2023-06-28 - All Done and Dusted - Clock’s Ticking

Two nice things happened today! For starters: Around 14:00 GMT+1 we received the MikroTik hEX S router fully operational and in original packaging. If we had ordered it through Amazon we’d be lucky if it were to arrive even in the month of July!

Thanks to that anonymous individual who sold it on eBay, Nick will be able to set up the IP tunnel on the original device and not bring his own and then transfer the configuration to the correct MikroTik router once it arrives (which was our backup plan).

The OTHER more important thing that was finally done today is the DECLUTTERING (entrümpeln) / clearing out of the secure location. I took the measurements of the rack and found the perfect spot to put it with an ethernet Internet connection and unused power source nearby.

This took all day and I’m super exhausted. Really, we (me and my dad @Wall_E) began this morning at 08:30 and JUST finished at 21:22. We’re far from done with clearing the whole site, but at least the place we need is nice and clean.

Tomorrow, with my train starting at 04:51 in the morning, I will drive to Frankfurt to pick up the final pieces of hardware that cannot be transported by a car. I will arrive in Frankfurt by 13:38 if all goes well, so I will most likely really arrive around 15:00. The next day, Friday the 30th of June 2023, I will go back home starting 05:21 AM from the Frankfurt central station arriving 15:05 if all goes to plan.

Nick will join me a day later, July 1st 2023. Mark this date, folx! July 1st 2023 is the day when all pieces of the puzzle and all key figures will be located in the exact right spot to build #MastodonDE. That day will mark the beginning of the 80 hour two week journey that is creating the monstrosity known as a huge general purpose Mastodon instance. Although the plan to make this instance already began in January this year, the execution to full construct it will begin in THREE DAYS!

2023.06.26 — The Last Piece of the Puzzle

We’ve just successfully purchased a MikroTik hEX S RB760IGS router which we needed as an L2TP client to connect to our noBGP IP tunnel! This concludes our quest for finding the right hardware, meaning we now have ALL hardware necessary to build #MastodonDE!

Now all we need to do is transport parts of that hardware from Frankfurt to our secure location, which will happen on the 29th and the 30th of June.

So, on the 1st of July we will begin assembling everything which will take 10-14 days (80 work hours). Nick has assembled a full plan that is attached to this post detailing every step necessary for building the complex server infrastructure that will host MastodonDE (in German)!

MastodonDE is becoming more and more a reality with every minute that passes!

Erik Uden => ErikUden@mastodon.de

2023-06-26 17:14:31

If you just lost an eBay auction by willithesmith, guess who just got the MikroTek hEX S router, fool

Official #MastodonDE Progress Thread
First Update: 2023-06-23
Last Update: 2023-07-11

The Project is now Up and Running:
mastodon.de/

You can follow the whole dev/mod team here:

• Main/Info @MastodonDE
• Me @ErikUden
• Nick @freestyle
• Rodirik @rodirik
• Simen @PoppyPeppa
• Ivan @Sleagle
• Emily @Emily
• Ebowski @berlinux

TL;DR: We will host a general purpose Mastodon instance on the domain mastodon.de with pretty good hardware we got donated.

We are in the process of getting a noBGP IP tunnel from @sarah through her Belgian company servperso.net! It’s very reliable and cheap according to the future co-admin Nick, who has been using her services for a while now.

I believe the IP address will hence be seemingly “located” in Belgium, I can already see the memes of “mastodonDE is hosted in BELGIUM??” no, it’s just the IP. All hardware is located in East Frisia.

We are currently planning on @Emily being a moderator with 2-3 other people also getting that position (they do not have a Fedi account yet).

We are planning on opening the instance around the middle of July, entirely self-hosted.

More updates will follow soon in this thread. Stay tuned.

Explanation of the operating expenses of mastodon.de

German version

Monthly charges
• Electricity: 139.73 €
• Cloud servers: 86.19 €
• Internet: 35.00 €
• Domain(s): 10.92 €
• Email: 5.00 €

Total: 276.84 € / month

You can view many popular options to donate here!

