FeministWiki:Technical documentation: Difference between revisions

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    This page documents the FeministWiki's technical infrastructure, the target audience being technicians.
    This page documents the FeministWiki's technical infrastructure, the target audience being technicians.  Note that while this page will help you understand the inner workings of the FeministWiki, it's not optimal for guiding you through the setup of a new server.  For that, see the page [[FW:Server setup]] instead.


    == Hosts ==
    == Hosts ==


    The following table documents the basic DNS configuration, and can be used as part of the <code>/etc/hosts</code> file on each server to obviate the need for DNS lookups when connecting to one another.
    The following table documents the basic DNS configuration, and can be used as part of the {{C|/etc/hosts}} file on each server to obviate the need for DNS lookups when connecting to one another.


    {| class="wikitable"
    {| class="wikitable"
    !IP            !! FQDN                        !! Host          !! Purpose                !! Ports
    !IP            !! FQDN                        !! Host          !! Purpose                !! Ports
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||            feministwiki.org ||              || Wiki                    || 80, 443
    |85.214.206.20 ||            feministwiki.org ||              || Wiki                    || 80, 443
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||        www.feministwiki.org || www          || Wiki                    || 80, 443
    |85.214.206.20 ||        www.feministwiki.org || www          || Wiki                    || 80, 443
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||      ldap.feministwiki.org || ldap          || LDAP                    || -
    |85.214.206.20 ||      ldap.feministwiki.org || ldap          || LDAP                    || -
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||      blogs.feministwiki.org || blogs        || Blogging                || 80, 443
    |85.214.206.20 ||      blogs.feministwiki.org || blogs        || Blogging                || 80, 443
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||      chat.feministwiki.org || chat          || Web-client for XMPP    || 80, 443
    |85.214.206.20 ||      chat.feministwiki.org || chat          || Web-client for XMPP    || 80, 443
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||      forum.feministwiki.org || forum        || BBS Forum              || 80, 443
    |85.214.206.20 ||      forum.feministwiki.org || forum        || BBS Forum              || 80, 443
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||      mail.feministwiki.org || mail          || Web-client for Mail    || 80, 443
    |85.214.206.20 ||      mail.feministwiki.org || mail          || Web-client for Mail    || 80, 443
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||      files.feministwiki.org || files        || File storage            || 80, 443
    |85.214.206.20 ||      files.feministwiki.org || files        || File storage            || 80, 443
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||      imap.feministwiki.org || imap          || IMAP                    || 993
    |85.214.206.20 ||      imap.feministwiki.org || imap          || IMAP                    || 993
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||      pop3.feministwiki.org || pop3          || POP3                    || 995
    |85.214.206.20 ||      pop3.feministwiki.org || pop3          || POP3                    || 995
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||      smtp.feministwiki.org || smtp          || SMTP                    || 25, 465, 587
    |85.214.206.20 ||      smtp.feministwiki.org || smtp          || SMTP                    || 25, 465, 587
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||      xmpp.feministwiki.org || xmpp          || XMPP                    || 5222, 5269, 5280
    |85.214.206.20 ||      xmpp.feministwiki.org || xmpp          || XMPP                    || 5222, 5223, 5269, 5270, 5443, 7777
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||        irc.feministwiki.org || irc          || IRC                    || 6697
    |85.214.206.20 ||        irc.feministwiki.org || irc          || IRC                    || 6697
    |-
    |-
    |85.214.101.34 ||    account.feministwiki.org || account      || Account operations      || 80, 443
    |85.214.206.20 ||    account.feministwiki.org || account      || Account operations      || 80, 443
    |}
    |}


    As you can see, all services are on the same server for now.  However, it should be kept as an open possibility that the hosts are split across different IPs.  When done so, the <code>ldap</code> host should listen on 636 for LDAPS connections.
    As you can see, all services are on the same server for now.  However, it should be kept as an open possibility that the hosts are split across different IPs.  When done so, the {{C|ldap}} host should listen on 636 for LDAPS connections.


    == Firewall ==
    There are no AAAA entries in the DNS because we only allow IPv4 for incoming connections.  This simplifies security auditing.
     
