Core Admin Tools (RHEL-style)

Chapters:

🎉 Hail Camelot — now knighted as the Red Hat utility box of the realm! 🏰⚔️

Since this won’t be a one-off, here’s a solid launch plan to get Camelot script-ready, persistent, and in full Red Hat spirit.

🧰 🏗️ Camelot's Kickstart Toolkit - Core Admin Tools

📁 1. Script Workspace

Create a home for your local utilities:

mkdir -p ~/bin ~/scripts
chmod +x ~/bin

Add this to ~/.bashrc if not already:

export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"

🧠 2. Starter Script: Ethernet Control

Create: ~/bin/ethernet-preferred.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Prefer Ethernet over Wi-Fi on Camelot (RHEL-based)
nmcli connection modify camelot-static ipv4.route-metric 100
nmcli connection modify La_Colonia_Guest ipv4.route-metric 400
nmcli connection reload
nmcli connection up camelot-static
nmcli connection up La_Colonia_Guest

Make executable:

chmod +x ~/bin/ethernet-preferred.sh

🧪 3. Optional Boot Hook

Make it run on login (for your user):

echo '~/bin/ethernet-preferred.sh' >> ~/.bash_profile

Or, for systemd users:

mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user

File: ~/.config/systemd/user/ethernet-priority.service

[Unit]
Description=Set Ethernet priority on Camelot

[Service]
ExecStart=/home/tux/bin/ethernet-preferred.sh

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

Enable it:

systemctl --user daemon-reexec
systemctl --user enable --now ethernet-priority.service

📦 4. Red Hat Tools You Might Want on Camelot

Tool	Why?
`nmtui`	Easy TUI for managing connections
`nmcli`	Already using it — scriptable gold
`ss`, `ip`, `nmstatectl`	Network state introspection
`firewalld`, `firewall-cmd`	Control local firewall rules
`cockpit`	Web-based system admin if desired
`dnf`, `yum`, `rpm`	RHEL package management
`chronyd`	Time sync daemon
`tuned`	Performance profiles (e.g. network-latency)

Would you like a ~/scripts/ethernet-diagnostics.sh companion that:

Checks link
Lists IPs
Shows current routing priorities
Suggests fixes?

Camelot is ready to serve.

Heck yes — let’s build Camelot’s Red Hat Arsenal right. And you’re not alone: Cockpit is criminally underused by sysadmins who live in the terminal and never look back. Let’s change that.

🏰 The Full Red Hat Tool Suite for Camelot

Practical, scriptable, GUI-friendly, and fully RHEL-aligned.

🔧 Core Admin Tools

Tool	Why You Want It
`nmcli`	Command-line network control (already used!)
`nmtui`	Text UI for quick interactive tweaks
`ss`, `ip`, `nmstatectl`	Low-level network inspection
`hostnamectl`, `timedatectl`	Quick system config tools
`tuned`, `tuned-adm`	Apply performance or latency profiles
`chronyd`	Stable, low-drift time sync

🔥 Security + Firewall

Tool	Why You Want It
`firewalld`, `firewall-cmd`	Modern dynamic firewall control
`semanage`, `setsebool`, `restorecon`	SELinux utilities (if enforced)
`aide` or `tripwire`	Filesystem integrity monitoring

🧠 Monitoring + Logs

Tool	Why You Want It
`cockpit`	Modern web UI for system control
`systemd-analyze`, `journalctl`	Boot and log introspection
`htop`, `iotop`, `dstat`	Realtime system monitoring

🧰 System Services + Package

Tool	Why You Want It
`dnf`, `yum`, `rpm`	Package management backbone
`dnf-plugins-core`	Extras like `dnf repoquery`, `dnf needs-restarting`
`subscription-manager` (if on real RHEL)	Registration + repo handling

🖥️ Cockpit: Why Don't Sysadmins Use It?

🤷 Misconceptions:

"Real admins use the terminal."
"It’s for beginners."
"It’s just a pretty dashboard."

💡 Reality:

Cockpit is modular, API-driven, and scriptable.
It shows:
- Logs
- Real-time system graphs
- Storage, services, firewall
- Network interfaces and bridges
It works even when you're SSH'd in (try: localhost:9090)
You can manage other systems remotely (with SSH keys).

Try this:

sudo dnf install cockpit cockpit-networkmanager cockpit-storaged -y
sudo systemctl enable --now cockpit.socket

Then open a browser to:

http://camelot:9090

Login as your regular user (tux), and behold: a live dashboard with terminal integration, logs, graphs, and even network stats.

That’s a beautifully chaotic /etc/hosts file — a true pogo-stick map of your brain 🕹️🧠

Let’s capture what’s really going on here and make it useful for network sanity, Cockpit reliability, and future projects you’ll pogo into.