And here is an exact chronological list of all expenses and donations.

How does it all fit together?

Electricity cost

We pay ~0.19 € / KWh, the rack for #MastodonDE consumes ~0.9 KW, but also ~1.2 KW at peak operation, so we calculate with a usage of 1.0 KW.

So 1.0 KW × 0.1941 € / KWh × 24h × 30 days = 139.73 € / month.

Cloud servers

Root server

For the mastodon.de instance we use a Hetzner root server (AX52 | Upgrade to DDR5 ECC RAM | Primary IPv4) which costs 80.92 € / month.

Web server

For the website join-mastodon.de we use a separate Hetzner cloud server ('CPX11 | x86 | 40 GB | eu-central'), so that the site is independent from the rest of our infrastructure.
This web server costs 5.20 € / month.

In total we pay 86.19 € / month for the servers.

Internet

Some of the servers are operated in @ErikUden's private home and therefore also use his internet connection. Since the company behind it, Uden UG (limited liability), can also be reached by telephone via this combined contract, this is included in the price.

We have the Red Internet & Phone 1000 Cable from Vodafone with 1150 Mb/s download and 56.7 Mbit/s upload, this costs 70 € / month.

70 € / 2 = 35 €.

So MastodonDE pays 35 € / month for an internet connection.

Domain(s)
The domains and instances operated by the MastodonDE network:
• mastodon.de (5.00 € / year)
╚═>IONOS
• join-mastodon.de (5.00 € / year)
╚═>IONOS
• fediverse.gay (28.14 € / year)
╚═>Namecheap
• fediver.su (5.59 € / year)
╚═>Regery
• fedive.ru (3.39 € / year)
╚═>Regery
• ostfriesland.social (29.05 € / year)
╚═>Namecheap
• fediblock.wiki (24.50 € / year)
╚═>Namecheap
• pixelfed.party (25.41 € / year)
╚═>Namecheap
• beertu.be (4.99 € / year)
╚═>Regery

Total domain costs:
• 125.36 € / year
• ~10.92 € / month

E-mail
We use the one (1) mailbox email business offer from IONOS for info@mastodon.de which costs 5 € / month.

A total of 276.84 € / month

With this money we could run MastodonDE if:

• No device or server ever breaks and needs to be replaced
• Storing the backups externally would not cost any money
• We never need external help
• We never get into legal problems
• No one is paid for work on the project or previous expenses are paid

As you can easily see when reading this article, the 276.84 € is really only to cover the costs of optimal operation. When this value is reached, there are no more costs that we are left with, which, in addition to our time, we would like to spend on this project, but may not be able to spend forever.

In the long term, MastodonDE will become its own e.V. to ensure that as a platform we will always remain ad-free, algorithm-free, data theft, anti-commercial and anti-capitalist!

To make this possible we need donations of 276.84 € / month.
You can view all the options to donate here!

Once this bill is covered, MastodonDE will run long-term! ​

mastodon.de :MastodonDE:​

2023-07-31 12:12:44

Interested in supporting this instance? ​​

Feel free to donate using one of the below links:

• Liberapay
• Ko-Fi
• Patreon
• PayPal

Direct Bank Transfer (no fees):
IBAN: DE36283500000145760443
BIC: BRLADE21ANO
Account holder: Uden UG (haftungsbeschraenkt)

Set your Memo / Reference as “Donation for mastodon.de”

Explanation of these operating expenses (276.84 €/Month) in English and German.

You can also subscribe to our official Twitch channel or use your Prime Sub free of charge!

twitch.tv/Mastodon_DE

Thank you for supporting mastodon.de!

Kind regards,
@Emily, @ErikUden & @Sleagle

🤎🧡💛💚💙💜​​

Get more from mastodon.de on Patreon

Mastodon für die DACH Region (Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz)

^{mastodon.de (Patreon)}

Erklärung der Kosten für das Betreiben von mastodon.de

English version

Monatliche Kosten
• Strom: 139,73 €
• Cloud-Server: 86,19 €
• Internet: 35,00 €
• Domain(s): 10,92 €
• E-Mail: 5,00 €

Gesamt: 276,84 € / Monat

Ihr könnt hier die Optionen zum Spenden einsehen!