    The simple <code>ufw</code> firewall-frontend is used to trivially limit all network I/O to the ports you can see in the host table above, plus port 22 for ssh and scp.


    == Special DNS entries ==
    == Special DNS entries ==
    Line 68: Line 66:
    |TXT  || _dmarc          || v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=<nowiki>mailto:admin</nowiki>@feministwiki.org || DMARC
    |TXT  || _dmarc          || v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=<nowiki>mailto:admin</nowiki>@feministwiki.org || DMARC
    |}
    |}
    '''Note:''' There must be a direct A or AAAA record (not a CNAME record) for the domain name specified in the MX record.


    For XMPP:
    For XMPP:
    Line 77: Line 77:
    |-
    |-
    |SRV  || _xmpp-server || _tcp    || @    || xmpp.feministwiki.org || 5269
    |SRV  || _xmpp-server || _tcp    || @    || xmpp.feministwiki.org || 5269
    |-
    |SRV  || _xmpps-client || _tcp    || @    || xmpp.feministwiki.org || 5223
    |-
    |SRV  || _xmpps-server || _tcp    || @    || xmpp.feministwiki.org || 5270
    |}
    |}


    Line 86: Line 90:
    |TXT  || @              || google-site-verification=<key>
    |TXT  || @              || google-site-verification=<key>
    |}
    |}
    == Firewall ==
    The simple {{C|ufw}} firewall-frontend is used to trivially limit all network I/O to the ports you can see in the host table above, plus port 22 for ssh and scp.
    UFW adds IPv6 rules by default, which can be prevented by using more explicit rules.  Consider the following rule:
      ufw allow 12345/tcp  # will allow TCP connections to port 12345 via IPv4 and IPv6
    To limit this to IPv4 you can instead use this:
      ufw allow proto tcp to 0.0.0.0/0 port 12345  # will allow TCP connections to port 12345 via IPv4 only
    == Fail2ban ==
    We use {{C|fail2ban}} to detect brute force attempts on some services.  The git repository for scripts and config contains the relevant Fail2ban configuration under {{C|etc/fail2ban}}.


    == SSH access ==
    == SSH access ==


    FeministWiki hosts have ssh enabled for <code>root</code> access, but password login is disabled.  You must own a valid private key to log in.
    FeministWiki hosts have ssh enabled for {{C|root}} access, but password login is disabled.  You must own a valid private key to log in.


    == Git repo of scripts and configuration ==
    == Git repo of scripts and configuration ==
    Line 101: Line 121:
    The FeministWiki uses LetsEncrypt to acquire digital certificates for encrypted communication.
    The FeministWiki uses LetsEncrypt to acquire digital certificates for encrypted communication.


    To ease use of the letsencrypt command, the file <code>/root/etc/domains</code> contains all the FQDNs used by the FeministWiki, one per line. Given that, the preferred way to populate the <code>/etc/letsencrypt/live/feministwiki.org</code> directory with fresh certs is to run the following commands while TCP port 80 is free (e.g. stop Apache first):
    After certificates are generated with {{C|certbot}}, copies of them are put into {{C|/etc/fw-certs}}, and the group ownership and permissions of the {{C|privkey.pem}} and {{C|bundle.pem}} files are set such that any user who's in the {{C|ssl-cert}} group can read the private key and bundle. (The others can be read by anyone anyway.) A script in {{C|/etc/letsencrypt/renewal-hooks/post}} is responsible for taking care of this after automatic executions of certbot scheduled by the operating system.
     
