Plans For December and January

For the rest of this month, leading up to the Holidays and after New Years, you're not going see a lot of updates on this blog. But, here's what's planned for this month and next.

First, I'm going to finish reconfiguring the Linux-based catalog PC from Oscoda. It had some problems that are finally being addressed.

Second, the next round of software updates will take place the second week of January 2007. It'll be the usual round of minor updates. I will be at each branch in person; but eventually I will be testing the ability to perform updates via remote. The only stumbling block is that I can't WOL packets through Merit's routers yet.

Third, we haven't forgotten about moving the router and switch from the shelf on the wall in East Tawas. It simply hasn't been approved yet. The delay is due to a higher-than-expected cost.

Let me assure you that I have at least three legitimate reasons for doing this and they are:

1. Physical security. At this time, the equipment is out in the open. Unlikely as it may seem, all someone has to do to merely tamper with the equipment is to use a footstool to reach up and touch the equipment. Since we've had a full steel and locked equipment cabinet in headquarters for the past several months, this is an unacceptable situation.

2. Fault Tolerance. With the exception of this router and switch, all staff computers, servers, and routers and switches at the other branch libraries are equipped with Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS).

The purpose of a UPS is to prevent data loss and provide a graceful way to "get out." In the event of a power failure, our Internet connection also has power and allows any last-minute operations to be completed.

However, since the router at East Tawas has no UPS, when we lose power, we lose our connection to the Internet. Since our content filtering server is also located here, the other branches are affected.

3. Access. East Tawas Library and Administrative Headquarters share the same building. Our critical computer equipment is located in an equipment cabinet in the headquarters side of the building. However, the router and switch are located on the library side, which we do not have access to during off hours. If there was a problem that required physical access to the router to diagnose and the library was closed, at the least it would be a sizable delay; at the worst, we would have no access at all until the library opened.

So, I hope I've made my points clear about why we want to move this equipment. This is not merely an aesthetics issue, but a move that would benefit the entire district.

Linux and BitTorrent

With the release of Mandriva 2007, I decided to upgrade from 2006 on my Dell Optiplex GX280 workstation (which coexists with Windows XP Pro). This was also my first successful use of downloading using BitTorrent.

Mandriva (formerly Mandrake) has been known for making a product that is fairly easy to use, well thought out, and stable; 2007 is no exception. I found that there have been a few visual changes, and quite a few changes to some of the software. For example, it is now possible to install/uninstall software without switching from add to remove, and programs seem to open and run a bit faster. Of course, I'm still in the process of updating other software.

I use the Firefox web browser and OpenOffice.org office suite; among others. Those two programs' configurations are shared with its Windows counterparts. That way, if I were using Firefox, for example, I don't need to maintain separate bookmarks; they are the same regardless of whether I'm using XP or Mandriva.

Using Linux is also an exercise in troubleshooting; since our District uses Linux on our servers and Catalog computers. Though many things work "out of the box," there are a few nagging details that need to be sorted out. By understanding how something works and getting it right, you can apply that later on. It's a major time-saver, especially when it comes time to upgrade a mission-critical server.

On top of that, it's different, open, free, and fun to use, which is why I use it.

BitTorrent deserves further mention. It is software that allows downloading files that distributes the load among other copies of the same file. It's a peer-to-peer method, only BitTorrents download a file in pieces, not in order. I wasn't an early adopter because I didn't find the downloads fast, but after downloading a 2.5GB set of disk images (ISOs) for Mandriva (within hours), and downloading OpenOffice.org 2.0.4 (a 112MB file) in about twenty minutes, I am now convinced. It's not a matter of speed, but stability.

If you downloaded a file via conventional means, you are downloading it from only one source. If that source failed, you'd have to either resume the download at a later time, or find another source and start from scratch. When you're using peer-to-peer services and software like BitTorrent, you are downloading a file from multiple sources. If one source fails, others take up the load (known as fault tolerance). Therefore, there is no data loss, and no need to re-download a file.

The reason that P2P (Peer-To-Peer) services like BitTorrent, LimeWire, and Kazaa get a bad rep for piracy is because their users share songs and video that are copyrighted (something that music and movie companies frown upon). They can also be havens for less ethical people who want to spread adware and viruses. But, these services work very well, and are very handy for distributing very large files with a high level of reliability.

Last Friday's Storm

Last Friday I was going to try out Mandriva 2007 on my workstation, but ended up leaving early because of a nasty snow storm.

In fact, I--among others--should have my head examined for even trying to travel on snow-covered and icy roads. I ended up almost sliding off the road heading to Oscoda to deliver a toner cartridge for Robert J. Parks Library.

We lost power at HeadQuarters for three hours, which meant that some of our services (such as content filtering) were down until Monday morning.

Today, my workstation is down because of a bad motherboard, so I won't be able to finish upgrading to 2007 until tomorrow. Other than that and a disconnected UPS battery, we're up and running.