November 2008 - admins-discuss@lists.redbrick.dcu.ie

[Admin-discuss] Murphy, now with 100% more functionality
by Andrew Martin 03 Dec '08

03 Dec '08

Hi all, Anyone who read my blog entry the other day on the committee blog (http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~chair/blog/?p=51#more-51 ) will know that a few days ago we were on the verge of giving up on murphy as a web server. Then, a day or two later, one of us happened to stumble on the OpenBSD hardware list. Niagara (and specifically, the T2000 platform) was listed as supported. We decided to try it. Everything seems to work, damn near perfectly :) Most importantly, the OS boots cleanly, out of the box, with no random errors, on an up to date firmware version (which is more then Linux can say for itself). It also didn't make installing things a pain in the head, and it has an extremely well documented, relatively simple and painless update mechanism for both the OS itself and the userland tools (which is more than Solaris can say for itself). We also have a test installation of apache up and running. Version 2.2.10 from the apache website (the packaged version lacked suexec), suphp, pubcookie and a few other bits and pieces redbrick uses are all running nicely. Everything I've tried is working, at least. To test it yourself, add 136.206.15.14 www.redbrick.dcu.ie to your hosts file and poke around. PHP5, Perl, Python, etc are all packaged, as are most of their modules, so this can all be installed and kept up to date painlessly. It's using the prefork MPM - the threaded MPM doesn't get on well with SuPHP. We have the system authenticating off our LDAP directory using ypldap. OpenBSD lacks NSS and PAM support, but it can use a NIS server. Ypldap is a NIS to LDAP proxy. It had a few teething problems (took a while to figure out how to configure it), but it appears to be working perfectly now. The only issue is that only the primary ldap group + local groups will apply (secondary/tertiary ldap groups are ignored) - this is a limitation of ypldap, although I can't see it causing much of a problem, as there are little or no uses the webserver has for secondary groups. All that's left to be done now is to RAID the disks (there's a documented procedure for it online - we've already compiled support into the kernel), and do some performance testing on apache to see if it's delivering what it should be. What do ye all think? Anyone have any opinions on OpenBSD in general? Anyone have any reasons against it that we haven't considered here? -Andrew

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[Admin-discuss] rbusers
by Andrew Harford 23 Nov '08

23 Nov '08

does anyone have the source for this? a. -- Andrew Harford System Administrator, DCU Networking Society Ordinary Member, Societies & Publications Committee Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale's vagina. --Ron Burgundy

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Re: [Admin-discuss] Plan (yes, another one) - Update
by Andrew Harford 23 Nov '08