      # Use $() to eliminate the terminating newline, if any.
      domains=$(cat /root/etc/domains)
     
      domains=$(printf '%s' "$domains" | tr '\n' ',')
     
      letsencrypt certonly --authenticator standalone --keep --expand -d "$domains"
     
    Additionally, for programs that require a cert file and its private key in a single combined <code>.pem</code> file, run the following commands to generate such a file:


    cd /etc/letsencrypt/live/feministwiki.org
    The file {{C|/etc/fw-certs/bundle.pem}} is useful for programs that don't have the capability of reading a separate cert and key file; it combines the full certificate chain ({{C|fullchain.pem}}) with the private key in a single file.
    cat fullchain.pem privkey.pem > certbundle.pem


    The script <code>/root/bin/letsencrypt-refresh</code> '''does all of the above''', so in practice you just need to run the following commands to recreate the cert:
    If you ever add a new domain under which the FeministWiki server will be reachable, add it as a line to the file {{C|/etc/feministwiki/domains}} and run the script {{C|/root/bin/letsencrypt-refresh}}.  This script takes care of running {{C|certbot}} to refresh the cert files, and populating the {{C|/etc/fw-certs}} directory with updated files.


    service apache2 stop  # Assuming Apache is running on the machine
    Note that whenever you run the {{C|letsencrypt-refresh}} script, it will momentarily stop the web server.  This means you're causing a short outage of the web-based services of the FeministWiki whenever you run the script.
    letsencrypt-refresh
    service apache2 start
     
    The above can be used not only to refresh a cert that's running out, but also to add a new domain to the cert.  Just add the domain to <code>/root/etc/domains</code> and run the commands.
     
    Note that the letsencrypt command may not work well on a "dumb" terminal such as an Emacs shell buffer.  If in doubt, run it from within a proper terminal emulator.
     
    === Readability of the key files ===
     
    To ensure that processes running under unprivileged users can read key files, ensure that the users they run under are members of the <code>ssl-cert</code> group, which should have read access to the files in <code>/etc/letsencrypt/live/feministwiki.org</code>.


    == Services ==
    == Services ==
    Line 142: Line 142:
    === Wiki ===
    === Wiki ===


    Host: feministwiki.org, www.feministwiki.org <br/>
    Host: feministwiki.org, www.feministwiki.org, fem.wiki, feminist.wiki, feminism.wiki, feministwiki.de, www.feministwiki.de <br/>
    Software: MediaWiki
    Software: MediaWiki


    The wiki uses a [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki MediaWiki] installation located at <code>/var/www/wiki/w</code>.  It uses the [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/LDAP_Stack LDAP Stack] for login management, and the "Short URL" feature enabled with help of Apache's vhost configuration.
    The wiki uses a [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki MediaWiki] installation located at {{C|/var/www/fw/wiki/w}}.  It uses the [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/LDAP_Stack LDAP Stack] extension for login management, and the "Short URL" feature is enabled.  The wiki uses the SQL database called "feministwiki" and the SQL user of the same name.


    The wiki uses the SQL database called "feministwiki" and the SQL user of the same name.
    The default wiki is in English.  Parallel wiki installations for different languages are supported via a combination of Apache's URL rewriting, and conditional branches in the {{C|LocalSettings.php}} file of the MediaWiki installation:
     
    * The rewrite rules ensure that, for any supported language {{C|xy}}, URLs beginning with {{C|/xy/wiki/...}} internally resolve to {{C|/w/index.php}} and URLs beginning with {{C|/xy/w/...}} resolve to {{C|/w/...}}.
    * The LocalSettings file checks {{C|$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']}} to determine the language code prefix in the requested URL, and configures things accordingly:
    ** It sets {{C|$wgArticlePath}} to {{C|/xy/wiki/$1}} so that {{C|/w/index.php}} knows that when it's invoked via such a URL, it should serve an article.
    ** It sets {{C|$wgScriptPath}} to {{C|/xy/w}} so that links to scripts served by MediaWiki are correct for the language.
    ** It sets the SQL database name to {{C|feministwiki_xy}}.
    ** It configures a "foreign" image database via the [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgForeignFileRepos#Using_files_from_a_database_that_you_can_access_:_ForeignDBRepo,_ForeignDBViaLBRepo ForeignDBRepo] method so that the media upload database of the default wiki is used by all, instead of every parallel wiki having its own media database.
     
