discussion rather than a definitive statement on the future of decentralized infrastructure.
Technology is neutral.
Whether it empowers democratic resistance or enables organized crime depends on the people using it.
With native Tor integration, Infinito.Nexus has the potential to fundamentally change how self-hosted infrastructure is deployed. It could become possible for anyone to create a completely private digital ecosystem with only minimal technical knowledge.
That prospect is both exciting — and concerning.
A World Beyond Traditional Surveillance
Today’s Internet relies heavily on centralized infrastructure.
Governments can subpoena cloud providers.
Internet Service Providers can monitor traffic.
Hosting companies know where servers are located.
DNS providers can suspend domains.
Payment providers can freeze accounts.
Social media platforms can remove communities.
Tor changes that equation.
By integrating Tor directly into the infrastructure layer instead of treating it as an optional add-on, organizations could operate entirely within Onion Services.
No public IP addresses.
No public DNS.
No visible server locations.
No conventional attack surface.
Infrastructure that was previously easy to discover suddenly becomes practically invisible to anyone outside the Tor network.
From Old Smartphones to Invisible Infrastructure
Perhaps the most disruptive consequence of native Tor support is that almost anyone could become an anonymous infrastructure operator.
Instead of renting a VPS or purchasing expensive server hardware, users could simply take an old smartphone, install a Linux distribution such as Droidian, deploy Infinito.Nexus, and immediately have a functional server reachable exclusively through Tor.
Modern smartphones already contain everything traditionally required for a small server:
- multicore ARM processors
- flash storage
- Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity
- extremely low power consumption
- integrated batteries acting as an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
Unlike conventional servers, smartphones can continue operating during short power outages without requiring any additional hardware.
Because all communication occurs through Onion Services, the physical location of the device becomes significantly harder to determine than traditionally hosted infrastructure.
A server could operate from:
- an apartment
- an office
- a vehicle
- a backpack
- a cabin
- virtually anywhere with Internet access
Instead of racks in a datacenter, entire organizations could operate from inexpensive commodity hardware.
Infrastructure that once required thousands of dollars could eventually fit inside a jacket pocket.
Organization Beyond Censorship
Perhaps the most transformative consequence of native Tor support is not anonymity itself — it is organization.
Modern democratic movements require far more than encrypted messaging. They need complete digital infrastructure.
Imagine a group deploying the following services exclusively as Onion Services:
- Matrix for encrypted communication
- Nextcloud for document sharing
- OpenProject for task management
- Git for software development
- Wiki systems for documentation
- forums for public discussion
- video conferencing
- identity management with single sign-on
Every service is accessible only through Tor.
There are no public IP addresses.
There are no publicly reachable domains.
There is no central cloud provider that can simply terminate the infrastructure.
For political opposition movements operating under authoritarian governments, this could fundamentally change what is possible.
In countries such as Russia or Iran, governments have repeatedly attempted to restrict independent media, block communication platforms, and pressure hosting providers into taking services offline. A decentralized infrastructure based on Tor Onion Services makes these traditional forms of censorship considerably more difficult.
If one server disappears, another can be brought online using the same deployment automation and cryptographic identities.
Instead of relying on a single datacenter, an organization could distribute its infrastructure across many independently operated devices, including repurposed smartphones running Linux distributions such as Droidian. Every device becomes part of the organization’s digital backbone while remaining reachable only through the Tor network.
This significantly lowers the barrier to building resilient communication networks for journalists, NGOs, researchers, humanitarian organizations, and democratic opposition movements.
Building Invisible Organizations
Imagine an organization deploying:
- Identity Management
- Matrix
- Nextcloud
- Git
- Video Conferencing
- Project Management
- Forums
- Social Networks
- AI Infrastructure
Every service exists exclusively as an Onion Service.
Employees connect only through Tor.
No public domains.
No public IP addresses.
No externally visible services.
From the perspective of the public Internet, the organization barely exists.
