Ivan Bohun

Ivan Bohun is an innovative personal website hosted entirely on a fleet of six ESP32-S3 microcontrollers, designed to function without reliance on cloud services or traditional hosting solutions. This unique setup leverages a combination of hardware resilience and sophisticated software for seamless operation.

The live setup can be experienced by visiting: https://kyrylonovotarskyi.com/

Key Features

• Decentralized Load Balancing: The system employs a process where the load balancer role is elected among the microcontrollers, ensuring efficient distribution of traffic. Every unit is equipped to handle requests, and in case of failure, another controller quickly takes over without disruption.

• Encrypted Communication: Heartbeats and control signals are exchanged securely over encrypted ESP-NOW protocol, protecting the election and load balancing process from vulnerabilities inherent in traditional network setups.

• Robust Health Checks: Each microcontroller continuously verifies its health and the health of its peers by maintaining separate connections, providing a higher level of reliability and accountability.

• Over-the-Air Updates with Rollback Protection: The firmware features a sophisticated OTA update mechanism that can revert to previous versions if the new update does not perform as expected under a stringent testing phase.

Architecture

The architecture of ivan-bohun is meticulously designed to incorporate both redundancy and responsiveness. If the current leader fails, another unit wearing a 'virtual MAC address' can assume control within seconds, ensuring that user requests are served without interruption.

Performance

The system is measured for efficiency, achieving fresh TLS connections at a rate of 2.9–3.0 connections per second and maintaining low response times for keep-alive requests, showcasing the project's capability to handle significant traffic while remaining stable.

Build Your Own

Individuals interested in replicating this project will require:

• A minimum of two LILYGO T-ETH-Lite ESP32-S3 boards.
• An Ethernet switch along with appropriate power and networking equipment.
• Knowledge of ESP-IDF for building and deploying the firmware.

The detailed guide covers installation, configuration, and the requirements for both hardware and software. This project serves as an excellent example of deploying cutting-edge technology to create a reliable, efficient, and cost-effective personal web hosting solution.

Project Documentation

Comprehensive project documentation is available:

• System Design - Details the architecture.
• Build Story - Chronicles the development journey.
• Hardware and Firmware guides.

By seamlessly combining advanced technology and creative implementation, Ivan Bohun showcases a pioneering approach to personal web hosting that prioritizes autonomy and resilience.