    To add a new language, follow these steps:
     
    * Clone the English wiki's database into a new one via: {{C|mysqldump feministwiki <nowiki>|</nowiki> mysql feministwiki_xy}}
    * Grant permissions on the new database via: {{C|GRANT ALL ON feministwiki_xy.* TO feministwiki@localhost;}}
    * Edit {{C|/etc/apache2/sites-available/000-wiki.conf}} to add the line: {{C|Use Wiki xy}}
    * Add the language to {{C|~/bin/fw-update-languages.sh}} and run it
     
    The last step will produce a lot of errors complaining about keys already existing; these can be safely ignored.
     
    The domain names feministwiki.de and www.feministwiki.de redirect to {{C|https://feministwiki.org/de}}.  For instance, requesting {{C|https://feministwiki.de/wiki/Hauptseite}} will result in an HTTP redirect to {{C|https://feministwiki.org/de/wiki/Hauptseite}}.


    === Blogs ===
    === Blogs ===
    Line 154: Line 172:
    Software: WordPress (multisite)
    Software: WordPress (multisite)


    This is an installation of WordPress in <code>/var/www/blogs</code>, with the "multisite network" feature enabled on a path-basis, so users can have their own blogs on URLs like <code>blogs.feministwiki.org/janedoe</code>.  LDAP authentication is enabled via the AD/LDAP plugin from miniOrange.
    This is an installation of WordPress in {{C|/var/www/fw/blogs}}, with the "multisite network" feature enabled on a path-basis, so users can have their own blogs on URLs like {{C|blogs.feministwiki.org/janedoe}}.  LDAP authentication is enabled via the AD/LDAP plugin from miniOrange.


    Users from LDAP who log in for the first time are automatically registered as "Subscriber" accounts, and the admin can change their WordPress role "Author" to allow publishing.
    Users from LDAP who log in for the first time are automatically registered as "Subscriber" accounts, and the admin can change their WordPress role "Author" to allow publishing.
    Line 165: Line 183:
    Software: Converse.js
    Software: Converse.js


    The web-interface for the FeministChat uses the full-screen "Impress" variant of the [https://conversejs.org/ Converse.js] XMPP client.  The hosted HTML and JS files are located at <code>/var/www/chat</code>, although they load Converse.js as an external script from upstream, which is why the self-hosted HTML and JS are very minimal.
    The web-interface for the FeministChat uses the full-screen "Impress" variant of the [https://conversejs.org/ Converse.js] XMPP client.  The hosted HTML and JS files are located at {{C|/var/www/fw/chat}}, although they load Converse.js as an external script from upstream, which is why the self-hosted HTML and JS are very minimal.


    === Forum ===
    === Forum ===
    Line 172: Line 190:
    Software: phpBB
    Software: phpBB


    The forum uses a [https://www.phpbb.com/ phpBB] installation located at <code>/var/www/forum</code>.  Most configuration of phpBB, including LDAP authentication, is done through its administration panel.  The style used by the forum is essentially Basic Orange, though the logo is changed via an inheriting style called FeministWiki.
    The forum uses a [https://www.phpbb.com/ phpBB] installation located at {{C|/var/www/fw/forum}}.  Most configuration of phpBB, including LDAP authentication, is done through its administration panel.  The style used by the forum is a minimally changed "ProSilver Dark". The forum uses the SQL database called "feministforum" and the SQL user of the same name.
     
    The forum uses the SQL database called "feministforum" and the SQL user of the same name.


    === Mail (web interface) ===
    === Mail (web interface) ===
    Line 181: Line 197:
    Software: Roundcube
    Software: Roundcube


    The web-interface for the FeministMail uses the [https://roundcube.net/ Roundcube] mail client, installed at <code>/var/www/mail</code>.  It uses the standard "larry" style, but with some tweaks to logos and images.
    The web-interface for the FeministMail uses the [https://roundcube.net/ Roundcube] mail client, installed at {{C|/var/www/fw/mail}}.  It uses a FeministWiki-branded modification of the new "elastic" style.


    === Files ===
    === Files ===
    Line 188: Line 204:
    Software: Nextcloud
    Software: Nextcloud


    FeministFiles is a [https://nextcloud.com/ Nextcloud] installation with some branding, and LDAP authentication, installed at <code>/var/www/files</code>.
    FeministFiles is a [https://nextcloud.com/ Nextcloud] installation with some branding, and LDAP authentication, installed at {{C|/var/www/fw/files}}.


