Occasionally, a Patron will stop supporting NEMS Linux with a comment stating that it is lacking a particular feature they want, or doesn't quite meet the need. So I feel it's important for you (my Patrons) to know what it is you're actually doing here, and the impact you're having on my little project for sysadmins.

See, you're not "paying for" NEMS. Rather, you're helping equip me (the NEMS developer) with the funding I need not only to keep it going, but to grow, expand, improve and enhance.

This means, if NEMS is currently lacking a feature you want, the best thing you can do is support it on Patreon. Fund the development of the very improvements you desire.

I appreciate each and every one of you, and encourage you to continue your support ongoing. As finances allow, consider increasing your contributions. If your company is interested in using NEMS, consider becoming a Corporate Sponsor to help push along some of the features your company needs.

Now... let's look at some of the things you have helped fund in just the past month...

TEMPer Support - I purchased a TEMPer USB thermometer for testing, and wrote the check command and needed code to make the device work on your NEMS Server. See https://docs.nemslinux.com/hardware/temper

NEMS TV Dashboard Integrated into NEMS Cloud Services - A giant leap for IT admins who maintain networks outside their own. NEMS Cloud Services now has the ability to view NEMS Servers' TV Dashboard from anywhere. Patrons who contribute $8 / month or higher have access to this feature.

NEMS GPIO Extender - How can you connect a NEMS Warning Light hardware device to a NEMS Server that is a Virtual Machine? I invented and wrote NEMS GPIO Extender for this purpose. Now, you can install the appropriate package on a Raspberry Pi Zero, connect it to your network and plug your NEMS hardware device into the GPIO. Your NEMS Server (be it an ODROID-XU4, or a Virtual Machine, or a RockPro64, or ...) will trigger events on the Raspberry Pi Zero's GPIO as if it was part of your NEMS Server. In the coming months, I'll be creating a ready-to-deploy distro specifically for this purpose. See https://docs.nemslinux.com/features/nems-tools/warninglight#nems_tools_gpio_extender

NEMS Webhook CLI Test Tool - I wrote nems-webhooktest to allow users to test their webhook connection for NEMS notifications.

Re-Wrote the NRPE Backend - NRPE received a full makeover. In fact, running nems-upgrade will remove the old NRPE system and install the new one. Now, NRPE is custom compiled for NEMS Linux, and I even wrote new documentation for both check_nrpe and NRPE installation on Linux hosts. The procedures have been tested, and users have already confirmed that having followed the new documentation, they had no trouble enabling and using NRPE to monitor their Linux servers.

Created a Custom Installer for NRPE on Linux Hosts - One thing users had trouble with (especially people who are new to Nagios) was setting up the NRPE daemon on their Linux hosts. It's truly confusing for new users to understand how nrpe.cfg works, how to install and connect all the check plugins, and so-on. So, I wrote a custom installer. Copy a single line command from the docs to your Debian-based Linux machine, and you'll be up and running in 5 minutes, complete with all the plugins pre-configured. The only thing you'll need to do is add your NEMS Server's IP to the config. It's all in the docs: https://docs.nemslinux.com/usage/nrpe_on_linux

Wrote a Method of Rolling Out Plugins - NEMS plugin deployment requires updating the NConf database. So traditionally, when a user asks "How do I add this check command?" my response is "put in a feature request and I'll try to add it to the next major release." Well, NEMS 1.4 was in service for a year. NEMS 1.5 will likely last just as long, if not longer. So I wrote a new method of rolling out plugins. Now, when a user requests a plugin (or I wish to push one out, as I did with check_temper, for example), I can push it out and update the database via your nightly updates. Yes, approved feature requests (plugins, check_commands, etc) can now be rolled out with a simple update. No having to wait for the next major release.

Added custom_check_mem - Along that line, having rebuilt NRPE, I decided it would be nice to be able to see the memory usage on my remote Linux hosts. So I added custom_check_mem to NEMS and pushed it out. You probably didn't even notice. But you can use it now. See https://docs.nemslinux.com/check_commands/custom_check_mem

Purchased What I Need to Create Screencasts - I want to get cracking on creating helpful how-to videos for you. So I purchased a video capture device that records the HDMI output of my laptop in 1080p. Along with that, I bought a compatible headset microphone to be able to provide voiceover, and paid to have a professional intro animation created. NEMS Patrons who contribute $3 / month or more will receive early access to all videos (be FIRST to comment on YouTube!), but these videos will be made public.

Direct Downloads! I Bought a New Domain + 1 TB Hosting Space - Surprise! I'm now the proud owner of dittodistro.com. It may not look like much yet, but under the hood it has both BitTorrent seeds and [yay!] direct download capabilities of all NEMS Linux files, plus my SBC Build Bases. Yes, that's right: this has been a long time coming... NEMS Linux 1.5 will finally be available as a direct download for those who don't want to use BitTorrent. I quietly launched this service as a test, with the Raspberry Pi version of NEMS Linux 1.5 suddenly showing a "Direct Download" button on the NEMS web site earlier this week. After a few more days of testing, I'll be adding new Direct Download links to all the releases. Go ahead and take a look: https://nemslinux.com/download/nagios-for-raspberry-pi-4.php

YES, all that happened in just the past month. Your support makes all this possible. Thank you for standing by me and NEMS Linux.

<3

Robbie // The Bald Nerd