Show HN: BlockHost OS – Autonomous VM provisioning through smart contracts

3 points

4 months ago

Requirements for testing:

  - Metamask and some Sepolia testnet ETH (can provide, or use the faucet: https://sepolia-faucet.pk910.de/)  
  - An old PC (with virtualization support) you have lying around, or a VM if your setup supports nested virtualization.  
  - ipv6 connectivity

Will install Debian on boot on the first detected hard drive without confirmation, after finishing up a setup wizard can be accessed with a browser (link + OTP code on console).

On completing the wizard, the system will automatically deploy the needed smart contracts (point of sale + access credential NFT), and acquire a free ipv6 prefix at a decentralized tunnel broker. On reboot: a fully working VPS hosting provider, a signup page will be hosted on the public ipv6 address assigned to the Blockhost machine.

Customer flow:

  - Connect wallet, sign message
  - Choose package, amount of days, and submit
  - Server picks up order, provisions VM, assigns ipv6, and sends access credential NFT to user containing encrypted connection info
  - User decrypts info in the signup page
  - On SSH login user is presented with link to signing page, and an OTP code to sign with their wallet. 
  - Paste resulting signature, server will verify if wallet address owns NFT tied to this VM and grant access if so.

Build steps:

  git clone --recurse-submodules [email protected]:mwaddip/blockhost.git 
  ./scripts/check-build-deps.sh
  ./scripts/build-iso --testing --backend [libvirt,proxmox]

Still missing for now:

  - Admin panel
  - Health monitoring
  - Limits