    === IMAP ===
    === IMAP ===
    Line 195: Line 211:
    Software: Dovecot
    Software: Dovecot


    FeministMail uses the [https://www.dovecot.org/ Dovecot] IMAP server, configured for LDAP authentication and using virtual mail boxes under <code>/home/vmail</code>.
    FeministMail uses the [https://www.dovecot.org/ Dovecot] IMAP server, configured for LDAP authentication and using virtual mail boxes under {{C|/home/vmail}}.


    === POP3 ===
    === POP3 ===
    Line 209: Line 225:
    Software: Postfix, OpenDKIM
    Software: Postfix, OpenDKIM


    FeministMail uses the [http://www.postfix.org/ Postfix] SMTP server, using SASL authentication through Dovecot, LDAP-based virtual mail boxes under <code>/home/vmail</code>, and DKIM signing via OpenDKIM.  Send a mail to a Gmail account and use the "Show original" feature of Gmail to see if the mail passes SPF, DKIM, and DMARC tests.
    FeministMail uses the [http://www.postfix.org/ Postfix] SMTP server, using SASL authentication through Dovecot, LDAP-based virtual mail boxes under {{C|/home/vmail}}, and DKIM signing via OpenDKIM.  Send a mail to a Gmail account and use the "Show original" feature of Gmail to see if the mail passes SPF, DKIM, and DMARC tests.


    There are also various tools on the web to automatically test the DNS settings for correctness, to check if the domain/IP is on blacklists, etc., which you can find via Google.  All in all, FeministMail is probably the most complicated service of the FeministWiki, as far as technical background goes.
    There are also various tools on the web to automatically test the DNS settings for correctness, to check if the domain/IP is on blacklists, etc., which you can find via Google.  All in all, FeministMail is probably the most complicated service of the FeministWiki, as far as technical background goes.
    Line 215: Line 231:
    === Mailing lists ===
    === Mailing lists ===


    Email domain: lists.feministwiki.org
    Email domain: lists.feministwiki.org <br/>
    Software: GNU Mailman, Postfix
    Software: GNU Mailman, Postfix


    Postfix is configured to recognize <code>lists.feministwiki.org</code> as a "local" domain.  This means it uses the file specified in the <code>alias_maps</code> configuration directive (typically <code>/etc/aliases</code>) to decide the final recipient of an e-mail sent to this domain.  Correspondingly, we populate <code>/etc/aliases</code> with the aliases needed by Mailman to operate each mailing list it controls.
    Postfix is configured to recognize {{C|lists.feministwiki.org}} as a "local" domain.  This means it uses the file specified in the {{C|alias_maps}} configuration directive (typically {{C|/etc/aliases}}) to decide the final recipient of an e-mail sent to this domain.  Correspondingly, we populate {{C|/etc/aliases}} with the aliases needed by Mailman to operate each mailing list it controls.


    Note that there is no DNS entry for <code>lists.feministwiki.org</code> because e-mail software just checks the MX record for <code>feministwiki.org</code> when the recipient is from the domain <code><em>anything</em>.feministwiki.org</code>.
    Note that there is no DNS entry for {{C|lists.feministwiki.org}} because e-mail software just checks the MX record for {{C|feministwiki.org}} when the recipient is from the domain {{C|<em>anything</em>.feministwiki.org}}.


    === XMPP ===
    === XMPP ===
    Line 234: Line 250:
    Software: InspIRCd
    Software: InspIRCd


    FeministIRC uses the [http://www.inspircd.org/ InspIRCd] IRC server with the <code>ldapauth</code> module for LDAP authentication.
    FeministIRC uses the [http://www.inspircd.org/ InspIRCd] IRC server with the {{C|ldapauth}} module for LDAP authentication.  The client is authenticated via the combination of the NICK and PASS provided upon connection, which must correspond to the FeministWiki credentials.


