Mr.Deyo

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Wireless routers in the 802.11 family including models b/g/n all operate in the 2.4 GHz range in electro-magnetic frequency insuring that there isn't cross talk with other radio devices with the exception of n which add the 5GHz range. The difference between the b, g, and n standards is the amount of raw data they one may push through the device with a raw data rate of 11 Mbit/s, 54 Mbit/s, and up to 600 Mbit/s respectively. As for the difference in names they are bland functional handles assigned by international standardization. From a consumer stand point this technology follows the typical technological model of newer being better.

The Official Ubuntu Book by:  Matthew Helmke, Amber Graner, Kyle Rankin, Benjamin Mako Hill, Jono Bacon. Published July 1, 2012 by Prentice Hall 337pgs.

    The Official Ubuntu Book (OUB)  has an expansive scope aiming to make the Ubuntu experience easier and more enjoyable for first time users to system administrators.  Written by a group of some of the most experienced Free and Open Source (FOSS) administrators the OUB details meticulous step by step instructions setting up and installing Ubuntu down to learning the command line.  This near 400 page tome covers the complete Ubuntu system and philosophy.  Though the writing suffers somewhat from the large number of community contributed sections, the warm and welcoming community succeeds in making new users feel at home.  With an eye for the technical side of the writing, the chapters follow a fairly linear path starting with the simplest things and the GUI it moves in a sequential fashion towards more difficult topics and more difficult descriptions.  No matter its place within the structure of the book the writing always takes the time to explain in full not just what to do but also why and what options you have.  Realistically, Linux is such a diverse operation system with so many different distributions that it is refreshing to see such a focused effort on fully explaining just one example system.  The book is filled with concise and clear descriptions of various technologies and system software that make the task at hand and the terminology used a true pleasure to learn.  The book additionally has many wonderful small tips that are clearly marked elaborating on terms or just explaining some of Linux’s inside jokes.  A seasoned system administrator might find some of the descriptions a bit long in the tooth and feel their eyes glazing over at the really quite readable descriptions of technical terms, but they are clearly not the main targeted audience.  Besides a lovely telling of Ubuntu’s creation and purpose the book tackles topics such as installation, understanding the desktop paradigm, software installation, customization, the command line, and wraps up with an intro to the server edition.  Reading this book has made me grow to appreciate Ubuntu even more.  As my own primary operating system I have been an Ubuntu user of years, installing it on all my sundrie boxes and laptops; albeit often with some dumbfounding headaches on laptops.  I have been considering switching distributions to Arch but frankly the ease of installation and the convenience of PPA’s is hard to ignore in Ubuntu.  Choosing this book was a fairly natural selection as I have over the years gleaned all my Linux knowledge in the form of forums and blogs, and except for Ubuntu Made Easy the Official Ubuntu Book has been the only recurring string suggested.  In all honesty I did not realize what a proficient Linux user I had become, only the chapter on setting up a web server and some of the command line were  things that I was not familiar with.  Still the book captured my interest and I took some surprising interest and giggles from the tips presented; I apparently am a Linux insider as I got all the jokes.  I would highly recommend this book to a beginning Linux/Ubuntu user, all the technical task are easy to follow and informative with lots of great screen captures along the way.  Being a community written book it is affordable and follows the same open source philosophy as the operating system it describes.  

    Applying OUB to the twenty five posed questions was an interesting task, as frankly, I could have completed the list without a book for all three major operating systems as well as both iOS and Android.  Still there are a few questions on the list that have some rather convoluted answers on Ubuntu.  For example a simple question like how to view a video file is not as simple as double clicking on Windows™ and OSX™.  Ubuntu ships with only open source video codecs installed and you must install additional proprietary codecs yourself.  Although developers in the open source community have created free implementations of some of these codecs, the licensing that surrounds them conflicts with the legal and philosophical position that Ubuntu has set. These codecs are excluded not only because they are legally dubious but also because they disagree with Ubuntu’s ethic of creating a distribution that consists entirely of free software in the most free sense of the word.  Luckily OUB covers this in several ways.  It documents the option to install these codex during the installation of the OS by the use of an optional installer, as well as how to install these after the fact and Ubuntu has made this process as easy as offering to install these codex when trying to play a proprietary format.  In fact installing software in Linux in general is somewhat different than on OSX™ or Windows™.  The OUB covers this in spades though explaining the philosophy and system of software repositories and offering detailed explanations on how to use multiple means to install software both from Ubuntu’s repositories and from outside packages.  

