[seul-edu] Hello - Introduction

["Linux at DCE" <seul@dce.k12.wi.us>]

Hello, my name is Cory Jaeger.  I am the network manager for
D.C. Everest Area School District (http://www.dce.k12.wi.us/) in
Wisconsin, USA.  We have 7 elementary schools, a 6-7 middle school, a
8-9 Jr. High and a 10-12 Sr. High.  Our official enrollment this year was
just under 5200 students district wide.

Over the past four years, we have gone from no open source at all to
considerable use on the server end.  We still have virtually no Linux on
the desktop. We are currently using open source for:
- Student records database (oracle database running on a Linux server.)
- Our web server (Apache on a Linux server with PHP, Perl, MySQL and
  PostgreSQL.) This server is also running ASP services from Sun
  (formerly Chilisoft ASP) and MS FrontPage server extensions.
- Computer hardware inventory - Apache/PHP/PostgreSQL based on Linux.
- Substitute teacher scheduling - Apache/Perl/PostgreSQL based on Linux.
- FTP, DNS, WINS, NTP (network time syncing for those who don't know)
- Logging from our network devices (mostly Cisco equipment)
- Automated downloads and distribution of Virus signatures for McAfee
  to our schools.
- Web proxy/caching servers for several schools - Using Squid/Linux.
  We are in the process of evaluating Squid/SquidGuard for district-wide
  proxy/cache/filtering.
- A 1-Terabyte Linux storage server - It can be accessed via FTP, NFS,
  SMB (windows) or NCP (NetWare.)
- Almost certainly some things I have forgotten about.  With servers running
  as long as 800 days with only a single reboot, it's easy to forget they
  are there and exactly what jobs they are doing.

Some of these servers are true server-level hardware from IBM but most
are just standard PCs.  Many are "retired" PCs that were "too slow" to
use anymore. Of course that was with Windows.  The 1TB server was built
from parts ordered online for just over $5000.  I think that both the
server and the project of building it (with some student help) can be
valuable to a school so I will be putting details online as soon as I
can finish writing them up.

Like many schools in this area, we primarily have NetWare for file
servers and use NDS for authentication.  One of my biggest roadblocks to
Linux on the desktop is finding some way to share a common home
directory between Linux and NetWare and managing a single source for
authentication.  If anyone has done this, I'd love to know the details.

I have been working with Linux pretty extensively here and got my RHCE
last year.  I am fairly competent in C, Perl, PHP, SQL and bash
scripting so I have been able to automate a fair number of things under
Linux that I doubt I could have done under Windows.

I believe that open source and Linux is the right choice for most modern
schools.  Except for the smallest districts, I think it can save more
then enough money to pay the salary of someone to administer things.  I
think that even in the small districts Linux and OSS can improve uptime
and stretch limited budget dollars.

I'm looking forward to working with this list to benefit education for
our children.  It would be great to look back one day and say incredulously,
"remember when we used to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on
software, hardware and support?"

Like most schools we are feeling considerable budget pressures these
days.  Some districts near us are being forced to cut programs, lay off
teachers, or even close the doors on one of their schools.  Obviously
OSS isn't going to solve all of these financial problems, but at least
it doesn't contribute to them like high-priced software licenses do.

Cory Jaeger
Network Manager
D.C. Everest Area School District
Weston, WI  54476