A Powerful Tool for Democracy
For many people around the world, this would be an extraordinary step toward digital sovereignty.
Political opposition operating under authoritarian governments often faces:
- Internet censorship
- mass surveillance
- infrastructure seizures
- domain confiscation
- ISP monitoring
- targeted cyber attacks
A hidden smartphone consuming only a few watts of electricity could host secure communications for an activist movement.
Journalists could publish anonymously.
NGOs could coordinate without relying on commercial cloud providers.
Entire communities could communicate through infrastructure that is extremely difficult to discover or disable.
History repeatedly demonstrates that secure communication is one of the foundations of democratic resistance.
The Other Side of the Coin
Unfortunately, technology does not distinguish between good and bad actors.
The exact same infrastructure could also be deployed by:
- organized cybercrime
- ransomware groups
- illegal marketplaces
- extremist organizations
- terrorist networks
- large-scale fraud operations
- illegal trafficking
If deploying anonymous infrastructure becomes as simple as flashing Linux onto an old smartphone and clicking through an installation wizard, the barrier to entry changes dramatically.
What once required experienced Linux administrators could eventually become accessible to almost anyone.
A hidden smartphone server could host:
- a secure school collaboration platform
or
- an anonymous criminal marketplace.
Technically, there may be little difference.
The software cannot distinguish between them.
Risks for Democratic Societies
For democratic societies such as Germany, this presents a difficult challenge.
Security agencies often rely on information obtained from hosting providers, cloud operators, domain registries, DNS providers, or centralized communication platforms during investigations.
Infrastructure that exists exclusively as Tor Onion Services reduces the availability of these traditional investigative paths.
This can make investigations more difficult and more resource-intensive, especially when organizations are technically competent and operate their own infrastructure.
A terrorist cell, extremist group, or organized criminal network could theoretically operate:
- private Matrix servers
- encrypted file storage
- internal forums
- planning boards
- identity systems
- software repositories
- anonymous web services
all without relying on public-facing infrastructure.
That does not mean such groups become impossible to detect.
Tor does not make people invisible.
Law enforcement can still use endpoint forensics, undercover operations, financial investigations, human intelligence, surveillance of physical logistics, and mistakes made by suspects.
But the balance changes.
The stronger privacy technologies become, the harder traditional bulk surveillance and provider-based investigations become.
This is exactly why the same tools that protect dissidents in authoritarian states can also create serious challenges for law enforcement in democratic states.
The Democratization of Anonymous Infrastructure
Historically, operating Onion Services required substantial expertise.
Administrators needed to understand:
- Linux
- networking
- reverse proxies
- DNS
- Tor
- certificates
- firewalls
- application integration
Automation changes everything.
Eventually, the entire deployment process could become:
- Install Droidian on an old smartphone.
- Install Infinito.Nexus.
- Select the desired applications.
- Enable Tor support.
- Click Deploy.
Minutes later, an entire private infrastructure could be online.
No cloud provider.
No VPS.
No static IP.
No public DNS.
Infrastructure that previously required experienced system administrators becomes accessible to ordinary users.
That democratization is both empowering and dangerous.
Open Source Has Always Faced This Dilemma
This is not a new ethical problem.
Encryption protects:
- journalists
- dissidents
- criminals
VPNs protect:
- activists
- ransomware operators
Git is used to build:
- medical software
- malware
Linux powers:
- hospitals
- botnets
Artificial Intelligence can:
- accelerate scientific discovery
- generate phishing campaigns
Technology itself has no morality.
People do.
Infinito.Nexus Is Infrastructure
Infinito.Nexus is not being developed to create hidden criminal networks.
Its purpose is to simplify the deployment of sovereign, self-hosted infrastructure.
Native Tor support simply extends that philosophy.
The software itself does not decide who uses it.
The responsibility remains with those who deploy it.
The Ethical Challenge
Should powerful privacy technologies be withheld because they could be abused?
