Derek Demuro Blog https://www.derekdemuro.com/blog Software engineering, Linux, self-hosting, AI hardware. en-us Mon, 06 Jul 2026 21:29:57 GMT Building ProfileGuardian: Grown-Up Identity Management for Linux Fleetshttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-profileguardian-linux-identityhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-profileguardian-linux-identityTue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTlinuxidentitydevice-managementDesign notes from an in-progress identity and device management platform for Linux: centralized users, policy enforcement, device enrollment, and SSO, without pretending Linux is Windows. Building Vcradle: Virtualization Without the License Anxietyhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-vcradle-virtualizationhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-vcradle-virtualizationThu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTvirtualizationclusteringinfrastructureDesign notes from an in-progress virtualization platform: clustering thousands of VMs, live migration that does not lie to you, and firmware handling I learned the hard way years ago. Building Firecradle: A Firewall You Can Actually Operatehttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-firecradle-firewallhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-firecradle-firewallThu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTfirewallnetworkingsecurityDesign notes from an in-progress enterprise firewall: deep packet inspection at multi-gigabit line rate, an IPS that does not fall over under load, and a config model humans can read. Building CheckDNS: Making Sure Domains Always Resolvehttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-checkdns-dns-monitoringhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-checkdns-dns-monitoringThu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTdnsnetworkingfailoverdnssecBuild log for CheckDNS, TakeLAN's DNS management and monitoring platform with health checks, automatic failover, DNSSEC, and global distribution. Building Monitora: Catching Failures Before Users Dohttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-monitora-infra-monitoringhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-monitora-infra-monitoringThu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTmonitoringobservabilityanomaly-detectioninfrastructureBuild log for Monitora, TakeLAN's real-time infrastructure monitoring platform with anomaly detection, smart alerts, and predictive failure analysis. Building DeployYX: A Deployment Pipeline That Rolls Back Before You Noticehttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-deployyx-deployment-pipelinehttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-deployyx-deployment-pipelineThu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTdeploymentci-cddevopsprogressive-deliveryBuild log for DeployYX, TakeLAN's automated deployment pipeline with one-click deploys, progressive delivery, and automatic rollback. Building ConfiDox: One Place for Config, Secrets, and Feature Flagshttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-confidox-config-secretshttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-confidox-config-secretsWed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTconfigurationsecretsfeature-flagszero-knowledgedistributed-systemsA build log on centralized configuration and secrets management for distributed apps, with zero-knowledge storage, version control, and environment sync. Building AuthNox: Zero-Knowledge Auth Where the Operator Cannot Read Credentialshttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-authnox-zero-knowledge-authhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-authnox-zero-knowledge-authTue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMTauthenticationoauth2oidczero-knowledgesecurityA build log on designing an authentication platform (SSO, MFA, OAuth2, OIDC, RBAC) where stored credentials stay private even from us, the people running it. Building ShadowCradle: One Appliance to Protect Every Workloadhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-shadowcradle-backup-drhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-shadowcradle-backup-drSat, 15 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTbackupdisaster-recoveryransomwarevirtualizationmspA build log on shipping MSP backup and DR that scans every snapshot for ransomware and detonates compromised machines in an air-gapped sandbox. I Got a 3D Printer!https://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/i-got-a-3d-printerhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/i-got-a-3d-printerTue, 03 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT3D PrintingHardwareMakerWhy I bought a Creality Ender 3 v2 as a kit and built it from the frame up, to actually understand how the machine works instead of just owning one. The Evolution of Personal Values: A Journey of Self-Discoveryhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/evolution-of-personal-valueshttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/evolution-of-personal-valuesTue, 03 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTLifeOpinionSelf-DiscoveryMy values shifted when I moved between countries. Here is what living across cultures taught me about holding beliefs loosely and arguing in good faith. Cultivating Nuance in Decision-Making: A Framework for Empathetic and Informed Opinionshttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/cultivating-nuance-in-decision-makinghttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/cultivating-nuance-in-decision-makingTue, 03 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTDecision MakingCritical ThinkingValuesA working checklist for making decisions that weigh multiple perspectives, personal values, cognitive biases, and long-term consequences. Building a Beast: A Guide to Creating a Home Computer for AI Training and Inference with Dual NVIDIA RTX 3090 and NVLinkhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-a-beast-ai-machinehttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-a-beast-ai-machineTue, 25 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTAIHardwareGPUSelf-HostingOllamaBuilding a home AI workstation with dual NVIDIA RTX 3090s and NVLink for 48 GB VRAM, plus a dedicated inference and testing fleet (DGX Spark, a NAS packing a 4090 and 3090) and opencode routing to save frontier tokens. Building CyberFOX DNS Filtering: Stopping Threats Before the Browserhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-cyberfox-dns-filteringhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/building-cyberfox-dns-filteringWed, 18 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMTdnscybersecurityanycastnetworkingcyberfoxmspA build log on architecting CyberFOX's DNS and phishing protection platform from scratch: an Anycast resolver network and a single agent speaking DoH, DoT, and Do53, layered so filtering degrades before connectivity does, with split-resolver detection for Active Directory and packet-level interception to stop circumvention. Deploying Ansible, Docker, and Kubernetes on Debian 10https://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/deploying-ansible-docker-kubernetes-debian-10https://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/deploying-ansible-docker-kubernetes-debian-10Sun, 24 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMTDevOpsKubernetesDockerLinuxA repeatable deploy script to stand up Ansible, Docker, AWX, and a single-node Kubernetes cluster with the dashboard on a fresh Debian 10 box. AHK: Type Clipboard Contents (Windows Keyboard Simulator)https://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/ahk-type-clipboard-contentshttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/ahk-type-clipboard-contentsWed, 06 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMTWindowsAutoHotKeyAutomationAn AutoHotKey script and ready-made exe that types your clipboard contents with Ctrl+Shift+V, handy for VNC and lights-out consoles. Turing.com Test: Review and Opinionhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/turing-com-test-reviewhttps://www.derekdemuro.com/blog/turing-com-test-reviewSat, 13 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTCareerOpinionRemote WorkA 5am first look at Turing.com: slick but slow site, Cloudflare and Pingdom timing, fun coding challenges, and a vague 40-hour take-home that killed the momentum.