    Of course all questions pertaining to the use of the desktop GUI are explained profusely and with ample illustration.  When a book is created about non-FOSS software perhaps illustrations are expensive but a community created book about a FOSS operating system has them in profusion.  Things like changing file views, desktop backgrounds, opening files, and the use of Ubuntu’s own custom shell (Unity) are covered with ample explanation.  I myself do not use Unity, preferring the customizable simplicity of XFCE.  This brings up another interesting point about Ubuntu and Linux in general; you have a wide array of choice in how you setup your system.  So, questions about how to find the certain settings are dependent on those choices.  The OUB of course mainly focuses on describing these types of actions in relation to Unity and its upstream Gnome components but also includes information for people who are using official derivative distributions such and Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Lubuntu.  

    Questions about installation and partitioning are exceptionally clear and are certainly easier than attempting anything similar on Windows™.  The graphical installer handles all these items with simple question and answer steps.  It should be noted that though the installer includes the partitioning software Gparted, the finalized installation does not, so creating additional partitions and Raids requires installation of Gparted from the repositories.  Again the tips included were a great wealth of short but helpful information on tackling these topics.  Finally so far as maintaining the system goes users are prompted with software and security updates by default and the OUB of course includes information about these systems in chapter three dealing with getting started with Ubuntu.  

    Again though I have already had a fair degree of experience with Linux the Official Ubuntu Book offered up a few helpful tips.  Some items of particular interest concerned the use of the command line and web server setup.  One of the challenges of using the terminal is the difficulty of managing multiple screens. If you are in a desktop environment, you can launch another terminal window or use GNOME terminal’s tabs, but if you are on a server or another machine that doesn’t have a desktop environment installed, that doesn’t work.  Thankfully, such a tool to help you does exist: byobu. Japanese for screen, byobu is a set of default configurations for the GNU screen command.  Essentially, byobu is a window manager for the command line.  I have always shied away from working without a graphical desktop but this peaked my interest.  Another item of interest was the books incredibly down to earth explanation of a RAID setup.  I have been interested for some time in setting up my own server and it was really interesting to read about some of the advantages of setting up a multiple hard drive system.  Feeding on my interest in web design and development it was interesting to learn that one can make a html based hyperlink to a package in the Ubuntu repositories simply by placing apt:packagename in the href attribute.  I’m not sure when I would use this but it got me a little geeked.  Another point of interest that had me wiping my brow was the ability to create a delete command in the command line interface (CLI) that makes use of the trash folder.  Usually the “rm” command instantly and completely removes the chosen file.  This has always made me uncomfortable as I have gleaned all of my Linux knowledge so far by trial and error, so its nice to have a option to undo whatever damage I have just done.  Finally one simple addition to my knowledge.  I have often used the properties window available on right click for items in the GUI file system but I never realize that the emblems tab was for overlaying various icons onto files and folders.  I am a very visual person and being able to mark files like this helps me to organize my work.  

    The Official Ubuntu Book is an excellent resource that is really incredibly up to date considering that Ubuntu releases a new version every six months like clockwork.  Also considering the massive graphic changes Ubuntu has gone through with the implementation of Unity in the last year.  For myself I probably found the books suggestion of reading the Official Ubuntu Server Book the most enticing element based on how well the OUB was put together.  Honestly I wish that I had just bought this book years ago when I started experimenting with Linux.  Thinking back to those early days downloading distro ISO’s and pumping them into parallels and cussing at my screen install after install I realize that Linux/Ubuntu is quite a departure from its two main competitors.  Having a technical resource that is as clear and friendly as the Official Ubuntu Book could not be more helpful.  For new users this book would be a one stop shopping experience that pulls on the knowledge and compassion of the entire Ubuntu community to welcome them into the folds of freedom.  

