SMC Lab Blog

Insights, tutorials, and updates from our lab

Setting Up a PXE Boot Server on SUSE Linux

📅 December 18, 2025 👤 SMC Lab Team ⏱ 25 min read

Learn how to build a complete PXE boot server on SUSE Linux for network-based OS installations. This comprehensive guide covers dnsmasq configuration for DNS and DHCP services, TFTP server setup for boot files, and HTTP server configuration for OS images. Perfect for mass deployments, diskless workstations, and deploying Harvester HCI clusters across multiple nodes with automated configuration.

PXE Boot SUSE Linux dnsmasq Harvester Network Boot
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Virtual Private Cloud Configuration with KubeOVN

📅 December 18, 2025 👤 SMC Lab Team ⏱ 15 min read

Building isolated network environments in Kubernetes has become essential for multi-tenant deployments. KubeOVN, a powerful software-defined networking solution, enables the creation of Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) with advanced features like network isolation, security groups, and VPC peering. Learn how to configure and deploy VPCs with three-tier architecture in a Harvester HCI environment.

Kubernetes KubeOVN Networking VPC Security
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Understanding VPC Peering in Kubernetes

📅 December 18, 2025 👤 SMC Lab Team ⏱ 12 min read

VPC peering is a fundamental networking concept that enables communication between isolated network environments. Discover how KubeOVN implements VPC peering in Kubernetes, allowing you to build complex multi-VPC architectures while maintaining strong isolation guarantees. This deep dive covers peering concepts, configuration patterns, and troubleshooting techniques.

Kubernetes KubeOVN VPC Peering OVN SDN
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Getting Started with Kubernetes on Edge Devices

📅 December 18, 2025 👤 SMC Lab Team

Kubernetes has become the de facto standard for container orchestration, but deploying it on edge devices presents unique challenges. In this post, we explore how to use lightweight distributions like K3s and RKE2 to build efficient edge computing clusters.

Kubernetes Edge Computing RKE2
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Building Secure Mail Servers in 2025

📅 December 15, 2025 👤 SMC Lab Team

Email remains a critical communication tool, but setting up a secure mail server requires careful attention to security, spam filtering, and authentication. We share our experience configuring Postfix, Dovecot, and modern security protocols like DKIM and SPF.

Email Security DevOps
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Automating Infrastructure with Edge Image Builder

📅 December 10, 2025 👤 SMC Lab Team

SUSE Edge Image Builder (EIB) allows you to create custom, bootable ISO images with pre-configured Kubernetes clusters. Learn how we use declarative YAML configurations to build immutable infrastructure that can be deployed at scale.

Infrastructure Automation SUSE
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SSL/TLS Best Practices with Let's Encrypt

📅 December 5, 2025 👤 SMC Lab Team

Free SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt have made HTTPS accessible to everyone. This guide covers best practices for certificate management, auto-renewal strategies, and proper Nginx configuration for optimal security and performance.

SSL/TLS Security Nginx
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