[tech] Minutes of Wheel Meeting 2014-08-15
Sam Moore
matches at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au
Fri Aug 15 21:37:52 WST 2014
Wheel/Tech Meeting 2014-08-15
Wheel: [SZM] [SLX] [JCF] [BOB] [*OX] [GOZ] [TPG] [MTL] [NTU] [SJH] [MSH]
[RVS]
Others: [JDN] [AMS]
Apologies: [DAA] [BG3]
Things in here prior to the meeting are from [BG3]
The Agenda for the meeting is
-----------------------------
- UCC Dinner Is Coming Up
- 18th September
- Tickets Coming Out Soon
- Direct your attention to the advert on the projector screen
- Retiring Mantis
- It has occured
- Was done a bit too fast
- Broke the Website
- DNS takes a while to propegate
- The Status of MolMol (The new File Server)
- Replacing robotnik
- Replacing Catfish
- It has a lot of issues
Meeting opened 18:12 I guess
[BG3] made a slide to show us that is on the projector
- University Computer Club 40th Anniversary Dinner
- 18th September
- 18+
- Tickets TBA
- Cabellera's keyboard is shit
- Keyboard is replaced with a less shit keyboard
Review of previous minutes 2014-05-09
-------------------------------------
- SSOE
- Didn't happen, no one cares
- Wheel access to colocated machines
- [NTU] wants logging, using fail2ban
- We can do this we have the technology
- [TPG] SOE for collocated machines
- [NTU] that's kind of against the point of collocated machines
- [BOB] wants remote logging on user machines
- Setup a seperate size limited filesystem (on murasoi?)
- Phone call from CSSC (?) "is motsugo running" answered by [GOZ] who
is apparently "no fun"
- Back to size limit of filesystem for syslogging
- [BOB] to do this
- Discussion of compromised machine
- [SZM] no one other than the owner had root access was the real
concern (it was doing remote syslogging anyway...)
- We got told by the guild; why don't we have our own network
monitoring?
- Discussion of IS not using wheel's contact details
- Tangent related to IPv6 and silliness
- Back to colo machines
- Motion from last meeting was:
- [SLX] Wheel members need access to machines, if this is too hard
or people complain we will discuss on a case by case basis.
- This passed unanimously but we never pursued it
- [SJH] why don't we threaten to turn off machines now
- We can turn off the machines we don't need access
- [BOB] kill network instead
- What machines need replacing/upgrading
What is actually happening with Robotnik
----------------------------------------
- [GOZ] power supply broke, we replaced it, but now it periodically just
freezes
- [BOB] power supply took RAM with it?
- [BOB] where is Kalashnikov, can we use it?
- [*OX] we can take the SD card out of Robotnik, put it in Kalashnikov
and that should be it
- Everyone: "Um, Nooo"
- Discussion of replacing Robotnik with RPi
- Can it handle the music library?
- Or the LCA PCs we still have for some reason
- Or lots of things that would work
- [RVS] will dump config for someone and email tech@
- [NTU] raises the fact that no one ever does any of the cool ideas we
come up with in these meetings
- Yep...
- [BOB] "Project for tonight" dump image of config
[RVS] leaves 18:31
Back to the "review"
-------------------
- Fileserver
- NetApp
- People come up with lots of cool ideas but no one does anything
- [NTU] points out this is a common theme of wheel meetings
- Virtual routers did not happen
- Password Escroe
- [NTU] it should be done... if someone wants to do it they should
volunteer now
* tumbleweed *
- [NTU] also the NetApp
* more tumbleweeds *
- [TDH] to do a NetApp teaching evening
- People discuss things and [NTU] tries to action them to do them
- [TPG] backing up coke database more than 6 months
- [SLX] backups of backups and everyone will be happy
- Woah, backup a bit
- [NTU] tries to action people to things again
- A demo so people know how to use backups because only 2 people know
how to restore a file
- [GOZ] it is on the wiki!
- [BOB] but if the wiki is down...
- [GOZ] we back up the wiki!
- [SLX] someone with access to a printer should make a hard copy of
the page and hide it somewhere in the machine room where it will
never be found again
- tl;dr Go to root at mollitz:/backups and all the things are there.
- [*OX] we need to change the clubroom password
- [SZM] yes, it was exposed over HTTP via the minecraft server web
interface (sent a wheel@ email several months ago)
- Post meeting addition: It has now been changed to hunter2
- How do we know if backups even work?
- [BOB] There is a cronjob on mooneye called zzdailybackup and it
does stuff and it emails some people something
- [*OX] where does it backup things to?
- [BOB] It backs it up to the Butt
- [MJH] it goes to [MTL] and [TRS]
- [MTL] It does?
- [NTU] "TRS's immense tolerance to spam is one of the reasons he is
a great life member"
- [*OX] wants to put things in version control
- Red folder in the machine room (re: Password escroe)
- Not minuted at last meeting: People said "No" (minuted now for
[*OX]'s benefit)
- [*OX] still wants this
- For things like passwords and everything important
- [BOB] Keepass database on dropbox (encrypted)
- Camp network - went well thanks to [SLX]
- /var filled up (again)
- Should note this
- Noted
- [TPG] got in from New Zealand
- [NTU] Emergency shutdown system for the machine room
- What if it's on fire...