Or should society accept that technologies capable of protecting freedom will inevitably also be exploited by malicious actors?
There is no perfect answer.
Throughout history, almost every revolutionary communication technology — from the printing press to encrypted messaging — has been used for both constructive and destructive purposes.
Tor is no different.
Neither is Infinito.Nexus.
Technical Design
Native Tor support is currently being designed as a core networking feature of Infinito.Nexus.
Instead of treating Tor as an optional add-on, every deployed application can automatically receive its own Onion Service while remaining fully integrated into the deployment framework.
The current design proposal is publicly available:
Native Tor Support Requirements
https://github.com/kevinveenbirkenbach/infinito-nexus-core/blob/feature/svc-net-tor/docs/requirements/031-svc-net-tor-onion.mdRelated projects:
Infinito.Nexus Core
https://github.com/kevinveenbirkenbach/infinito-nexus-coreHetzner Arch LUKS
https://github.com/kevinveenbirkenbach/hetzner-arch-luksLinux Image Manager
https://github.com/kevinveenbirkenbach/linux-image-managerThese projects together lay the groundwork for a future where deploying fully encrypted, self-hosted, Tor-native infrastructure becomes almost as simple as installing a mobile app.
Conclusion
Native Tor support has the potential to fundamentally reshape how self-hosted infrastructure is deployed.
For the first time, individuals, NGOs, journalists, companies, and political opposition movements could build private digital ecosystems with remarkably little technical expertise.
At the same time, the same technology could lower the barrier for anonymous criminal infrastructure.
A discarded smartphone running Linux could become a resilient, battery-backed server hidden almost anywhere.
That reality is both inspiring and unsettling.
Like encryption, Linux, Git, VPNs, and the Internet itself, Infinito.Nexus is infrastructure.
Infrastructure does not decide how it is used.
People do.
The challenge for society is therefore not whether such technology should exist, but how we choose to live in a world where powerful privacy tools become accessible to everyone.
#Activism #AnonymousCommunication #AnonymousHosting #AnonymousInfrastructure #AnonymousServers #CensorshipResistance #CircumventingCensorship #Cybersecurity #Decentralization #DecentralizedInfrastructure #DevOps #DigitalRights #DigitalSovereignty #Droidian #EndToEndEncryption #FreedomOfSpeech #FullDiskEncryption #git #HumanRights #IdentityManagement #InfinitoNexus #InformationSecurity #InfrastructureAsCode #infrastructureAutomation #InternetCensorship #Iran #Journalism #Linux #LinuxServer #LUKS #Matrix #MatrixServer #MobileServer #NetworkSecurity #Nextcloud #NGOs #OnionServices #OpenSource #OpenProject #Privacy #PrivacyTechnology #RemoteUnlock #Russia #SecureCommunication #SecureInfrastructure #SelfHosting #SelfSovereignInfrastructure #SelfHostedInfrastructure #ServerHardening #SingleSignOn #SmartphoneServer #SSHOverTor #Tor #TorHiddenServices #TorHosting #TorNetwork -
Unlocking Fully Encrypted Servers over Tor
Remote servers should not have to choose between security and availability.
For years, the common compromise has been to expose SSH to the public Internet or to rely on VPNs and provider-specific KVM consoles whenever a LUKS-encrypted server reboots.
I believe there is a better approach.
By combining LUKS, Tor Onion Services, and a lightweight SSH server running directly inside the initramfs, it is possible to build servers that remain fully encrypted at rest, yet can always be unlocked remotely without exposing any public management interface.
This article describes the concept and how it could evolve into a reusable feature for Infinito.Nexus.
The Problem
Full disk encryption protects data when a server is powered off.
However, after every reboot someone must enter the LUKS passphrase.
For remote dedicated servers this usually means one of the following:
- opening SSH to the Internet
- connecting through a VPN
- using a provider’s KVM/IPMI console
- booting into a rescue system
While remote unlocking via Dropbear inside the initramfs is already a well-known solution, it still typically relies on a publicly reachable IP address.