This review focuses on a TED talk delivered by Salman Khan at TED 2011 in Edinburgh, Scotland in which he discusses how and why he founded the venerable Khan Academy, a carefully structured series of educational videos offering complete curricula in math and, now, other subjects. The title of the talk was reasonably “Let's use video to reinvent education”. As is the traditional structure of a TED talk audience participation is limited to clapping and laughing but of course the content of a TED talk is usually engaging enough for audience members to benefit through listening.

The talk begins with a brief description of who Salmon is and what the Khan academy does. From his initial work with his own cousins in tutoring them and creating several youtube videos demonstrating math principles to the creation and curriculum of the Khan academy that now represents over 2,200 video lectures and millions of students engaged every month with hundreds of thousands of video views each day. He discusses his realization that his cousins could through the use of his videos self pace, recover, and engage with educational material without emotional encumberments. He goes on to describe the video’s growth in popularity and its impact and interaction with the internet community. Growing beyond his initial feelings of warmth at the impact his lessons were having he realizes that this content will not grow old, that is will continue to have this impact. Salmon describes interactions that he begins to have with teachers who have taken to using his videos as homework and and what was traditionally the homework had now moved into the classroom where it was and interaction between students and teachers. These “flipped” classrooms offer teachers the ability to work with students who are stuck on a concept while students with proficient understanding move on. It is this idea of a flipped classroom that is the crux of Salmon’s talk; his righteous belief that he has done good and everybody should do so too.

Is he right? Possibly. I myself have already tried much of this. I teach a course in three dimensional modeling and animation. A rather complex topic that requires the transmission of a lot of information about the structure and function of the program used to achieve this, and I have created a lot of tutorial videos to supplement what is happening in class. All of the principles that Salmon outlined about the usefulness of video education hold true. Students can learn at their own pace, they may recover information without the embarrassment of asking the teacher to explain it again (which is a valid concern that holds back far too many students). I have no limitations to my implementing this in my own classroom and have with great success, nor do i feel that the tools necessary to do this are lacking for any teacher. Some districts may lack the technology but that seems like a negligible amount at this time.

The limitations to the implementation of this this kind of flipped classroom is not a technological one in this reviewers opinion. Having done this sort of education myself I find that video has its own limitations. For example if a student just needs to recover one piece of material in a ten minute demonstration they must watch the entire video or ineffectively scrub back and forth throughout the timeline searching for that information with very few context clues. There is no ability to scan for information like one can with a book. Yes by god, I am suggesting the the most efficient form of transmitting documented educational instruction remains the book. I have started to transition over from a large catalogue of video tutorials to a wiki that while including videos also includes text and image based instruction allowing students to search for information more efficiently.

To my mind Salmon Khan has some wonderful intentions and is providing valuable resources to learners across the globe but some of his assumptions about the effectiveness of flipped classrooms are flawed. It is not the technology that makes this work but his own innate abilities as a fantastic teacher. It is wonderful to use technology in teaching, but it does not replace good teachers.

I met with our district technology coordinator Todd Neibauer at his office in our tech center. The tech center is a convertered former elementary school in our district that received updates and infrastructure to accommodate the servers and cabling just this last summer. It is interesting to see a how the very traditional american elementary school has been gutted and seems to be spilling its intestines all over the ceiling in the lan and power cables that criss cross the building. Its very much like being inside some giant fish that luirs school children to their death by camouflaging itself as a school. The clicks, ticks, and hums give the building a busy and uneasy feeling and it is in this environment that we conduct our interview.

How long have you held your position in this district?

I have been with the district for 22 years but I only moved into the position of tech coordinator 8 years ago, I was formerly an social studies teacher and have taught at both the high schools.