23 Nov '08

On Sun, Nov 09, 2008 at 06:19:40AM +0000, Andrew Harford wrote: > This is a list of things i'd like us to have done in the next ~2 weeks, Well, it's been two weeks. > * Get a proposal into CSD for the VM machine. This needs to be done before > we can buy stuff, so it's priority one. Werdz: are you happy to work on > this? Can someone send me a copy of the current draft and i'll put a bit of time into it later. > * Get lisa (the 6.06 red dell with openldap) running as a slave. In reality > we won't have a new ldap solution this semester, and deathray/cynic are > both in need of a re-install. We can leave this running for a few months > and it'll be infinatly better than the current no slave option. > Johan: Do you want to take a look into this? I know we had this almost working, what's the story with authing/replication? > * Buy the serial cards for sprout done \o/ > * Backup welmar & fap, and move them to sprout. done \o/ > * Put more ram in the iMac, and put it back together. I'm trying to get this > sorted cheaplike. (and a bigger hd would be nice for playing musics) Getting the ram cheaplike hasn't worked out, will try pay for it instead. > * Re-install cynic with shiny debian (if werdz is done with it). I can do this > since i won the debian battle with it the last time. Probably don't want to install debian on it. The most sensible use for it imo is as the firewall & services machine for the vm box, and we want openbsd for that. > * Fix mysql replication/backups. I broke it, so i guess i'll have to fix it. I haven't fixed this. Mysql is currently being shit, and i don't want to touch it till we've sorted it out. > * Set up ticketing/tracking system. This should be on sprout to be independant > of usual apache/mysql/ldap/nfs/$other_usual_problem. cian has volunteered > for this fun task. Cian has made some progress with this on sprout. > * Start backing up actual machines to severus. This has been hilighted by > the recent disk failure of minerva. There's not too much to it, dirvish > is great for just adding more bits, we just need to be selective with > what we backup, try to cut out the obvious useless bits. I've started this, it's working fine for minerva, but carbon & deathray seem to be dying with partial transfer errors. I'm going to look at it more later. > * Montoring: I'd like sprout to send text messages for ups failures & > high temperatures. Johan: can you try get the ups to talk to us? > If that doesn't work we must be able to get at least one of the machines > to give some kind of notification when a psu loses power, and we could > use that. This will probably need some kind of hacky bash solution, > and I can help with that bit :) The ups is now talking to us, if anything a little too much, so i've disabled the email alerts. WARMSTART. Just need to write some kind of script on sprout to catch the alerts and send them to o2sms or something. -- Andrew Harford System Administrator, DCU Networking Society Ordinary Member, Societies & Publications Committee Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic crusade like your father did. It's your father's lightsaber. -- Obi-Wan Kenobi

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[Admin-discuss] Parts For Sprout
by Andrew Harford 12 Nov '08

12 Nov '08

Hey, These are the bits I want to buy for sprout. It's basically the serial cards we had in our last order, and an extra nic. http://www.dabs4work.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4JV4 http://www.dabs4work.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3ZRW http://www.dabs4work.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3B9P So, with the two other nics we have that'll be all our 6 expansion slots used. I'll buy these this afternoon unless anyone suggests something else. andrew. -- Andrew Harford System Administrator, DCU Networking Society Ordinary Member, Societies & Publications Committee I'm a man who discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn. That's what kind of man I am. You're just a woman with a small brain. With a brain a third the size of us. It's science. --Ron Burgundy

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Re: [Admin-discuss] [rb-admins] Asplodey, Fap, Welmar, Obelisk & Sprout
by Cian Brennan 09 Nov '08