The Idea
Instead of exposing SSH publicly, start Tor directly inside the initramfs.
The boot sequence would look like this:
Server boots
│
▼
Kernel + initramfs
│
▼
Network initialization
│
▼
Tor starts
│
▼
Temporary Onion Service appears
unlock-xxxxxxxx.onion
│
▼
SSH via Tor
│
▼
cryptsetup luksOpen
│
▼
Root filesystem unlocked
│
▼
Operating system boots
│
▼
Temporary Onion Service disappearsThe administrator simply connects through Tor:
torsocks ssh [email protected]After entering the LUKS passphrase, the operating system continues booting normally.
Separate Identities for Boot and Runtime
One of the strongest aspects of this design is that boot-time and runtime use different Onion identities.
Boot environment
- dedicated Ed25519 key
- dedicated Onion address
- only SSH
- exists only during boot
Example:
unlock-xxxxxxxx.onionRuntime environment
Once the operating system has booted:
- the initramfs exits
- Tor inside initramfs stops
- a new Tor instance starts
- completely different Onion addresses become available
For example:
ssh-xxxxxxxx.onion
cloud-xxxxxxxx.onion
matrix-xxxxxxxx.onion
mail-xxxxxxxx.onionThe unlock address simply disappears.
This cleanly separates the trust boundaries between the bootloader environment and the running operating system.
Why Tor?
Using Tor instead of exposing SSH directly provides several advantages:
- no public IP address required
- no exposed SSH port
- no VPN infrastructure
- works behind NAT or Carrier-Grade NAT
- management interface is only reachable through the Tor network
- additional network privacy
- ideal for self-hosted infrastructure
This is particularly attractive for servers hosted in data centers where administrators rarely have physical access.
What Happens After a Crash?
Whenever the server reboots:
- the initramfs starts
- networking is initialized
- Tor publishes the temporary Onion Service
- you connect via SSH
- you unlock LUKS
- the server continues booting
No KVM console.
No VPN.
No public SSH endpoint.
Only Tor.
Of course, catastrophic failures such as a broken initramfs or missing network drivers still require traditional recovery methods such as a rescue system or KVM.
Existing Building Blocks
Most of the required components already exist today.
My repository hetzner-arch-luks demonstrates how to deploy Arch Linux with full disk encryption on Hetzner servers and configure remote unlocking via SSH during the initramfs stage.
Repository:
https://github.com/kevinveenbirkenbach/hetzner-arch-luks
Another project, linux-image-manager, automates the creation and customization of Linux images and could serve as the foundation for embedding Tor, Dropbear/TinySSH, and the required initramfs configuration into reusable images.
Repository:
https://github.com/kevinveenbirkenbach/linux-image-manager
Together, these repositories provide much of the groundwork required for a fully automated implementation.
Future Integration into Infinito.Nexus
I envision this becoming a native feature of Infinito.Nexus.
Provisioning a server could automatically:
- install Arch Linux
- configure LUKS full disk encryption
- generate an initramfs containing:
- Tor
- Dropbear or TinySSH
- cryptsetup
- create a dedicated boot-time Onion Service
- automatically switch to permanent runtime Onion Services after successful boot
From the administrator’s perspective, recovering a rebooted server would be as simple as:
torsocks ssh root@unlock-<hostname>.onionEnter the passphrase.
The server continues booting.
Nothing is ever exposed to the public Internet.
Looking Ahead
This concept combines three mature technologies:
- LUKS
- Tor Onion Services
- Remote initramfs unlocking
While each technology already exists independently, integrating them into a seamless provisioning workflow could significantly improve the security and usability of encrypted self-hosted infrastructure.
For projects focused on digital sovereignty and privacy, removing the need for publicly exposed management interfaces is a natural next step.
