This hasn’t been asked in a while, and I really loved reading the last discussion so I’m hoping to kick it off again and see what has changed!
What I’d like to know is:
- What specific products do you wish you could host on your own infrastructure, but the product does not offer such a deployment method
- Do you or would you use the product without being able to self-host? I.E. In its current state
- Do you think your employer, if any, holds the same opinions?
Any MDM solution. All self-hosted options that were available (onemdm, flyve) are dead. I’m my own employer, so we definitely agree everything should be self-hosted :)
I own a small business, 20-30 devices only. But they’re a mix of all possible platforms (Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS). Would like to force disk encryption, strong password policy, automatically install/update/configure corporate VPN/mail/etc., prevent use of blacklisted programs, remote wipe of lost/stolen/otherwise compromised devices. I know it’s not feasible with any selfhosted solution, sadly.
Sadly, there will never be a truly self-hosted solution given how the devices in question rely on Google, Samsung, Microsoft or Apple servers to be active and available on initial enrollment. The control plane can be on-prem, but the actual enforcement is done through built-in management APIs that depend on external services.
That said, I created my own zero-cost MDM solution by leveraging Android Enterprise APIs along with Samsung Knox. There’s no pretty UI though - everything is done through API calls using Postman. Enrollment is achieved by scanning a QR code on the device’s first boot. I’m managing ~450 Samsung tablets and a dozen mobile phones using this approach.
hmm, for Apple a MDM Push certificate is the link between the two, for Google the managed play store, neither of these have a “requirement” for a SaaS solution.
both of these are just to connect the device to the MDM platform via a “managment profile” (waves hands), the settings and enforcement is all on the MDM platform.
A very long time ago (the days of the 3G) I had an internal web server that hosted iPhone configuration profiles, it was very (very) “basic”
Granted this is only for Apple (and with a last commit in 2022 might be dead) but is useful for showing what part connects where to do what.
Workflowy and Loom
I hear you can do something pretty close to workflowy with obsidian.md, which you can pretty much self host with the help of syncthing
It’s almost as good to have obsidian with a sync option on multiple devices, but still an obsidian self hosted webapp would be fantastic! I know there is a docker image that offers something like that, but it’s a webversion of vnc and a small Linux container, instead of a proper web app.
Again: going with local apps and a sync option (I too use syncthing) is very user friendly too, but I still miss the option to kust browse to my vault from any computer. Log in, do some work and see the changes reflected in my local vaults:)
A good RMM solution with scripting options. Ie. Labtech, etc.
There was TacticalRMM but there was some controversy around a crypto miner baked into a private installer. Thought of trying it in my isolated network, but can’t decide how I feel about it.
Organic Maps
We are using it for managing 250-300 devices (Win Desktop, Win Server, MacOS, Linux based Server and Desktop). So far we love it (no mote TeamViewer and Anydesk since it’s using MeshCentral). What is missing (as a major component) - reporting. Still you can create/build your own reporting since there is a good API. Reporting is almost there (crossing fingers)
I really appreciate you mentioning this as I’m looking for something small and light for work as well. We have a hundred or so Pi’s that are critical enough to need management and monitoring, but not critical enough to actually spend money on a RMM or something from one of the big guys.
Right now I’m setting up ansible and getting everything in place, but I’d love something that is more agent based and not just a reoccurring script.
I’d love a replacement for AppSheet using BaseRow.
I’d love to see what I could do with things I need GPS accuracy for geofencing like robot lawn mowing or keeping dogs inside my yard without a fence. Specifically reporting to me via push notifications when something is wrong or dog has left the yard.
I know of no such solution without a subscription at least for the dog fence. Last I looked at robot lawn mowers was Open Mower. I don’t know how much that project has grown.
My employer wouldn’t care, self hosting has become a hobby.