Und hier ist eine genaue zeitliche Auflistung aller Ausgaben und Spenden.

Wie setzt sich das ganze jetzt zusammen?

Stromkosten

Wir zahlen ~0,19 € / KWh, das Rack für #MastodonDE verbraucht ~0,9 KW, jedoch im Höchstbetrieb auch ~1,2 KW, also rechnen wir mit 1,0 KW.

Also 1,0 KW × 0,1941 € / KWh × 24h × 30 Tage = 139,73 € / Monat.

Cloud-Server

Root-Server

Für die Instanz mastodon.de benutzen wir einen Hetzner Root-Server (AX52 | Upgrade to DDR5 ECC RAM | Primary IPv4) dieser kostet 80,92 € / Monat.

Webserver

Für die Webseite join-mastodon.de benutzen wir einen separaten Hetzner Cloud-Server (CPX11 | x86 | 40 GB | eu-central), sodass die Seite unabhängig von unserer restlichen Infrastruktur ist.
Dieser Webserver kostet 5,20 € / Monat.

Insgesamt bezahlen wir für die Server 86,19 € / Monat.

Internet

Einige der Server werden in dem Privathaus von @ErikUden betrieben und benutzen somit auch dessen Internetanschluss. Da die dahinterliegende Firma, die Uden UG (haftungsbeschränkt), auch telefonisch über diesen Kombi-Vertrag erreichbar ist, ist dies im Preis mit beinhaltet.

Wir haben den Red Internet & Phone 1000 Cable von Vodafone mit 1150 Mb/s Download und 56,7 Mbit/s Upload, dieser kostet 70 € / Monat.

70 € / 2 = 35 €.

MastodonDE bezahlt also 35 € / Monat für einen Internetanschluss.

Domain(s)
Die Domains und Instanzen welche vom MastodonDE-Netzwerk betrieben werden:

• mastodon.de (5,00 € / Jahr)
╚═>IONOS
• join-mastodon.de (5,00 € / Jahr)
╚═>IONOS
• fediverse.gay (28,14 € / Jahr)
╚═>Namecheap
• fediver.su (5,59 € / Jahr)
╚═>Regery
• fedive.ru (3,39 € / Jahr)
╚═>Regery
• ostfriesland.social (29,05 € / Jahr)
╚═>Namecheap
• fediblock.wiki (24,50 € / Jahr)
╚═>Namecheap
• pixelfed.party (25,41 € / Jahr)
╚═>Namecheap
• beertu.be (4,99 € / Jahr)
╚═>Regery

Domainkosten gesamt:

• 125,36 € / Jahr
• ~10,92 € / Monat

E-Mail
Wir benutzen das ein (1) Postfach E-Mail Business Angebot von IONOS für info@mastodon.de welches 5 € / Monat kostet.

Insgesamt also 276,84 € / Monat

Mit diesem Geld könnten wir MastodonDE betreiben wenn:

• Kein Gerät oder Server jemals kaputtgeht und ersetzt werden muss
• Die Backups extern zu speichern kein Geld kosten würde
• Wir niemals externe Hilfe benötigen
• Wir niemals rechtliche Probleme bekommen
• Niemand für die Arbeit am Projekt entlohnt wird, oder die vorherigen Ausgaben beglichen werden

Wie ihr unschwer beim Lesen dieses Beitrags erkennen könnt sind die 276,84 € wirklich nur zum Decken der Kosten beim Optimalbetrieb. Wenn dieser Wert erreicht wird gibt es keine Kosten mehr auf denen wir sitzen bleiben, welche wir, neben unserer Zeit, für dieses Projekt gerne ausgeben, aber ggf. nicht für immer ausgeben können.

Langfristig wird MastodonDE eine eigene e.V. um zu versichern, dass wir als Plattform immer Werbefrei, Algorithmusfrei, ohne Datenklau, antikommerziell sowie antikapitalistisch bleiben!