#ArchLinux #cryptsetup #Cybersecurity #DevOps #DigitalSovereignty #DiskEncryption #Dropbear #FullDiskEncryption #Hetzner #InfinitoNexus #InfrastructureAsCode #initramfs #Linux #LinuxSecurity #LUKS #OnionServices #OpenSource #Privacy #RemoteLUKSUnlock #RemoteServerManagement #RemoteUnlock #SecureBoot #SelfHostedInfrastructure #SelfHosting #ServerSecurity #SSHOverTor #TinySSH #Tor #TorHiddenServices -
iX-Workshop: IT-Infrastrukturen mit OpenTofu aufbauen und verwalten
Erfahren Sie, wie Sie mit OpenTofu die IT-Infrastruktur im Unternehmen als Code definieren, bereitstellen und administrieren.
#Automatisierung #CloudComputing #InfrastructureasCode #IT #ITInfrastruktur #iXWorkshops #Linux #Rechenzentrum #news
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iX-Workshop: IT-Infrastrukturen mit OpenTofu aufbauen und verwalten
Erfahren Sie, wie Sie mit OpenTofu die IT-Infrastruktur im Unternehmen als Code definieren, bereitstellen und administrieren.
#Automatisierung #CloudComputing #InfrastructureasCode #IT #ITInfrastruktur #iXWorkshops #Linux #Rechenzentrum #news
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iX-Workshop: IT-Infrastrukturen mit OpenTofu aufbauen und verwalten
Erfahren Sie, wie Sie mit OpenTofu die IT-Infrastruktur im Unternehmen als Code definieren, bereitstellen und administrieren.
#Automatisierung #CloudComputing #InfrastructureasCode #IT #ITInfrastruktur #iXWorkshops #Linux #Rechenzentrum #news
-
iX-Workshop: IT-Infrastrukturen mit OpenTofu aufbauen und verwalten
Erfahren Sie, wie Sie mit OpenTofu die IT-Infrastruktur im Unternehmen als Code definieren, bereitstellen und administrieren.
#Automatisierung #CloudComputing #InfrastructureasCode #IT #ITInfrastruktur #iXWorkshops #Linux #Rechenzentrum #news
-
iX-Workshop: IT-Infrastrukturen mit OpenTofu aufbauen und verwalten
Erfahren Sie, wie Sie mit OpenTofu die IT-Infrastruktur im Unternehmen als Code definieren, bereitstellen und administrieren.
#Automatisierung #CloudComputing #InfrastructureasCode #IT #ITInfrastruktur #iXWorkshops #Linux #Rechenzentrum #news
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WHERE OTHERS LOSE CONTROL – WE STAY IN THE LOOP.
At Infinito.Nexus, we believe that AI should never replace human judgment. We are the captains. AI is our navigator. While others hand over responsibility to black-box systems, we stay in control. We design the architecture, review the code, verify every deployment, and make the decisions that shape the future of the systems we build. AI is one of the most powerful tools ever created. But it remains a tool. We are the engineers, architects, and craftsmen who use it to build sovereign digital infrastructure faster, more reliably, and at a scale that was impossible only a few years ago. […]https://blog.infinito.nexus/blog/2026/06/16/where-others-lose-control-we-stay-in-the-loop/
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WHERE OTHERS LOSE CONTROL – WE STAY IN THE LOOP.
At Infinito.Nexus, we believe that AI should never replace human judgment. We are the captains. AI is our navigator. While others hand over responsibility to black-box systems, we stay in control. We design the architecture, review the code, verify every deployment, and make the decisions that shape the future of the systems we build. AI is one of the most powerful tools ever created. But it remains a tool. We are the engineers, architects, and craftsmen who use it to build sovereign digital infrastructure faster, more reliably, and at a scale that was impossible only a few years ago. […]https://blog.infinito.nexus/blog/2026/06/16/where-others-lose-control-we-stay-in-the-loop/
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Fragmented workflows built on manual handoffs are basically an operational risk waiting for the worst possible moment to break production. 🛡️
The challenge is not deciding to consolidate but executing the move without your teams feeling like they are losing all control.