What previous experience did you have before coming to the district?

In technology I had very little. At the time I was hired technology was a small component within the district in regard to computers. As I said I worked as a social studies teacher for most of my career. Now the internet is ubiquitous but at the time the district had a few apple IIgs’s at the high school that at that time was our only high school. I had a personal interest in computer related technologies and kept abreast of those technologies in my own time and as they were added to the curriculum I was really excited to try and work with them in my own classes. Not to criticize other teachers but my own interests naturally lead me into a de facto position tech leadership as I answered other teachers questions. Eventually my place just evolved and when the position of tech coordinator became available I jumped at the chance to continue that evolution.

How would you rate tech support in the district?

I would rate it very highly. each staff member uses a web-based service, School Dude to log their problems. This service keeps a record of technology work orders. To support the needs of online learners there is a need to have an immediate technical support option for staff and students who rely on the online tools (Moodle, etc...). Routine needs will still be handled through the SchoolDude work order system, however, for urgent needs users can call the main technology office. These items will either be resolved by office staff or have the appropriate personnel dispatched. Technicians will use remote assistance tools to expand the types of support they can provide including full remote control. As the online programs grow and with it the number of students who are accessing learning materials at non- traditional times increases, the support hours and/or options may need to be extended but I think we are meeting teacher needs now.

How would you rate computer integration in district classrooms?

Well with the upcoming year we will have a complete one to one computer ratio for all students within the district. Right now the high school has had a few years to test the waters and start to really integrate the use of student computers in the classroom but it is a transitionary period. I think that is is difficult to give an across the board rating with so much variation in access to technology. I would still say that it is really excellent, that teachers are using the tools the district provides and seeking out and integrating their.

How are decisions made about hardware and software purchases for the district?

We like to involve all our IT staff on decisions about hardware. We have regular meetings and hardware purchases are something that gets dealt with on a pretty regular basis. So, we will talk together about what the needs are for the particular usage case and once we have that list on needs we will shop out for bids with a couple of different contractors that we have used in the past. They will come back to use with some hardware options that meet those needs, a price and some samples. Various members of the IT department will then put the sample hardware through its paces and we will take that information into consideration when making our final decision.

How are decisions made about networking for the district?

It is a very similar process to hardware decisions because really you are talking about the hardware that makes networks possible. Its a process that involves the relevant people in the district giving multiple perspectives on how to meet the needs that we have.

What are the most critical issues related to technology facing the district in the future?

Until recently I would have answered right away with access but with the One2World program finishing implementation next year that will no longer be as big an issue. Of course there will still be issues of internet access for students that do not have it at home but still it is a much more equal playing field now. I think the most critical issues will become how to leverage the vast amount of technology that students are bring with them to school on a daily basis but we have only scratched at how to integrate these into the classroom.

Following the interview we both refreshed our ever present need for coffee and began wandering around in the belly of the beast chating with various IT staffers and poking our heads into rooms while Todd explained the details. The vast majority of our servers (file, print, web, database, etc) are actually Virtual Machines running on four VMware ESXi hosts attached to fibre channel storage and managed by a VMware vSphere Center Server. The four hosts are HP Blade Servers contained in a C7000 blade enclosure with redundant fibre channel and network switches. These connect to an HP 4400 Enterprise Virtual Array storage system of 22 TB. We have 6 HP blade servers located in the same type of enclosure with attached SAS storage. There are a few Dell Poweredge and HP DL380 physical servers that are still running though likely will be virtualized during our next cycle. We utilize Microsoft Active Directory (2008 domain), primarily Windows 2008 servers with some 2003 print servers still functional. These servers run our Student Information System, web servers, database servers (primarily MS SQL), educational applications, etc. We also have some network appliances running Linux or BSD OS that are managed through web interfaces.