- Seriously in summer if the aircon died you'd have like 3 minutes
- [BOB] we get alert emails
- [NTU] and then what do you do?
- People think we'll be fine?
- Someone to acquire break glass...
- [MSH] cronjob looking for file on nfs mount would work reasonably
well
- Discussion of UPS and controlling it
- 6 UPS batteries were $150
- Software is for windows XP, discussion (but no volunteers...) of
reverse engineering the USB interface
[MTL] brings up the MasterPlan
------------------------------
- There are vague rumours of emails that went unread
- [GOZ] It's "It's actually happening this time guys" and that's UCC
members saying it
- General skepticism
- Discussion of our requirements
- Deferred to the next meeting... (or the one after that... or the one
after that...)
[MSH] and [SJH] leave at 18:53
[MTL] what is actually causing us pain and what can we fix?
-----------------------------------------------------------
- Printers
- [NTU] So, I have a problem report, I have a pdf file I want to print
here...
- [SLX] Well there's your problem
- Phosphorus is basically FITH
- Neon is the new Phosphorus
- As in, it is unreliable, old and breaking
- The printer that's been in the hallway since 2004 is dead
- [JCF] It was the best purchase we made; we should put it to
committee that we buy a new one
- Instead of using shitty second hand printers like Phosphorus and
Neon
- Committee has discussed this but something about policies prevented
it happening
- [NTU] Fundraising drives for 40th Anniversary Dinner (no, not
fundraising for hard drives)
- People think this is hard
- Back to printers...
- [*OX] volunteers to spec a printer, and present it to committee
- [BOB] doesn't want colour, [TPG] seconds, motion passes I guess
- [AMS] suggests putting up the price of printing and actually enforcing
payment
- Things are discussed but I'm too busy trying to think up puns
- [JCF] this is semantics we are sounding like a committee
- [BOB] adds printers to agenda for the committee
- [MTL] what else is pissing people off?
- [BG3] wants to replace Murasoi (core router + firewall)
- It is a 9 year old Sunfire
- It was "overheating" because it had a low temperature
- [BOB] defends Murasoi's service record
- Debate over how much of the noise is due to Murasoi
- [BOB] wants to add sound proofing
- [*OX] is bitchy about replacing Bitumen before Murasoi
- [TPG] we won't replace it until it dies.
- Power over ethernet... for the new Webcams
- 10Gig is nice, we want the switch and router to both have it
(Murasoi has 4Gig)
- [*OX] would rather get a second VM server
- Murasoi has gone down once, but since we added the fan and cardboard
it has been fine
- [SZM] is not a fan of this as a permanent cooling solution
- [BOB] estimates a new router at $1500
- We could do a lot better job at cooling for that much
- Blanking plates, better aircon, etc
- Why can't we put another aircon in the other window?
- [JCF] they fought each other and froze each other up
- [NTU] they lived in harmony, side by side
- [*OX] what are we talking about again?
- Concensus that Murasoi is not a high priority
- We have spare disks
- Concensus that getting rid of Mylah is a high priority
- Don't hold any breaths
- General contempt towards ATI/AMD graphics cards on desktops
- Wheel group hereby condemns the use of these cards
- Committee is banned from buying them
- People realise there are only 17G on Mylah free
- [BOB] can fix that...
- Replacing Catfish
- As long as it has an nVidia graphics card and you email tech@,
delegated to committee
- There is a lot of crap in the machine room.
- The status of MolMol
- It was configured as debian with RAIDZ by [SZM] [SLX] and [GEE]
- It was reconfigured better by [DAA]
- See tech@ email
- Both debian and FreeBSD
- Debian + ZFS + NFS is terrible,
- [JCF] lol linux
- FreeBSD + ZFS + NFS is also terrible, but much less terrible
- [BOB] SAMBA
- [JCF] Not a problem
- Threats of moving to SAMBA 4
- Consensus seems to be to stick with FreeBSD
- [GOZ] is going to reinstall *all* the desktops
- Redo the entire SOE
- Ok...
- [*OX] complains about LaTeX and the SOE
- Packages don't work
- [NTU] wants to set an action item:
- [DAA] to demonstrate how Molmol works next Friday
- ... [DAA] is in the UK
- [SZM] People need to update their machines
- [BOB] IPv6 migration was not well done
- We can fit everything we previously had, but we don't have any spare
space for the VPN
- Reverse DNS being fragmented makes things harder for the University
but not us
- Basically the design doesn't make any sense to us
- [NTU] we don't want to be stuck with this
- [MTL] needs to contact ITS
- [JCF] needs to remind [MTL]
- [BOB] needs to remind [JCF]
Pizza time!
[BOB] to organise Pizza Run
- [BOB] says "Fuck no"
- [JDN] is tempted with vague promises of being added to wheel
People are going to places with beer instead I think
- Argument about Pizza vs Beer
- Pizza wins
- [JDN] is organising! Best Treasurer ever.
Meeting closed some time around 19:50 - 20:00
Minutes also at:
https://www.ucc.asn.au/infobase/minutes/2014/2014-08-15.tech
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