Um das zu ermöglichen benötigen wir Spenden von 276,84 € / Monat.

Ihr könnt hier Spenden!

Sobald diese Rechnung gedeckt ist, wird MastodonDE langfristig laufen!

mastodon.de :MastodonDE:​

2023-07-31 22:44:51

Explanation of the operating expenses of mastodon.de

German version

Monthly charges
• Electricity: 139.73 €
• Cloud servers: 86.19 €
• Internet: 35.00 €
• Domain(s): 10.92 €
• Email: 5.00 €

Total: 276.84 € / month

You can view many popular options to donate here!

And here is an exact chronological list of all expenses and donations.

How does it all fit together?

Electricity cost

We pay ~0.19 € / KWh, the rack for #MastodonDE consumes ~0.9 KW, but also ~1.2 KW at peak operation, so we calculate with a usage of 1.0 KW.

So 1.0 KW × 0.1941 € / KWh × 24h × 30 days = 139.73 € / month.

Cloud servers

Root server

For the mastodon.de instance we use a Hetzner root server (AX52 | Upgrade to DDR5 ECC RAM | Primary IPv4) which costs 80.92 € / month.

Web server

For the website join-mastodon.de we use a separate Hetzner cloud server ('CPX11 | x86 | 40 GB | eu-central'), so that the site is independent from the rest of our infrastructure.
This web server costs 5.20 € / month.

In total we pay 86.19 € / month for the servers.

Internet

Some of the servers are operated in @ErikUden's private home and therefore also use his internet connection. Since the company behind it, Uden UG (limited liability), can also be reached by telephone via this combined contract, this is included in the price.

We have the Red Internet & Phone 1000 Cable from Vodafone with 1150 Mb/s download and 56.7 Mbit/s upload, this costs 70 € / month.

70 € / 2 = 35 €.

So MastodonDE pays 35 € / month for an internet connection.

Domain(s)
The domains and instances operated by the MastodonDE network:
• mastodon.de (5.00 € / year)
╚═>IONOS
• join-mastodon.de (5.00 € / year)
╚═>IONOS
• fediverse.gay (28.14 € / year)
╚═>Namecheap
• fediver.su (5.59 € / year)
╚═>Regery
• fedive.ru (3.39 € / year)
╚═>Regery
• ostfriesland.social (29.05 € / year)
╚═>Namecheap
• fediblock.wiki (24.50 € / year)
╚═>Namecheap
• pixelfed.party (25.41 € / year)
╚═>Namecheap
• beertu.be (4.99 € / year)
╚═>Regery

Total domain costs:
• 125.36 € / year
• ~10.92 € / month

E-mail
We use the one (1) mailbox email business offer from IONOS for info@[url=https://relay.fedi.buzz/instance/mastodon.de]mastodon.de[/url] which costs 5 € / month.

A total of 276.84 € / month

With this money we could run MastodonDE if:

• No device or server ever breaks and needs to be replaced
• Storing the backups externally would not cost any money
• We never need external help
• We never get into legal problems
• No one is paid for work on the project or previous expenses are paid

As you can easily see when reading this article, the 276.84 € is really only to cover the costs of optimal operation. When this value is reached, there are no more costs that we are left with, which, in addition to our time, we would like to spend on this project, but may not be able to spend forever.

In the long term, MastodonDE will become its own e.V. to ensure that as a platform we will always remain ad-free, algorithm-free, data theft, anti-commercial and anti-capitalist!

To make this possible we need donations of 276.84 € / month.
You can view all the options to donate here!

Once this bill is covered, MastodonDE will run long-term! ​

mastodon.de :MastodonDE:​ (@MastodonDE@mastodon.de)

**Erklärung der Kosten für das Betreiben von mastodon.de** [English version](https://mastodon.de/@MastodonDE/110811119053549314) *Monatliche Kosten* :blank: • Strom: 139,73 € :blank: • Cloud-Server: 86,19 € :blank: • Internet: 35,00 € :blank: • …

^MastodonDE