For security we deploy a Cisco ASA firewall to protect our outer edge from the internet. We utilize Netsweeper to filter our internet traffic and Symantec Endpoint AV to protect servers and staff computers. Our network switches, access points and controllers are primarily Cisco and are all managed by Cisco NCS Prime software. Wireless access is based on specific SSIDs per groups of users and access is controlled by 802.1x authentication using Microsoft Network Policy Server (Radius).

Our asset management system is incorporated into our online web-based work order ticket system (Schooldude).

As Todd and I ran through the TSI we both giggled a bit about some of their assertions as to what was efficient but in all found that we were at all times at least satisfactory if not mostly highly efficient. We both found it strange that Sun was listed as the only alternative to mac and windows. Especially considering when this was last revised. But whatever.

In all it was a lovely experience that has shown me what a tightly integrated and efficient technology setup and department we have, that is focused on providing first rate access to teachers and students alike.

In creating this review I first found the task rather daunting. Not for any reason of creative shortcomings or perceived lack of ability but simply in comparing my own district's technology plan against the MDE educational technology plan approval checklist my district measured up just fine. Point of fact, in looking at how the Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) formatted their technology plan it seems rather obvious that they created it simply by going through the checklist and describing what they were already doing. As such much of the content of this review entails a detailed account of the plan itself and its actual enactment with some personal opinions and suggestions.

TCAPS has created an accurate picture of their current technology infrastructure. Including some 4,500 student computers, 1,100 staff computers, and 550 mounted projectors and doc cams. In addendum to that TCAPS also provides all school buildings with 1GB fiber or 400-800Mbps point to point wireless connectivity. The interior of each school has complete wireless coverage connecting to a 600Mbps internet connections shared the the ISD. All computers (PCs, Laptops, Tablets) are on a three year scheduled replacement cycle. While the wiring is replaced on an as needed basis. TCAPS strives for efficiency in all of the systems it deploys in support of education. Active Directory is the foundation that is used to provide access to most systems within the district. While not all systems can authenticate through Active Directory or LDAP at this time, it is the goal that it will be a single source for authentication in the future. In addition to a single authentication source, TCAPS evaluates all new requests for systems and functionality for redundancy within existing solutions. One of TCAPS’s core beliefs is that extending existing systems to fill new roles is preferable to adding additional systems which require additional training and support.

In spite of TCAPS’s detailed professional and organized plan there is little in the way of consideration for emerging technologies. That said it also does not appear that in conjunction with the Educational Technology Plan Approval Checklist that it is an item of much importance and I will say that TCAPS has at least addressed this in that their plan makes it clear that the guiding philosophy of the plan is that curriculum will drive technology needs. To my mind that indicates that if a technology were to emerge that was in the best interests of teachers and students then it would be acted upon.

In 2001, 2004 and 2007 TCAPS passed bond issues that provide for the updating of technology until 2017. Evaluations and prioritization of technology replacement purchases are made on an annual basis, approved by the Executive Team, bid out and implemented. Technology lifespans are varied and equipment is expensive to replace. With the limited resources, prioritization becomes an important task in this process. By pursuing additional grants, lengthening the life spans, reducing quantities, TCAPS achieves a financial balance. They note that the introduction of cheaper NetBook and tablet technology holds promise in the respect that it has the potential to reduce workstation costs.

TCAPS believes and make it know in the district's technology plan that the curriculum decision-making process needs to drive the technology decision-making process. This should encompass technology related purchases (hardware and software), as well as the commitment to professional development and training initiatives. The “yardstick” used to determine a technology related decision is loosely based on that of Tom Watkins, former Michigan Superintendent of Education. The basic question asked is this: “How does this Plan help administrators lead, teachers teach, and students learn?” This Plan, evaluation is based on both on-going and periodic measurements. This plan will undergo periodic review from several levels. On- going evaluation will be accomplished by procedural changes in the process of technology spending. In addition, all eighth graders will be assessed annually to measure progress towards technology literacy. Students should make steady progress towards meeting all technology standards. As mentioned above, evaluation is based on both on-going and periodic measurements. Depending on the instruments used, evaluation may be done weekly or monthly, others may be from 6 months to 2 years. As is evident in any part of this or any other plan, technology is driven by curriculum. The Director of Technology works with curriculum coordinators to compile and communicate results from evaluation efforts. The Technology Leadership Team re-examines unmet goals. They will determine whether any particular unmet goal needs to be modified in terms of desired outcome, timeline, etc., and resume the above process.

