How to Install SIPCAPTURE Homer on Void Linux

In this tutorial, we will walk through the steps to install SIPCAPTURE Homer on Void Linux. SIPCAPTURE is a linux-based packet capture platform that can help you to monitor and debug VoIP (Voice over IP) networks. Homer is a web-based GUI for SIPCAPTURE that allows you to visualize and analyze the data captured by the system.

Prerequisites

Before we start, make sure that you have a working installation of Void Linux. If you don't have Void Linux installed, you can download the ISO file from the official website https://voidlinux.org/download/ and follow the installation guide.

Step 1: Update the System

Always make sure that your system is up-to-date before installing any new package. Run the following command to update your system:

sudo xbps-install -Su

Step 2: Install Dependencies

SIPCAPTURE requires some dependencies to be installed on your system. Run the following command to install all the necessary packages:

sudo xbps-install python python-pip python-setuptools python-dev libmysqlclient-dev libffi-dev libpcap-dev libssl-dev libxml2 libxml2-dev libxslt-dev pkg-config

Step 3: Install SIPCAPTURE Homer

You can install SIPCAPTURE Homer using a package or by building it from source. In this tutorial, we will be installing SIPCAPTURE Homer using the package.

1. Download the latest package of SIPCAPTURE Homer from the official website https://www.sipcapture.org/downloads/homer/.

2. Extract the package to a directory. For example, let's create a directory called homer in the home directory and extract the package to it:

   mkdir ~/homer
   tar -xzvf homer-VERSION.tar.gz -C ~/homer/
   

3. Change the working directory to the extracted package:

   cd ~/homer/
   

4. Install the package using pip:

   sudo pip install -e .
   

Step 4: Configure Homer

Now that we have successfully installed SIPCAPTURE Homer, let's configure it. For the configuration steps, we will use the example homer.ini file that comes with the package.

1. Copy the example homer.ini file to the /etc directory:

   sudo cp ~/homer/homer.ini /etc/
   

2. Open the homer.ini file in a text editor:

   sudo nano /etc/homer.ini
   

3. Uncomment the following lines:

   ;backend_mysql=true
   ;mysql_host=127.0.0.1
   ;mysql_user=homer_user
   ;mysql_pass=homer_password
   

   and change their values to match your database configuration.

   Note: if you don't have a mysql database installed, you can install it using the following command:

   sudo xbps-install mysql mysql-dev
   

4. Save and close the homer.ini file.

Step 5: Run the Homer Service

Now that we have completed the configuration of Homer, we can start the service.

1. Start the Homer service:

   sudo homerctl start
   

2. Verify that the service is running:

   sudo homerctl status
   

   You should see the output similar to the following:

   homerctl (Startup) status...
   -------------------------------------------
   Homer UI : http://<your-server-ip>:8080
   Homer API: http://<your-server-ip>:9080
   Homer PID: /var/run/homer/homer.pid
   Homer Log: /var/log/homer/homer.log
   Homer Ver: 8.0.0
   -------------------------------------------
   [ OK ] - Started Homer.
   

3. Open a web browser and enter the following URL to access the Homer UI:

   http://<your-server-ip>:8080
   

   Replace <your-server-ip> with the IP address of your server.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed SIPCAPTURE Homer on Void Linux. You can now start using Homer to monitor and debug your VoIP network.

If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!

Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!