IPSRC: The self managed IP Sourcing Solution

Why use IPSRC?

Why would you want to use this software? The reason why you would want to use this software is because you have a server, probably at your house which has a dynamic IP. You might be tempted to use something like DynDNS, but then you will be beholden to a particular platform, technology, cost, or whatever artificial limits the provider whishes to impose.

By using IPSRC, you will be able to broadcast and read data on any platform of your choice. For example, you might wish to broadcast your IP to an email of your choice, or perhaps to an FTP server. Whatever the case may be IPSRC maintains flexibility to allow you to use and access your computers from anywhere.

Requirements

• Python 3.4+
• Git
• Public/Private Key Pairs

Usage

To use IPSRC, clone it to both your server and your client machine. To configure the server, you might do something like the following (for an example, please see server_configuration.ini):

[public-key]
path = /path/to/public/key/id_rsa.pub
[platform-configuration]
type = git
repository-path = /path/to/repository

In the above configuration, we have set the platform to be Git. This means that the server will obtain its IP address, encrypt it, and push it to a Git repository. The public key must be the client's public key.

Your client configuration will look something like the following (for an example, please see client_configuration.ini):

[private-key]
path = /path/to/private/key/id_rsa
[platform-configuration]
type = git
repository-path = /path/to/repository

In the above configuration, we have again set the platform to be Git, and we have created a repository located at "path/to/repository". It is important that the platform information on the server/client match so that the server may broadcast to a location that the client will look in. In this case, this is where the client will pull from, and decrypt the IP of the server.

In the above example, you will have to configure the repository to have a remote origin that it may push/pull to, otherwise the data will have nowhere to go (to be hosted).

Usage: On the Server

You'll want to install all the dependencies located in the requirements file. You'll then wish to set up a cron job to run python server_broadcast.py at some interval of your choice.

Usage: On the Client

You'll want to install all the dependencies located in the requirements file. You'll then want to run python client_source.py whenever you wish to update your server's address on the client.

How it works:

The server will periodically encrypt its IP and broadcast it to some source. The place it will be broadcast depends upon the [platform-configuration]. In the above example, we are broadcasting to a Git repository.

The server will use the client's public key to encrypt its IP address. This is so that nobody else may peek inside and see what your server's IP address is.

The client, when ready, will read from wherever the server is broadcasting to. In the above example, the client will pull (read) from a Git repository. The client will then use its private key to read the encrypted IP.

Extending IPSRC

To extend IPSRC and add your own platforms, you have to do a few things. Firstly you must edit platform_constants.py to include your new platform. After, you must create a new platform file, ideally with the naming convention platform_new_name. Within your new platform, you must implement two functions broadcast_data and read_data.

You can include your own directives within the INI file that the user must include for your new broadcast and read functionality. To see an example of this, please look at platform_git.py.

You should be able to extend IPSRC to use almost any kind of broadcast or existing service, you might use email, ftp servers, ssh, etc. Any pull requests for new platforms are always welcome, thanks!