May 2010 - wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

Remote adminstration
by cmoman 05 Oct '10

05 Oct '10

Hello all, Is there a tool in ubuntu that a user can start that reports the real world ip address and configures a home router to open a port to allow remote administration? I have a friend or two for whom it would nice to get them to start a program, report to me the details via MSN or Skype or telephone etc and allow me to log in and fix or make a configuration change to their machine. I know how to set things up using ssh etc but that relies on some initial configuration at the their end. KDE has a nice VNC invite function but it won't do the router config part. It appears the likes of KTorrent and Azuereus have the ability to do some to the router via UPnP to open ports up on the router dynamically so I am guessing all this is possible. Cheers

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WLUG Fixit Meeting tomorrow
by Meeting Reminder bot 20 Aug '10

20 Aug '10

A reminder; the WLUG Fixit Meeting is tomorrow. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday Mar 6th, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm SaturdayWorkshop at Te Whanau Pūtahi (http://www.wlug.org.nz/TeWhanauPutahi) the community church at the end of Oxford Street. We'll have the usual tables, power, various ISO's, Internet, coffee and light lunch, etc.

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job vacancy - Software Developer (Linux)
by John McPherson 31 May '10

31 May '10

Global-Pix.com runs several websites, including the Marathon-Photos.com site. In 2009 we photographed more than 400 events through 30 countries - taking more than 4 million images and recording over a thousand hours' worth of video footage. We are looking for another Programmer to join our small development team based at our offices in Hamilton. We want someone with a minimum of 3 years' programming experience, particularly with the Python programming language. In this position you would help maintain and program both customer-facing and internal/back-end systems, reporting to the team lead. You will be responsible for implementing feature and change requests as well as developing new projects. Most of our projects are written in python, but you have some latitude to use other technologies where appropriate. Any expertise in the following areas would be an advantage: * HTML, CSS and jQuery * Cheetah templating system * SQL databases * SMTP, IMAP Experience in system administration would also be a distinct advantage, especially: * Server internals (eg RAID, SATA, UPSes) * Debian GNU/Linux administration experience * LAN management (configuration, DNS/bind, diagnostics, etc) * Centralised account management - LDAP, SMB, SSH Salary is negotiable based on skillset and experience. Our office has a small and friendly atmosphere near the middle of the Hamilton CBD. Please send email to vacancies(a)global-pix.com to apply or request further information. (If you reply to this email, please ensure that your reply stays off-list) -- John McPherson

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Shared authentication, 2010 style
by Craig Box 27 May '10

27 May '10

Back in the day (a Wednesday, for those who remember it) us WLUG/NZLUG folks were pretty clued up when it came to things like connecting Linux machines to Active Directory using SAMBA [1]. However, kids these days just don't know what kind of crap we had to go through back then, and while I haven't done the testing myself, I'm pretty sure that today you just type 'apt-get install likewise-open', and you don't have to know any magic incantations at all. How about if you want to run a central directory on Linux, not on Windows? You could look at the Ubuntu guide [2]. Or "LDAP for the Lazy Sysadmin" [3]. Do go check that last one out - you don't have to read it all. Just scroll through it for a second. I'll wait. <<taps toes>> That isn't lazy at all! Lazy is paying Microsoft for Active Directory. Unfortunately, due to one complexity or another, it seemed AD often won out for a situation where you had to have some Windows machines as well as your Linux hosts. I remember thinking it strange back when Windows was supposed to be all about the desktop and Linux was supposed to be all about the server, that you got a better client experience on Linux and server experience on Windows. It's 2010 now. Flying cars, etc. I want central authentication across a small network of Ubuntu machines - no Windows machines are expected. Ultimately I'd like multi-master (I believe 389, formerly Fedora DS/Netscape Directory Server does this; and OpenLDAP does not?) so I don't have to think too much about failover/redundancy. Please, someone, tell me there is a better solution? Is there a turn-key method for this? Craig [1] http://www.wlug.org.nz/SambaAsPDC?action=PageHistory and http://www.wlug.org.nz/LDAPAuthentication?action=PageHistory for some examples. Look at the dates. [2] https://help.ubuntu.com/10.04/serverguide/C/openldap-server.html [3] http://wiki.ucc.asn.au/LDAP/LazySysadmin

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Re: [wlug] [nzlug] Shared authentication, 2010 style
by Craig Box 25 May '10