Currently, we have a computer technician assigned 40 hours per week to each secondary school and technology assistants at each main high school. Two technicians and an assistant share responsibility for the elementary buildings, Traverse City High School and administration. Two systems administrators cover our centralized operations at the data center. We have a Technology Supervisor that coordinates and assists on all technical support operations of the district. Additionally, the district’s web page is maintained with pertinent frequently asked questions and advice on various technology issues and there is a wiki with tutorials and self-help materials. To coordinate technical service, each staff member uses a web-based service, School Dude, at http://www.schooldude.com/ to log their problems. This service keeps a record of technology work orders. To support the needs of online learners there is a need to have an immediate technical support option for staff and students who rely on the online tools (Moodle, etc...). Routine needs are still be handled through the SchoolDude work order system, however, for urgent needs users can call the main technology office. These items will either be resolved by office staff or have the appropriate personnel dispatched. Technicians use remote assistance tools to expand the types of support they can provide including full remote control. As the online programs grow and with it the number of students who are accessing learning materials at non- traditional times increases, the support hours and/or options may need to be extended. Careful monitoring of student requests, help desk workload and new program offerings will be needed to identify when expansion should be considered. Ideally, a help desk for an online program would be available 24/7. One solution to this might be to collaborate with other institutions with the same needs. TCAPS is currently pursuing a collaborative implementation with the intermediate school district. In addition, technicians and training staff will make use of screen capture utilities to create training videos that can be accessed in a self-serve format online at http://web2.tcaps.net/techsource.

The district has developed an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) that details technology use for students and staff, and incorporates federally mandated requirements through the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA). TCAPS states that as technology changes, and new challenges arise the Technology Leadership Committee will review the AUP. Any changes will be communicated to the school board at an appropriate time.

In all TCAPS has created a very complete plan that accounts for all the principal factors involved in creating a school system that incorporates current technology fully into education. In particular the move to fund technology with local bond money is particularly admirable, ensuring that student will have access to the technologies they will need in a particularly volatile and destitute education system.

Dear Governing Board,

As you may be aware from recent personal experience networked computers are vulnerable to attack from malicious software. Often these attacks are initiated by our own actions when we make uninformed decisions about what to allow your computers to do. There should be no shame in falling pray to these attacks as they are designed to doop. As humans we are fallible creatures, it is the very nature and beauty of our meta-cognition that allows us to be persuaded by non-factual stimuli. Let us take this fact of our thinking beyond survival to another level to make security decisions based on philosophical principles and hard fact.

The Windows operating system is the most prevalent piece of software the world over, making it a large target for the designers of malicious software. Its very proprietary and closed source nature make it a target for free thinking individuals as well as the criminal element. Windows itself is diseased and inhabits a philosophical world that is itself diseased. As public school comrades we should all see it as our goal to provide our students with a world free from proprietary knowledge. So lets say pip pip to the hackers and give Windows the old heave ho.

I am talking of course of that wonderful wonderland, Linux. There are many reasons that Linux provides a more secure environment. Firstly privileges, in Windows, users are generally given administrator access by default, which means they pretty much have access to everything on the system, even its most crucial parts. So, then, do viruses. With Linux, on the other hand, users do not usually have such "root" privileges; rather, they're typically given lower-level accounts. What that means is that even if a Linux system is compromised, the virus won't have the root access it would need to do damage system wide; more likely, just the user's local files and programs would be affected. Windows is also a mono-culture, one windows computer is the same as any other and that works about as well as we are finding it works in the natural world. Linux on the other hand has hundreds of different distributions each comprising different software and packages, even if one is targeted it is very unlikely to work on another. Creating our own distribution of Linux would make us virtually invulnerable to attack. Another boost to Linux security is the “Linus Law” named for Linus Torvalds the creator of Linux, which simply means this; given enough eyes, all bugs are shallow. In other words the large group of people working on this open source software will catch more flaws, so less flaws for hackers to exploit. Finally, linux has a different view of software installation. It is not harvested from random places on the Internet but from a tested repository of secure working code. In other words what we need is already in the library and our wonderful librarians have already vetted it for us to use. Good by search bars and Internet Explorer.

