[BBLISA] Off-topic (XO deployment/volunteer sysadmin)

[Bob Webber]

If I'm not desperate for money by then -- or if I am, but I'm just  
one of hundreds of millions -- I'm willing to help out on-site and  
hands-on in the Spring if I can find the time then.  It's a long way  
from "Now," but maybe not any too long to build out server hardware,  
prepare sites and their staff, and get hardware installed.

Palmer's "older" hardware (Hey!  I resemble that remark!) would be  
likely to cover a school 83 times over, it seems, with the XS  
software has a minimum hardware profile including a 1 GHz-Some-Kind- 
of-Intel-CPU/1 GB round-numbers estimate.  2.5 GHz and 4 GB will  
probably make one of these things into a metaphorical nitrous-burning  
school bus.

If you installed Solaris 10 on Palmer's systems, you could do a  
creditable job of one server per school (two in order to have a  
backup) without disproportionate security problems.

There appears to be work for somebody with some mechanical/sheet  
metal skills in this initiative, as well, as I doubt that Parter's or  
anybody else's systems come out of the server room ready to be  
installed in a janitorial closet with a floor-level sink.  I see  
there are some notes about this, as "Mounting: the hardware should be  
able to run from a flat surface or be mounted on a wall and/or  
hangable." and:

> #  Minimal fans
>
>     * Replace them with heatsinks where possible
>     * Easily replaceable
>
> # Minimal openings in the case to avoid dust, etc
> # Test it in the heat - should work in up to 50 deg C

Temperature seems a little excessive for Boston, I guess:  104 F is  
only 40 C, and with luck the closets won't go above 45 C...

Also some electric mechanical issues, as most of our standard cables  
aren't very resistant to water infiltration at 100% humidity.

I think that this group probably has enough people in it who have pre- 
system admin engineering or just building backgrounds that it can be  
done if enough are interested in it.  It is a pretty big job overall,  
though!

Bob

On Oct 6, 2008, at 1:20 PM, Bill Bogstad wrote:

> This is a long, off-topic, FYI e-mail and a (possible) request for  
> help.
>
> There is a strong probability that there will be a deployment of XOs
> ($100 laptops/OLPC) in a Boston metro area school early next spring.
> The XOs would be obtained via OLPC's G1G1 or a similar program over
> the December holidays.
>
> Not surprisingly the people at the school have contacted the OLPC
> Foundation based in Cambridge about deployment/support issues.  The
> OLPC believes that as much as possible the deployment process should
> be controlled by the end users in order to reflect local needs.  On
> the other hand, OLPC would love to have a local deployment with whom
> they could work with and from which they could gain insight into XO
> usage.
>
> As a result, OLPC is reaching out to local groups for help with the
> deployment.  I became aware of this during a meeting of OLPC_Boston (a
> local users group for XO owners/enthusiasts).  At that time, I
> suggested that there might be people in BBLISA who could help out with
> initial deployment planning and longer term support.
>
> In particular, I think BBLISA could help out with server and network
> issues.  Most people aren't aware that there is a separate development
> effort for an XS server software package to support XO deployments.
> XS is a modified Fedora installation which is designed to run on
> standard PC hardware with some specialized applications which are
> appropriate for school environments as well as additional software
> peculiar to XO (such as backup software).
>
> Here are some of the tasks that I could see XXX members being involved
> with:
>
> 1. Site survey for network/server deployment issues.
>
> 2. Where appropriate, work with school current IT support personnel to
> integrate with pre-existing resources.
>
> 3. Work with XS developer and local users on additions to base XS
> software or local customizations.
>
> 4. Acquisition and installation of server/network hardware.
>
> 5. Longer term system administration support for XS installation.
> Note: The XS software is designed to be used where there is
> essentially no IT staff on site, so this will hopefully be restricted
> to hardware failures and remote software upgrades.
>
> 6. Donate hardware for XS system.
>
> There are also any number of task related to the XOs themselves, for
> which help would probably be appreciated.  In addition, finding
> electronic books/resources for deployment directly to XOs or on the XS
> will also need to happen, but at least in my case is outside my area
> of experience.
>
> Some Web resources:
>
> OLPC_Boston wiki:
>  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Boston
>
> Notes from OLPC_Boston meeting on this topic:
> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Boston/Monthly_Meet-ups/092708
>
> OLPC XS (School server: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/School_server
>
> FYI, XS is under rapid development right now, reading the archives at
> http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/server-devel/
> is probably the best way to understand what is going on there.
>
> PUNCHLINE PUNCHLINE PUNCHLINE PUNCHLINE:
>
> If you are interested in any of the above you can:
>
> Email me your interests - I'll keep you informed as things happen OR
> better yet join OLPC_Boston mailing list - See wiki page above.
>
> Thanks,
> Bill Bogstad
> bogstad at pobox.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> bblisa mailing list
> bblisa at bblisa.org
> http://www.bblisa.org/mailman/listinfo/bblisa
>