LANCache Game Download/Update Caching Server (Flatcar Container Linux Config)

This project provides Flatcar Container Linux configurations for setting up a LANCache server, based on the LinusTechTips WhaleLAN LANCache server build video. LANCache dramatically reduces internet bandwidth usage during LAN parties by caching game downloads and updates locally.

Config Versions

• Simple Version: Single disk installation for basic setups
• Video Version: Advanced configuration with LACP network bonding and 4-disk RAID0 array (as featured in the LTT video)

Required Customizations

Before using either config, you must update:

• SSH public key: Replace with your own key for secure access

  passwd:
  users:
      - name: core
      ssh_authorized_keys:
          - "INSERT YOUR SSH PUBLIC KEY HERE"
  

• Disk ID: Set the correct disk identifier for your storage devices (may need to boot a live environment to determine these)

  storage:
  disks:
      - device: "/dev/disk/by-id/nvme-KIOXIA_KCMYXRUG15T3_<SERIAL1>"
      wipe_table: true
  filesystems:
      - device: "/dev/disk/by-id/nvme-KIOXIA_KCMYXRUG15T3_<SERIAL1>-part1"
      path: "/mnt/lancache"
      format: "xfs"
      label: "lancache"
      wipe_filesystem: true
  

• Network settings: Adjust static IP addresses to match your network

      - path: /etc/systemd/network/10-br0-net.network
      contents:
          inline: |
          [Match]
          Name=br0
  
          [Network]
          Address=10.0.0.20/24
          Gateway=10.0.0.1
          DNS=1.1.1.1
          DNS=8.8.8.8
  

      - name: lancache-dns.service
      enabled: true
      contents: |
          [Unit]
          Description=LANCache-DNS Docker Container
          After=docker.service
          Requires=docker.service
  
          [Service]
          ExecStart=/usr/bin/docker run \
          --name lancache-dns \
          --rm \
          --publish 10.0.0.20:53:53/udp \
          --publish 10.0.0.20:53:53/tcp \
          -e USE_GENERIC_CACHE=true \
          -e LANCACHE_IP="10.0.0.20" \
          -e DNS_BIND_IP=10.0.0.20 \
          -e UPSTREAM_DNS="1.1.1.1 8.8.8.8" \
          lancachenet/lancache-dns:latest
          ExecStop=/usr/bin/docker stop lancache-dns
          Restart=always
          RestartSec=5
  
          [Install]
          WantedBy=multi-user.target
  

Installation Instructions

1. Install Butane, which you'll need to convert the human-readable Butane config to a system-readable Ignition config:

   • Windows (in cmd)

     winget install butane
     

   • MacOS (in terminal, requires Homebrew):

     brew install butane
     

   • Debian/Ubuntu Linux:

     sudo apt install butane
     

2. Customize your chosen config (simple version/human-config.yaml or video version/human-config.yaml) with your SSH key, disk IDs, and network settings.

3. Convert the human-readable Butane config to a system-readable Ignition config:

   butane --pretty --strict human-config.yaml --output system-config.ign
   

4. Install Flatcar using Ubuntu Server USB:

   • Create an Ubuntu Server install USB by downloading the ISO and flashing it to a USB stick with BalenaEtcher or Rufus
   • Boot Ubuntu Server installer and drop into terminal (Ctrl+Alt+F2)
   • Download Flatcar installer: wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/flatcar/init/flatcar-master/bin/flatcar-install
   • Make executable: chmod +x flatcar-install
   • Find your target disk: lsblk (e.g., /dev/sda)
   • Upload your system-config.ign to pastie.io and copy the raw URL
   • Download config: wget https://pastie.io/raw/your-paste-id -O config.ign
   • Install: sudo ./flatcar-install -d /dev/sda -i config.ign