25 May '10

> You'll want an LDAP server, a Kerberos server, NTP server, pam_ldap and pam_krb5. You can auth against ldap if you don't want kerberos, but I think krb is a much better solution. > > Setting up ldap will be the most pain, Active Directory and Open Directory come with schemas set up, but you'll have to figure out what you want yourself. I believe there are some gui tools for this these days, but last I checked it wasn't much better than 2002. See, that's the point. I /don't/ want any of that. I want to apt-get install --jfdi ubuntu-directory-server. Then I want to apt-get install ubuntu-managed-client. If I have to figure out what I need, the problem isn't solved. (Personally, I hate LDAP, but it is what it is.) Interestingly, there are blueprints and specs for almost every Ubuntu release in the last 2 years suggesting they should implement this, but there doesn't seem to be any movement. There is a guy working on a bunch of Puppet recipes, and should I end up using LDAP and automating deployment, I will probably end up contributing to this. </rant> Good news though, I did have another look at the eBox website today [1], and it seems they have a potential turn-key-esque answer. (Dagan, Apache Directory Studio looks quite good - I will check it out. Unfortunately it doesn't solve the "which schema do I choose" problem any.) Craig [1] http://www.ebox-platform.com/

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NZ Computer Society National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone
by David Hallett 24 May '10

24 May '10

NZ Computer Society National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone 9 June 2010: 12:00pm - 1:30pm Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on ICT in a disaster zone and the role technology plays in saving lives. National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone As we know, ICT has transformed everyday life and changed the way we do things. As well as this, technology now plays a pivotal role in the global humanitarian and rescue response when disaster strikes around the world. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have established a number of IT & Telecommunications Emergency Response Units (ERUs) to help in the response to disasters and emergencies around the world. New Zealand's ERU was the 5th such unit and consists of a team of 20 with diverse backgrounds in telecommunications and ICT. The Emergency Response Units are charged with putting in place emergency telecommunications infrastructure to support the rescue effort. Ongoing power and internet outages as well as IT system software and hardware failures within the country create significant difficulties for Red Cross to maintain ongoing contact with key partners, field staff and external contacts, making this role essential. As an active member of the NZ Red Cross IT&T ERU, Steve Davis will outline the impact greater use of telecommunications and IT infrastructure has had on the rescue efforts in disaster-hit areas such as Haiti, Tonga and the Solomon Islands, the challenges faced, as well as some of the background to the Red Cross IT&T team. About The Speaker Steve Davis has a background in Radio Communications and IT spanning more than 25 years and has been putting this to use in the fields of Emergency Management and Disaster Response through a number of agencies over the past 18 years. Through an early interest in electronics and radio Steve obtained his amateur radio license in 1980, soon after becoming a member of the New Zealand Association of Amateur Radio Transmitters (NZART) and later joining the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications group (AREC). Steve has served as a member of the National Council for NZART, various offices for the local NZART branch and as Section Leader for the local AREC Section. Through AREC Steve became involved in Land Search and Rescue in New Zealand and has responded to many searches to provide communications and IT support at the Incident Control Point. Steve has also participated in local, regional and national roles of the Land SAR organisation over many years. In more recent times Steve has become a member of NZ Red Cross’s first International Emergency Response Unit, providing IT & Telecommunications support to International and Local Red Cross in times of a major disaster. Steve is currently self employed providing training, consulting and contracting services in a range of fields in the ICT and Emergency Management sectors, and is active in NZCS, Scouts NZ, and the Mountain Safety Council. Note: Light lunch provided. Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others. Registration required at the following URL: http://www.nzcs.org.nz/events/waikato_bop/152-National_Series_ICT_in_a_Disa… <http://www.nzcs.org.nz/events/waikato_bop/139-National_Series_Transformatio…> Regards, David Hallett, BSc, MNZCS ITCP P.O. Box 15-516 Hamilton, New Zealand Phone: +64-7-210 5520 Mobile: +64-21-802 256

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REMINDER: WLUG meeting tonight!
by Meeting Reminder Bot 23 May '10

23 May '10

There's a WLUG meeting tonight: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Software Freedom Day 2010 A presentation and summary of previous SFD events that WLUG has run, and our plans for http://www.wlug.org.nz/SoftwareFreedomDay2010 May 24th 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4)

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Update problem
by john 23 May '10

23 May '10

I have a very strange problem. I had Ubuntu 9.10 working well on my desktop - after updating to 10.04, it would not recognise my mouse or keyboard - they are not usb, they are the older plug in types (?ps2). When I plugged in a usb mouse, and rebooted, both the usb and old devices worked intermittently. I then plugged in a usb wireless keyboard and mouse and all was well for a while but now both have ceased to function - I just get a stationary arrow and no way of accessing anything. They all work perfectly if I boot into windows as this is a dual boot computer. Any ideas?

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Fixit Day Next month
by Ron Dean 23 May '10

23 May '10

Is it being held on the 5th of June as it's Queens Birthday Weekend. -- Ron Dean 2 Shannon Place Nawton Hamilton Ph 8493904

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REMINDER: WLUG meeting is on Monday
by Meeting Reminder Bot 20 May '10

20 May '10

There's a Waikato Linux Users Group meeting on Monday: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Software Freedom Day 2010 A presentation and summary of previous SFD events that WLUG has run, and our plans for http://www.wlug.org.nz/SoftwareFreedomDay2010 May 24th 7:30pm MS4.G.02 (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map?MS4)

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