ether_housed
About
This is the API server for ether_house project.
Client software runs on an
Arduino and interacts with this API.
In designing the software, I aimed for longevity. I want the software to
continue to run for many years without maintenance. I decided to use golang.
- Go binaries are statically compiled, which means the same binary I compile now
will continue to run on new platforms for years to come.
- With godeps I can include all compatible libraries together with no external
dependencies, regardless of their long term state.
- I use Heroku to deploy the code. Heroku is free for small installs and a
stable platform. They can probably keep this server up better than I can.
- I use a DNS name I can control for service discovery. This gives me the
flexibility to change platforms over time if necissary.
Usage
This is an API server. It isn't really designed to be useful to humans.
All it really does is store shared state and configuration for ether_house
clients as they report in.
Requirements
- golang 1.3 (1.2.1 seems to work too)
- memcached
- heroku (optional)
Install
Using heroku
-
Install heroku, get an account, log in with the tool
-
Clone this repo
-
Make a copy of the secrets file and make your own secrets
-
Create an app
Use the golang buildback
heroku create -b https://github.com/kr/heroku-buildpack-go.git
-
Enable Memcache (optional)
heroku addons:add memcachedcloud:25
-
Push
git push origin heroku
-
Push your secrets
make push_config
Locally on Ubuntu
# cd to directory containing this code
sudo apt-get install go
export GOPATH=$HOME/gopath:`pwd`/Godeps/_workspace
go get github.com/kr/godep
sudo apt-get install memcached
go build .
./solarkennedy-ether_housed
Security
The client uses HTTP in combination with an API key to authenticate and
authorize. A compromised API key means someone can change the stored state
associated with that key, as well as retrieve the mac address associated
with that API key.
This key is considered a simple shared secret. If you want new ones, change the
secrets.sh file and program the new key on the arduino.