09 Nov '08

On Sun, Nov 09, 2008 at 03:54:30AM +0000, Andrew Martin wrote: > Could we try one of the spare disks we have for the twins? (That would > at least tell us if the problem is with the controllers or the disks) > Wrong type of SCSI. We thought of that already :-) > On Sun, Nov 09, 2008 at 03:48:54AM +0000, Andrew Harford wrote: > > On Sun, Nov 09, 2008 at 03:21:50AM +0000, Andrew Martin wrote: > > > Hm. Is the problem with the disks, or with the controller? > > > > Given that we had the disks in a box for X years, and no one > > has been able to tell me where they came from i'd guess the disks. > > I believe they were got for enigma at some point. > > a. > > > > > > > On Sun, Nov 09, 2008 at 01:06:30AM +0000, Andrew Harford wrote: > > > > On Sun, Nov 09, 2008 at 12:50:27AM +0000, Andrew Martin wrote: > > > > > Yes! Oh god yes! > > > > > > > > > > Less systems to worry about ftw \o/ > > > > > > > > This was my thought too, with us planning to get two more machines in this > > > > semester it's time (imo) to clean out a little. > > > > > > > > > (Assuming we get the disks on Sprout working) > > > > > > > > It's currently on my sitting room floor, we brought it home with us this evening > > > > to further assess the situation. > > > > > > > > Currently, it's working with one of those 18gb IBM disks, but given how > > > > gracefully the rest of them have packed up and died i was thinking of just > > > > running from the ide disks in fap/welmar*. > > > > > > > > We could perhaps ask the committee thing for money for disks, but I'm not > > > > convinced we need it. > > > > > > > > a. > > > > > > > > * welmar has the old fap disk that was upgraded last year, i'm not suggesting > > > > putting important stuff on 10 year IDE disks of unknown origin ;) > > > > > > > > > On Sun, Nov 09, 2008 at 12:32:59AM +0000, Andrew Harford wrote: > > > > > > We've been talking about this in real life/irc tonight, and given that > > > > > > we can't use aspolodey for network monitoring, and having a bsd login > > > > > > machine won't actually do much for users, it's logical to use sprout > > > > > > for this task. > > > > > > > > > > > > (sprout is the dual zeon we got on adverts.ie) > > > > > > > > > > > > Given that it's also way more powerful than it needs to be i'd see > > > > > > sprout as taking over all the other admin type stuff from fap & welmar, > > > > > > as well as the monitoring stuff that should be on obelisk, and the > > > > > > console server stuff that was planned for fap/welmar. > > > > > > > > > > > > Once deathray/cynic are re-installed I would see the other obelisk > > > > > > services being moved to these machines, and we would then be in a > > > > > > position to sell/donate/dispose of these guys. > > > > > > > > > > > > Thoughts? > > > > > > > > > > > > andrew. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Andrew Harford > > > > System Administrator, DCU Networking Society > > > > Ordinary Member, Societies & Publications Committee > > > > > > > > The deep south? Isn't that the place where the black guys are really lazy > > > > and all the white guys are just as lazy but they're mad at the black guys > > > > for being so lazy? --Peter Griffin > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Andrew Harford > > System Administrator, DCU Networking Society > > Ordinary Member, Societies & Publications Committee > > > > You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful > > than you could possibly imagine. -- Obi-Wan Kenobi > > > > _______________________________________________ > > rb-admins mailing list > > rb-admins(a)lists.redbrick.dcu.ie > > http://lists.redbrick.dcu.ie/mailman/listinfo/rb-admins > > > > _______________________________________________ > rb-admins mailing list > rb-admins(a)lists.redbrick.dcu.ie > http://lists.redbrick.dcu.ie/mailman/listinfo/rb-admins > -- --

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[Admin-discuss] [receive@redbrick.dcu.ie: [rb-admins] Asplodey, Fap, Welmar, Obelisk & Sprout]
by Cian Brennan 09 Nov '08

09 Nov '08

receive forgot to cc this to discuss :-P ----- Forwarded message from Andrew Harford <receive(a)redbrick.dcu.ie> ----- Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2008 00:32:59 +0000 From: Andrew Harford <receive(a)redbrick.dcu.ie> To: admins(a)redbrick.dcu.ie Subject: [rb-admins] Asplodey, Fap, Welmar, Obelisk & Sprout Sender: rb-admins-bounces(a)lists.redbrick.dcu.ie We've been talking about this in real life/irc tonight, and given that we can't use aspolodey for network monitoring, and having a bsd login machine won't actually do much for users, it's logical to use sprout for this task. (sprout is the dual zeon we got on adverts.ie) Given that it's also way more powerful than it needs to be i'd see sprout as taking over all the other admin type stuff from fap & welmar, as well as the monitoring stuff that should be on obelisk, and the console server stuff that was planned for fap/welmar. Once deathray/cynic are re-installed I would see the other obelisk services being moved to these machines, and we would then be in a position to sell/donate/dispose of these guys. Thoughts? andrew. -- Andrew Harford System Administrator, DCU Networking Society Ordinary Member, Societies & Publications Committee If I went to a barbeque and there was no meat, I would say 'Yo Goober! Where's the meat!?'. I'm trying to impress people here Lisa. You don't win friends with salad. --Homer Simpson _______________________________________________ rb-admins mailing list rb-admins(a)lists.redbrick.dcu.ie http://lists.redbrick.dcu.ie/mailman/listinfo/rb-admins ----- End forwarded message ----- -- --

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