02-23-2021, 04:23 AM
I apologize for being away so long - things have been kind of hectic around here.
TRS-80 and Zebulon Walton, I am indebted to you both for your kind attention to my problem. Your thoughtful analysis is truly appreciated. More than ever, I'm so excited and honored to join the Linux community, and hope that someday, I will be able to advise others as you have me.
With all of the issues you raised, I'm going to ask your indulgence a bit further. My prior assumptions might be totally wrong, and as you said, TRS-80, a little backtracking is in order. So please bear with me, I'm going to start over again and try to give you a sense of my thought process from the beginning.
1. My only connection to the Internet is an unlimited voice and data plan with Verizon - basically, a family member gifted me 1 line on their plan (too good to pass up! :-D ).
2. I've purchased a domain name for a public-facing, not-for-profit website. Since I expect very little traffic for some time, and don't want to advertise for Google, Wordpress, etc., I really like the idea of maintaining complete control by self-hosting, at least to start.
3. Originally, I thought it would be natural to use 1 of my computers (an old Chromebook or a very old Titanium PowerBook, whichever is better suited for Linux) for hosting, using the WiFi hotspot of the phone. However, the WiFi connection drops off with inactivity. Unless there is a way to avoid this and force a persistent connection (is there?), that would eliminate this option.
4. Since the Verizon connection to the phone itself has been excellent (even in severe weather), and since I'm home-bound, making very few voice calls, and since I was unable to find any laptop or tablet (let alone the 2 that I have already) that will take a Sim card and have a cellular modem to make the few calls that I do need to make (to doctor's offices, possibly 911, etc.), my next best option was to use the phone itself for hosting. Along with the line I have, I was gifted an iPhone, but while searching for Linux phones, discovered the PinePhone, which I'm hoping to replace it with.
5. Now, with all that being said, I think you both are saying that regardless of device, I won't be able to self-host, unless Verizon provides me with an IPV6 address - is that correct? By the way, is there a way to know if I have IPV6 or IPV4, without asking Verizon itself (I couldn't find anything in "Settings")? Also, I'm assuming that even if I were able to get the WiFi to be constantly connected, that other devices connected via WiFi would also be IPV4 and unable to be reached from outside, even if I were to buy a router - is that correct? Finally, Wibble mentioned something about using a tunnel vs. not - what effect does that have on this?
6. Finally, if all of the answers to these questions are negative, do either of you have any other suggestions or recommendations? As for me, even if I'm not able to self-host, I'm still hoping to replace this iPhone with the PinePhone - just not sure when it will be available and a little nervous about it working reliably, since it'll be my only connection to the outside world.
Thanks again so much to both of you,
Cheers
TRS-80 and Zebulon Walton, I am indebted to you both for your kind attention to my problem. Your thoughtful analysis is truly appreciated. More than ever, I'm so excited and honored to join the Linux community, and hope that someday, I will be able to advise others as you have me.
With all of the issues you raised, I'm going to ask your indulgence a bit further. My prior assumptions might be totally wrong, and as you said, TRS-80, a little backtracking is in order. So please bear with me, I'm going to start over again and try to give you a sense of my thought process from the beginning.
1. My only connection to the Internet is an unlimited voice and data plan with Verizon - basically, a family member gifted me 1 line on their plan (too good to pass up! :-D ).
2. I've purchased a domain name for a public-facing, not-for-profit website. Since I expect very little traffic for some time, and don't want to advertise for Google, Wordpress, etc., I really like the idea of maintaining complete control by self-hosting, at least to start.
3. Originally, I thought it would be natural to use 1 of my computers (an old Chromebook or a very old Titanium PowerBook, whichever is better suited for Linux) for hosting, using the WiFi hotspot of the phone. However, the WiFi connection drops off with inactivity. Unless there is a way to avoid this and force a persistent connection (is there?), that would eliminate this option.
4. Since the Verizon connection to the phone itself has been excellent (even in severe weather), and since I'm home-bound, making very few voice calls, and since I was unable to find any laptop or tablet (let alone the 2 that I have already) that will take a Sim card and have a cellular modem to make the few calls that I do need to make (to doctor's offices, possibly 911, etc.), my next best option was to use the phone itself for hosting. Along with the line I have, I was gifted an iPhone, but while searching for Linux phones, discovered the PinePhone, which I'm hoping to replace it with.
5. Now, with all that being said, I think you both are saying that regardless of device, I won't be able to self-host, unless Verizon provides me with an IPV6 address - is that correct? By the way, is there a way to know if I have IPV6 or IPV4, without asking Verizon itself (I couldn't find anything in "Settings")? Also, I'm assuming that even if I were able to get the WiFi to be constantly connected, that other devices connected via WiFi would also be IPV4 and unable to be reached from outside, even if I were to buy a router - is that correct? Finally, Wibble mentioned something about using a tunnel vs. not - what effect does that have on this?
6. Finally, if all of the answers to these questions are negative, do either of you have any other suggestions or recommendations? As for me, even if I'm not able to self-host, I'm still hoping to replace this iPhone with the PinePhone - just not sure when it will be available and a little nervous about it working reliably, since it'll be my only connection to the outside world.
Thanks again so much to both of you,
Cheers