Linux is a vastly safer system that has an open position on knowledge and equal rights that is philosophically in harmony with the aims of public education. In this case the safe choice is the morally correct choice, a win, win for our district.

Sincerely,

Pete Deyo

WMS Art Teacher

Dear Superintendent Kirk,

While Gary Stager call BYOD the worst idea of the 21st Century, I might argue that there were a few other governmental choices and policies relating to foreign policy that have had far greater negative impact then BYOD. Inspite of his somewhat overblown statement he has a point, “The only way to guarantee equitable educational experiences is for each student to have access to the same materials and learning opportunities”. BYOD as much as guarantees continued economic and cultural inequality. One could rename it BYOC (Bring Your Own Caste). Furthermore, all of the articles which you site fail to acknowledge the fact that mobile devices are built to consume; not to create.

A general purpose computer is designed as a tool that the user can put to work on just about any task. However, mobile devices are crippled by their own operating system and their ecosystem of applications controlled by the creators of those operating systems. They are designed to consume media, not to create it. As a public school it is our moral imperative to instill the importance and skills of human creativity in our students.

Thus, I believe our position should simply be this; to provide students with equal access to general purpose computing, an understanding of the technologies workings, and a path to affordable ownership of that technology on completion of its support-cycle to insure the students continued growth in our society.

Sincerely,

Pete Deyo

WMS Art Teacher

The Official Ubuntu Server Book (OUSB) is a comprehensive guide to that aims not just to induct the newbie but to also have something to offer the battle-hardened senior sysadmin within its near 600 pages. I first became interested in reading this book from my reading and review of the Official Ubuntu Book (OUB). I have been interested in setting up my own web and mail server for some time, and reading the OUB really but into perspective how adept I had become with linux in general; leading me to take the plunge with this book. The book is the collaborative effort of not just the principle authors, Kyle Rankin and Benjamin Mako Hill but also the Ubuntu server team themselves. Both the principal authors have ample linux server and writing experience. Kyle Ranken is the author of some four other linux books as well as a regular contributor to Linux Journal, PC Magazine, and TechTarget. Benjamin Mako Hill was one of Ubuntu’s supporting company, Canonical’s first employees, and the main author of the OUB. The book itself takes a pragmatic approach to servers and anywhere that Ubuntu offers software to make administration easier and less time consuming it is included with ample explanation. The OUSB is also organized in a fairly pragmatic way. The first few chapters lay a foundation to install the Ubuntu server and navigate the system even for first timers but after that chapters are organized by specific server topics such as security and monitoring. These subsequent chapters include dedicated chapters to elements common to Ubuntu servers, highlighting web and mail server’s functions, software, and configuration. Other chapters focus on Security with a focus on sudo, firewall, forensics, and Ubuntu’s own AppArmor software. Included also are chapters on virtualization, fault tolerance, troubleshooting, recovery, and my favorite cool tips and tricks. The chapters themselves are written in a tutorial style leading readers through practical steps to install and configure a working and personalized system. In all though the command line can be somewhat daunting to newcomers the book does a good job of breaking it down into easy steps and thoroughly explaining the task. The book is somewhat lacking in illustrations, one finds them few and far between, however, there is good reason for this. There is no GUI for the Ubuntu server by default. The book does include copious well formatted command line instructions and steps that clearly delineate processes for beginning sysadmins. A physical copy of the book includes two versions of Ubuntu Server 10.04 for both 32 and 64-bit systems as well as pointing users towards locations to obtain newer versions of Ubuntu.

