[frgeek-michiana] LAB NOTES - 12/5/06
- From: Tom Brown <tbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: FreeGeek Michiana <frgeek-michiana@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2006 12:30:39 -0500
:: Fix Laptop LCD Frame
Dale brought plastic adhesive to the lab, mixed and applied it to the
frame. The adhesive was supposed to set up in 4 minutes according to
the instructions. However, it will more likely take 24 hours to cure
properly. Maybe we'll check it out Thurs.
:: Virtualize Lab Server
Mike reports that the Xeon CPUs in our server are equipped with
Intel's hardware virtualization layer. However, we would need to run
modified kernels to to take advantage of hardware virtualization.
This is acceptable on Linux because modified kernels are readily
available. But, no such luck with Windows.
We chose to to pursue Xen virtualization software. We will find two
high end PCs from our inventory and load them with as much RAM as we
can muster. Mike and Goose are interested in experimenting with Xen.
:: Material Pick-up
The pick up was apparently canceled. The donor did not respond to phone calls.
:: Distro Selection
The group authorized Goose to buy several types of softmodems
mentioned in the Ubuntu hardware forum and the Ubuntu Modem Howto.
We'll install the modems in an Edgy Eft box and test.
Goose prepped a stock Ubuntu Edgy Eft box and dropped it off last
week. The box has a 400 MHz CPU, 128 MB RAM and a 6 GB drive. I added
the PC to the lab network, showed Dale around the GUI interface to
the file system and demonstrated downloading updates. The box was
responsive with five windows open even as it was downloading and
installing updates in the background. The stock installation required
2 GB of HD real estate.
We decided to test Kubuntu and Xubuntu distros. The fact that Ubuntu
is demonstrating some concern about and success with modems makes it
a strong contender for the FGM distro.
:: Web Site
Mike volunteered to review our web site and construct a list of pages
which need maintenance. I'll open the ssh port on the server before
lab next week so we can do maintenance from the lab. Later, I'll
close the port.
:: Hard Drive Security Tests
The group decided to test two ways to quickly secure HDs: (1) drive a
nail through the platters with a hammer; and, (2) drive a nail
through the platters with a nail gun. Goose is going to test method
#1. Dale has a pneumatic nail gun and will bring it and a portable
compressor to the warehouse Thursday to test method #2.
:: Volunteer Database
Goose is almost done with a page to add volunteers and their
demographic information to the volunteer database. We may be able to
try it out this week.
Goose mentioned that I am learning Tclhttpd, the Tcl web server.
Tclhttpd is notable for many reasons. One useful feature is the
server can maintain state between web pages in several ways. Another
feature is Tclhttpd uses pure Tcl to script dynamic web pages and
exposes the server to the Tcl standard library (Tcllib) and Sqlite,
the database library designed for Tcl and included in official
distributions of PHP and Ruby.
http://www.tcl.tk/software/tclhttpd/reference.html
http://www.tcl.tk/software/tcllib/
http://www.tcl.tk/community/tcl2004/Presentations/D.RichardHipp/slides/slides-all.html
:: Warehouse
1. Floor space.
Albert reports that we now have empty gaylords at the warehouse. Once
we recycle the monitors recently tested, we can actually operate
within our assigned floor space.
2. Sort and classify inventory.
At the next few warehouse sessions volunteers will sort the remaining
mixed material and classify it according to skid number, location,
type of material and deman/refurb priority.
We will put the information above in a spreadsheet at the warehouse.
Goose will modify the volunteer database code to use as the inventory
database. Then, we will transfer the spreadsheet data to the database.
3. Wipe HDs.
Goose volunteered to sort the recent donation of servers and DBAN the drives.
4. Stage large inbound donation.
John reports there is a significant donation in the pipeline,
estimated at 12 skids. By necessity, we'll pick it up all at once,
but there won't be enough space at the warehouse to receive the material.
John is looking for additional warehouse space to temporarily hold
the donation so we can receive it and process it at our warehouse in
manageable stages. The goal is to sort and process the material so we
get rid of it right away. Dale will store 3-4 skids under a roof at
his house in Edwardsburg.
:: Recycling
John will order a pick up from our recycler to remove the skids of
bad monitors. I'll be on call to meet the truck and on-load the skids.
We haven't received an invoice for prior monitor shipments to the
vendor. John will also ask our vendor to set up web access to our
account so we can have up to date information.
We also need to know whether driving nails through HDs is an issue
for the recycler so John will inquire.
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