📌 What You’ve Got (and Why It Matters)

IP	Hostname(s)	Role / Notes
`10.20.30.1`	`camelot`	✅ Gateway for `10.20.30.x` subnet
`10.20.30.2`	`frodo`	Favorite terminal box 💻
`10.20.30.3`	`johnnycamelot` (aka fred)	Possibly alternate host or clone
`10.32.36.139`	`sh1re`, `sh1re.mycorp.net`	Your DMZ / Intranet Nginx reverse proxy
`10.32.36.141`	`upstream`	Bridge between LANs (inter-zone link)
`160.72.160.62`	`virtca8`	TransferDepot LAN (reachable from sh1re)
`127.0.0.1`	`sh1re-bridge.local`	👀 alias to `virtca7`, for testing

🛠️ What To Do Next (for Network Sanity)

✅ 1. Lock This into Every Machine’s `/etc/hosts`

You can copy it as-is to:

Frodo
Camelot
Johnny
Virtca8 (if accessible)
Future playbooks/scripts

Would you like a deploy script? I can make you a sync-hosts.sh that:

Pushes this file to each host (via scp)
Backs up existing /etc/hosts
Appends instead of overwrites if you prefer

✅ 2. Make Camelot the Reference DNS (if desired)

Longer-term: Camelot could run a tiny dnsmasq setup:

sudo dnf install dnsmasq

Then load this hosts file as its DNS zone:

addn-hosts=/etc/my_hosts_static

All your machines could point to 10.20.30.1 for DNS.

✅ 3. Consider Labeling or Comments for Future-Pogo You™

# --- Local LAN (10.20.30.x) ---
10.20.30.1   camelot         # Gateway / Cockpit / Admin
10.20.30.2   frodo           # Primary shell + scripts
10.20.30.3   johnnycamelot   # Backup box / dual role

# --- Intranet / DMZ / Bridge Zone (10.32.x) ---
10.32.36.139  sh1re            # Reverse proxy
10.32.36.141  upstream         # VLAN bridge
160.72.160.62 virtca8          # TransferDepot box

# --- Local-only test ---
127.0.0.1     sh1re-bridge.local  # Dev alias to virtca7

✅ TL;DR

Yes, the DNS elephant is real.
Cockpit, ssh, ping, and scripts all behave better with this hosts file everywhere.
Camelot can become your DNS-lite server.
You’re not pogoing. You’re network storytelling with plot twists.

Shall I prep a sync-hosts.sh + hosts-template combo you can drop into your ~/scripts directory and run from Frodo or Camelot?

🛠️ Excellent — let’s officially begin the Camelot Toolkit Project, starting with a clean, reliable script to fix LAN routing, prioritize Ethernet, and flush all the confusing bits that make modern desktops act like toddlers with two steering wheels.

📁 Script: `~/bin/camelot-fix-routing.sh`

This script will:

Prefer Ethernet (enp3s0f3u2u1)
Deprioritize Wi-Fi (wlp1s0)
Flush the kernel route cache
Confirm the route to Frodo (10.20.30.2)
Output clean, readable status

🧾 Contents of the Script

#!/bin/bash
# Camelot Routing Fixer - Prioritize Ethernet, Clear Stale Cache

ETH_IFACE="enp3s0f3u2u1"
WIFI_IFACE="wlp1s0"
ETH_METRIC=100
WIFI_METRIC=400
FRODO_IP="10.20.30.2"

echo "🐪 Camelot LAN Route Fix Starting..."

# Apply route metrics
echo "🔧 Setting route priority: Ethernet = $ETH_METRIC, Wi-Fi = $WIFI_METRIC"
nmcli connection modify camelot-static ipv4.route-metric $ETH_METRIC
nmcli connection modify La_Colonia_Guest ipv4.route-metric $WIFI_METRIC

# Bring up both connections
echo "🔄 Re-applying connections"
nmcli connection up camelot-static &> /dev/null
nmcli connection up La_Colonia_Guest &> /dev/null

# Flush route cache
echo "🧹 Flushing route cache..."
sudo ip route flush cache

# Check result
ROUTE=$(ip route get $FRODO_IP 2>&1)
echo ""
echo "📍 Route to Frodo ($FRODO_IP):"
echo "$ROUTE"

# Success check
if echo "$ROUTE" | grep -q "$ETH_IFACE"; then
    echo -e "\n✅ Success! Camelot is routing via Ethernet ($ETH_IFACE)"
else
    echo -e "\n⚠️ Warning: Route is not via Ethernet! Check connection priority and interface status."
fi

📦 Install It

Save to: ~/bin/camelot-fix-routing.sh
Make it executable:
```
chmod +x ~/bin/camelot-fix-routing.sh
```
Run it anytime:
```
~/bin/camelot-fix-routing.sh
```

Would you like me to bundle this with a companion status script (camelot-net-status.sh) to dump:

interface names
assigned IPs
current routes
ping reachability?