In describing this book I would like to make an analogy. The book includes an introduction that is so comprehensive it nearly becomes laborious. It includes a short biography of Mark Shuttleworth the South African founder of Ubuntu, it includes an extensive description of Ubuntu’s founding meetings, it includes a somewhat lengthy and descriptive section on the linguistic meaning of the word Ubuntu and its origins, it includes an in depth account of the formation of Canonical, the company Shuttleworth founded to support Ubuntu, it includes a description of the Ubuntu Community, it philosophical goals and promises, it includes Ubuntu’s code of conduct describing not just the why of Ubuntu, but the how, it includes a deep listing and explanation of the technical goals of Ubuntu, it includes explanations on the sundrie differences between Canonical and the Ubuntu Foundation, it includes a detailed history of the Ubuntu server, and it does so over the course of twenty eight pages, engaging in such detailed and minute description as to top all other descriptions to date, even by far the OUB itself, filling the reader to the brim, literally with information so clear and voluminous as to defy description, almost, nearly as long winded and self indulgent as this run on sentence. And thats just the intro. The step by step commandline interactions of setting up and working with the Ubuntu server are equally clear and well researched. There could not be a better resource for someone beginning to engage with the Ubuntu server.

There were really quite a few things I found in the book that were interest that I did not know being a beginner and a bit of a noob about servers. Firstly, Ubuntu offers a dynamic message of the day that allows sysadmins to broadcast important messages to system user. This dynamic setup allows the messages to be displayed upon login to users. Having never seen such a message before in my own use of Ubuntu I had no idea this was possible. Ubuntu also offers a schedule policy for deploying new virtual machines (VMs) to cluster nodes. The default policy is roundrobin, which means that the cluster master selects one node after the other until the it finds a node that can run a new VM. The other option is greedy: Place and run the VM on the first node that can run it. Another option is powersave. In powersave mode, the cluster nodes not running VMs are put to sleep to save power and VMs will be placed onto awake nodes first followed by sleeping nodes; awesome. Very interesting also about VM’s is over provisioning. The default policy in deploying VMs to cluster nodes is one VM per CPU core. This might prove limiting to those who have lower CPU requirements for the virtual machine-bound applications. Nodes with Quad-Core CPUs can, by default, run 8 VMs but boosting certain parameters will increase that density to 16 or more. Having some hefty hardware myself that I would be interested in leveraging as a server this gets my blood pumping. PowerNap is something that interested me because of it energy conservations ability. PowerNap is a configurable daemon that runs at a specified interval that executes an action or actions when a list of monitored processes in the process table is missing for a contiguous period. It’s described as “sort of a screensaver for servers.” PowerNap has two configuration files, action and config. The action file instructs the powernap daemon on how to handle a situation according to the config file settings. Possible actions are: suspend, hibernate, power off, send a message via email or SMS or execute some other script or executable that you designate. Keeping on eye on the server and knowing what kind of traffic and power I am looking at would be pretty keen. Finally something simple, learning how to create find and exec commands. Often one needs to locate all the files within a directory and all its subdirectories with a certain attribute and run some command on them. Just a bit of Bash, but something I didn’t know. In general as to how any of this intensive jargon is useful to me, I personally see that much as I dislike it, public education is under constant attack, apparently people would rather the next generation did not have knowledge. I can easily see in the span of my educational career that a secure job as an educator will be a thing of the past. Being able to take my own infrastructure and tools with me in the “free market” education system will be quite an asset. Being my own sysadmin gives me mobility and negotiability.

The OVSB is a warm and clear learning environment that is suitable to a wide array of readers, but clearly only those interested in the actual creation and maintenance of a server system. It is beyond my ability to give constructive criticism of most of the technical aspects of this tomb, but of it’s writing and organization I could not give it higher marks for turning something so complex and dense into something so accomplishable. Anyone willing and interested in learning about this sort technical adventure would be well off to start with the Official Ubuntu Server Book.

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