    === Account operations ===
    === Account operations ===
    Line 241: Line 257:
    Software: custom
    Software: custom


    This custom web interface hosted at <code>/var/www/account</code> lets you complete several tasks related to FeministWiki membership, such as changing your account settings, resetting your password, or adding a new member.  It also contains a form to request membership.  The interface is written in HTML, CSS, PHP, and C.
    This custom web interface hosted at {{C|/var/www/fw/account}} lets you complete several tasks related to FeministWiki membership, such as changing your account settings, resetting your password, or adding a new member.  It also contains a form to request membership.  The interface is written in HTML, CSS, PHP, and C.

    Revision as of 23:35, 25 February 2023

    This page documents the FeministWiki's technical infrastructure, the target audience being technicians. Note that while this page will help you understand the inner workings of the FeministWiki, it's not optimal for guiding you through the setup of a new server. For that, see the page FW:Server setup instead.

    Hosts

    The following table documents the basic DNS configuration, and can be used as part of the /etc/hosts file on each server to obviate the need for DNS lookups when connecting to one another.

    IP FQDN Host Purpose Ports
    85.214.206.20 feministwiki.org Wiki 80, 443
    85.214.206.20 www.feministwiki.org www Wiki 80, 443
    85.214.206.20 ldap.feministwiki.org ldap LDAP -
    85.214.206.20 blogs.feministwiki.org blogs Blogging 80, 443
    85.214.206.20 chat.feministwiki.org chat Web-client for XMPP 80, 443
    85.214.206.20 forum.feministwiki.org forum BBS Forum 80, 443
    85.214.206.20 mail.feministwiki.org mail Web-client for Mail 80, 443
    85.214.206.20 files.feministwiki.org files File storage 80, 443
    85.214.206.20 imap.feministwiki.org imap IMAP 993
    85.214.206.20 pop3.feministwiki.org pop3 POP3 995
    85.214.206.20 smtp.feministwiki.org smtp SMTP 25, 465, 587
    85.214.206.20 xmpp.feministwiki.org xmpp XMPP 5222, 5223, 5269, 5270, 5443, 7777
    85.214.206.20 irc.feministwiki.org irc IRC 6697
    85.214.206.20 account.feministwiki.org account Account operations 80, 443

    As you can see, all services are on the same server for now. However, it should be kept as an open possibility that the hosts are split across different IPs. When done so, the ldap host should listen on 636 for LDAPS connections.

    There are no AAAA entries in the DNS because we only allow IPv4 for incoming connections. This simplifies security auditing.

    Special DNS entries

    For CAA:

    Type Name Flag Tag Value
    CAA @ 0 issue letsencrypt.org
    CAA @ 0 iodef admin@feministwiki.org

    For email:

    Type Host Data Purpose
    MX @ smtp.feministwiki.org Mail server
    TXT @ v=spf1 mx -all SPF
    TXT mail._domainkey v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=<pubkey> DKIM
    TXT _dmarc v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:admin@feministwiki.org DMARC

    Note: There must be a direct A or AAAA record (not a CNAME record) for the domain name specified in the MX record.

    For XMPP:

    Type Service Protocol Name Destination Port
    SRV _xmpp-client _tcp @ xmpp.feministwiki.org 5222
    SRV _xmpp-server _tcp @ xmpp.feministwiki.org 5269
    SRV _xmpps-client _tcp @ xmpp.feministwiki.org 5223
    SRV _xmpps-server _tcp @ xmpp.feministwiki.org 5270

    Google Site Verification:

    Type Host Data
    TXT @ google-site-verification=<key>

    Firewall

    The simple ufw firewall-frontend is used to trivially limit all network I/O to the ports you can see in the host table above, plus port 22 for ssh and scp.

    UFW adds IPv6 rules by default, which can be prevented by using more explicit rules. Consider the following rule: 

     ufw allow 12345/tcp  # will allow TCP connections to port 12345 via IPv4 and IPv6

    To limit this to IPv4 you can instead use this: 

     ufw allow proto tcp to 0.0.0.0/0 port 12345  # will allow TCP connections to port 12345 via IPv4 only

    Fail2ban

    We use fail2ban to detect brute force attempts on some services. The git repository for scripts and config contains the relevant Fail2ban configuration under etc/fail2ban.