Stop the cycle of shadow IT and start building a golden path that actually delivers on its promises. ⚡
👉 https://upsun.com/blog/migration-checklist-moving-from-fragmented-workflows-to-a-unified-platform/
#PlatformEngineering #CloudNative #DevOps #infrastructureascode
-
Fragmented workflows built on manual handoffs are basically an operational risk waiting for the worst possible moment to break production. 🛡️
The challenge is not deciding to consolidate but executing the move without your teams feeling like they are losing all control.
Stop the cycle of shadow IT and start building a golden path that actually delivers on its promises. ⚡
👉 https://upsun.com/blog/migration-checklist-moving-from-fragmented-workflows-to-a-unified-platform/
#PlatformEngineering #CloudNative #DevOps #infrastructureascode
-
Fragmented workflows built on manual handoffs are basically an operational risk waiting for the worst possible moment to break production. 🛡️
The challenge is not deciding to consolidate but executing the move without your teams feeling like they are losing all control.
Stop the cycle of shadow IT and start building a golden path that actually delivers on its promises. ⚡
👉 https://upsun.com/blog/migration-checklist-moving-from-fragmented-workflows-to-a-unified-platform/
#PlatformEngineering #CloudNative #DevOps #infrastructureascode
-
Fragmented workflows built on manual handoffs are basically an operational risk waiting for the worst possible moment to break production. 🛡️
The challenge is not deciding to consolidate but executing the move without your teams feeling like they are losing all control.
Stop the cycle of shadow IT and start building a golden path that actually delivers on its promises. ⚡
👉 https://upsun.com/blog/migration-checklist-moving-from-fragmented-workflows-to-a-unified-platform/
#PlatformEngineering #CloudNative #DevOps #infrastructureascode
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If you want to trust your VM configurations, you need to automate variability and consistency, even when you get to enterprise scale. Puppet experts Stephen K Potter and Matthew Stone put together a solid breakdown of what makes VM configuration so challenging:
➡️ https://www.puppet.com/blog/vm-configuration
- You need to enforce state beyond day 0
- “Almost identical” VMs are where drift really start to show up
- Misconfiguration impacts performance and DevEx too
-
If you want to trust your VM configurations, you need to automate variability and consistency, even when you get to enterprise scale. Puppet experts Stephen K Potter and Matthew Stone put together a solid breakdown of what makes VM configuration so challenging:
➡️ https://www.puppet.com/blog/vm-configuration
- You need to enforce state beyond day 0
- “Almost identical” VMs are where drift really start to show up
- Misconfiguration impacts performance and DevEx too
-
If you want to trust your VM configurations, you need to automate variability and consistency, even when you get to enterprise scale. Puppet experts Stephen K Potter and Matthew Stone put together a solid breakdown of what makes VM configuration so challenging:
➡️ https://www.puppet.com/blog/vm-configuration
- You need to enforce state beyond day 0
- “Almost identical” VMs are where drift really start to show up
- Misconfiguration impacts performance and DevEx too
-
If you want to trust your VM configurations, you need to automate variability and consistency, even when you get to enterprise scale. Puppet experts Stephen K Potter and Matthew Stone put together a solid breakdown of what makes VM configuration so challenging:
➡️ https://www.puppet.com/blog/vm-configuration
- You need to enforce state beyond day 0
- “Almost identical” VMs are where drift really start to show up
- Misconfiguration impacts performance and DevEx too
-
If you want to trust your VM configurations, you need to automate variability and consistency, even when you get to enterprise scale. Puppet experts Stephen K Potter and Matthew Stone put together a solid breakdown of what makes VM configuration so challenging:
➡️ https://www.puppet.com/blog/vm-configuration
- You need to enforce state beyond day 0
- “Almost identical” VMs are where drift really start to show up
- Misconfiguration impacts performance and DevEx too
