Linux Working Group meeting notes - 2010/01/29

Meeting Date

• Friday January 29th, 2pm in DC 2314

Attendees

• DawnKeenan, DaveGawley, FraserGunn, MikeGore, DanielAllen, LawrenceFolland, RonaldoGarcia, GuoxiangShen, StephenNickerson

Agenda

Linux in teaching environment

• current state of the environment: cpu-linux, fe-linux, ubuntu
• goals for start of spring 2010
  • Linux servers, workstations, labs running consistent OS
    • same software, configuration
  • workstations in production: Graphics, SE, MC3007, MC3022?
  • consultant to provide secure mounting of $HOME
• what's present, what's desired, how to get from A to B ?
  • ST 70636
  • http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/cscf/software/ubuntu/CS-Teaching/
• version of Ubuntu for spring 2010: 8.04 vs 9.10 vs 10.04
• physical security for public labs (MC3007, MC3022)
• competing software versions needed by different individuals/courses
• meeting basic teaching requirements
  • assignment submission/marking
  • course software PoCs are aware of should be tested
  • ISG environment functions

Discussion

...

• current state of the environment: cpu-linux, fe-linux, ubuntu
  • one cpu server running 8.04 - cpu06.student.cs
  • two servers would like to bring online running 8.04 - cpu02.student.cs and cpu04.student.cs
  • linux002 (running 9.04, upgrade to 9.10) linux004 (running 9.10)
    • gvcormac students may be using Ubuntu 9 systems this term for valgrind
  • in Spring will run at least one 8.04 system, most running 9.10, may have one running 10.04
  • invite instructors to test-try latest Linux on a Virtual Machine for test cases

• version of Ubuntu for spring 2010: 8.04 vs 9.10 vs 10.04
  • probably 9.10, although 10.04 Alpha is available for download

• Fraser will be looking at what packages are available and what should be available on our student systems

• aim to reduce xhier footprint on Linux systems to configuration management
  • some software likely to continue being locally built due to lack of third party packages

• how to keep track of what vendor packages have been installed by whom and make them consistent?
  • could keep a text file, RCS-controlled or simply comments
  • Dave would like to have a an automatable text file that could be de-commented
    • then run a regular cron job that updates the system (similar in concept to xhier maintenance)
  • Dawn wants to know how to control updates to the version of a package. Mid-term software updates might cause issues for courses
  • different versions of application software will be tied to different versions of Ubuntu

• Dave's notes for Ubuntu in Teaching Environment
  • http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/cscf/software/ubuntu/CS-Teaching/

• Linux in the core environment
  • setup roughly the same way as in the teaching environment
  • some software differences
    • Matlab/maple - can be installed but use UW non-teaching license server
  • xhier packages being used more for configuration management, rather than software management

• Authentication
  • as of Ubuntu 9 they will all authenticate against the Active Directory
  • there will be no accounts master client, setpw, and related software
    • legacy (Solaris 8, Ubuntu 8) systems are currently using a local password
  • usernames under Active Directory have only a single entry - and that is 8-characters
  • home directories should be determinable by /u/$USER (which currently won't work)
  • long discussion about the pros/cons of maintaining 8+long userids

• Vendor IDs
  • how to handle system/vendor names/uids
    • using idregistry
    • on the arch-master of the current version put it in the local_hostname exports package
  • if updating the package onto a new version of the OS, need to add it to /etc/passwd on the new arch master

• Next meeting * two weeks today - Feb 12, 2010