    SSH access

    FeministWiki hosts have ssh enabled for root access, but password login is disabled. You must own a valid private key to log in.

    Git repo of scripts and configuration

    The following GitHub account hosts repositories with scripts and configuration used by the FeministWiki:

    https://github.com/FeministWiki

    Certs

    The FeministWiki uses LetsEncrypt to acquire digital certificates for encrypted communication.

    After certificates are generated with certbot, copies of them are put into /etc/fw-certs, and the group ownership and permissions of the privkey.pem and bundle.pem files are set such that any user who's in the ssl-cert group can read the private key and bundle. (The others can be read by anyone anyway.) A script in /etc/letsencrypt/renewal-hooks/post is responsible for taking care of this after automatic executions of certbot scheduled by the operating system.

    The file /etc/fw-certs/bundle.pem is useful for programs that don't have the capability of reading a separate cert and key file; it combines the full certificate chain (fullchain.pem) with the private key in a single file.

    If you ever add a new domain under which the FeministWiki server will be reachable, add it as a line to the file /etc/feministwiki/domains and run the script /root/bin/letsencrypt-refresh. This script takes care of running certbot to refresh the cert files, and populating the /etc/fw-certs directory with updated files.

    Note that whenever you run the letsencrypt-refresh script, it will momentarily stop the web server. This means you're causing a short outage of the web-based services of the FeministWiki whenever you run the script.

    Services

    This section documents the individual services of the FeministWiki. They should work regardless of what server they're on. I.e. every service could in theory be hosted on its own server.

    LDAP

    Host: ldap.feministwiki.org
    Software: OpenLDAP

    The LDAP service contains the central database of FeministWiki members. For details on the LDAP schema, see FeministWiki:LDAP Schema.

    Wiki

    Host: feministwiki.org, www.feministwiki.org, fem.wiki, feminist.wiki, feminism.wiki, feministwiki.de, www.feministwiki.de
    Software: MediaWiki

    The wiki uses a MediaWiki installation located at /var/www/fw/wiki/w. It uses the LDAP Stack extension for login management, and the "Short URL" feature is enabled. The wiki uses the SQL database called "feministwiki" and the SQL user of the same name.

    The default wiki is in English. Parallel wiki installations for different languages are supported via a combination of Apache's URL rewriting, and conditional branches in the LocalSettings.php file of the MediaWiki installation:

    • The rewrite rules ensure that, for any supported language xy, URLs beginning with /xy/wiki/... internally resolve to /w/index.php and URLs beginning with /xy/w/... resolve to /w/....
    • The LocalSettings file checks $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] to determine the language code prefix in the requested URL, and configures things accordingly:
      • It sets $wgArticlePath to /xy/wiki/$1 so that /w/index.php knows that when it's invoked via such a URL, it should serve an article.
      • It sets $wgScriptPath to /xy/w so that links to scripts served by MediaWiki are correct for the language.
      • It sets the SQL database name to feministwiki_xy.
      • It configures a "foreign" image database via the ForeignDBRepo method so that the media upload database of the default wiki is used by all, instead of every parallel wiki having its own media database.

    To add a new language, follow these steps:

    • Clone the English wiki's database into a new one via: mysqldump feministwiki | mysql feministwiki_xy
    • Grant permissions on the new database via: GRANT ALL ON feministwiki_xy.* TO feministwiki@localhost;
    • Edit /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-wiki.conf to add the line: Use Wiki xy
    • Add the language to ~/bin/fw-update-languages.sh and run it

    The last step will produce a lot of errors complaining about keys already existing; these can be safely ignored.

    The domain names feministwiki.de and www.feministwiki.de redirect to https://feministwiki.org/de. For instance, requesting https://feministwiki.de/wiki/Hauptseite will result in an HTTP redirect to https://feministwiki.org/de/wiki/Hauptseite.

    Blogs

    Host: blogs.feministwiki.org
    Software: WordPress (multisite)

    This is an installation of WordPress in /var/www/fw/blogs, with the "multisite network" feature enabled on a path-basis, so users can have their own blogs on URLs like blogs.feministwiki.org/janedoe. LDAP authentication is enabled via the AD/LDAP plugin from miniOrange.

    Users from LDAP who log in for the first time are automatically registered as "Subscriber" accounts, and the admin can change their WordPress role "Author" to allow publishing.

    This WordPress installation uses the SQL database called "blogs" and an SQL user of the same name.

    Chat (web interface)

    Host: chat.feministwiki.org
    Software: Converse.js

    The web-interface for the FeministChat uses the full-screen "Impress" variant of the Converse.js XMPP client. The hosted HTML and JS files are located at /var/www/fw/chat, although they load Converse.js as an external script from upstream, which is why the self-hosted HTML and JS are very minimal.

    Forum

    Host: forum.feministwiki.org
    Software: phpBB

    The forum uses a phpBB installation located at /var/www/fw/forum. Most configuration of phpBB, including LDAP authentication, is done through its administration panel. The style used by the forum is a minimally changed "ProSilver Dark". The forum uses the SQL database called "feministforum" and the SQL user of the same name.

    Mail (web interface)

    Host: mail.feministwiki.org
    Software: Roundcube

    The web-interface for the FeministMail uses the Roundcube mail client, installed at /var/www/fw/mail. It uses a FeministWiki-branded modification of the new "elastic" style.

    Files

    Host: files.feministwiki.org
    Software: Nextcloud

    FeministFiles is a Nextcloud installation with some branding, and LDAP authentication, installed at /var/www/fw/files.

    IMAP

    Host: imap.feministwiki.org
    Software: Dovecot

    FeministMail uses the Dovecot IMAP server, configured for LDAP authentication and using virtual mail boxes under /home/vmail.

    POP3

    Host: pop3.feministwiki.org
    Software: Dovecot

    While Dovecot is primarily an IMAP server, it also offers POP3 support, which the FeministWiki installation has enabled.

    SMTP

    Host: smtp.feministwiki.org
    Software: Postfix, OpenDKIM

    FeministMail uses the Postfix SMTP server, using SASL authentication through Dovecot, LDAP-based virtual mail boxes under /home/vmail, and DKIM signing via OpenDKIM. Send a mail to a Gmail account and use the "Show original" feature of Gmail to see if the mail passes SPF, DKIM, and DMARC tests.

    There are also various tools on the web to automatically test the DNS settings for correctness, to check if the domain/IP is on blacklists, etc., which you can find via Google. All in all, FeministMail is probably the most complicated service of the FeministWiki, as far as technical background goes.

    Mailing lists

    Email domain: lists.feministwiki.org
    Software: GNU Mailman, Postfix

    Postfix is configured to recognize lists.feministwiki.org as a "local" domain. This means it uses the file specified in the alias_maps configuration directive (typically /etc/aliases) to decide the final recipient of an e-mail sent to this domain. Correspondingly, we populate /etc/aliases with the aliases needed by Mailman to operate each mailing list it controls.

    Note that there is no DNS entry for lists.feministwiki.org because e-mail software just checks the MX record for feministwiki.org when the recipient is from the domain anything.feministwiki.org.

    XMPP

    Host: xmpp.feministwiki.org
    Software: ejabberd

    FeministChat uses the ejabberd XMPP server, configured to use LDAP authentication and an LDAP-based shared roster group for all members.

    IRC

    Host: irc.feministwiki.org
    Software: InspIRCd

    FeministIRC uses the InspIRCd IRC server with the ldapauth module for LDAP authentication. The client is authenticated via the combination of the NICK and PASS provided upon connection, which must correspond to the FeministWiki credentials.

    Account operations

    Host: account.feministwiki.org
    Software: custom

    This custom web interface hosted at /var/www/fw/account lets you complete several tasks related to FeministWiki membership, such as changing your account settings, resetting your password, or adding a new member. It also contains a form to request membership. The interface is written in HTML, CSS, PHP, and C.

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