AiHua Information Technology Site

I’ve had some interest in Moodle as a Learning Management System (LMS) lately. Here’s a quick guide to setting up Moodle on your own Ubuntu 8.04 LTS server:

1. Install Ubuntu Server 8.04
2. #: sudo apt-get update
3. #: sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
4. #: sudo apt-get install mysql-server php5-mysql apache2 libapache2-mod-security php5-ldap php5-odbc libapache2-mod-php5 php5-gd openssh-server phpmyadmin unzip zip aspell-en curl libcurl3 libcurl3-dev php5-curl php5-xmlrpc clamav-base clamav-freshclam clamav
5. #: sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
6. #: cd /var/www
7. #: sudo wget http://download.moodle.org/stable19/moodle-latest-19.tgz
8. #: sudo tar -zxf moodle-latest-19.tgz
9. #: sudo mkdir /var/moodledata
10. #: sudo chown -R www-data.www-data /var/moodledata/
11. #: sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
12. Point a browser to http://(yourubuntuhostipaddress)/phpmyadmin and create a database for moodle. Something like “moodle” for a database name. It’s easiest to create a user called moodle and select the option to create a matching database. The new user should have full rights and privileges
for the moodle database.
13. #: Point a browser to http://(yourubuntuhostipaddress)/moodle and follow the install instructions
14. At this point you should have a fully functioning moodle install, congratulations!

While it is possible to omit some of the packages, these packages represent a solid antiviral system for the assignments that get uploaded as well as provide extended feature support for Moodle.

If you are still having trouble, contact us via the “contact us” page on the right.

Over the course of the week I had an opportunity to have an information technology exchange with another organization in the area.  They showed us some great features of Microsoft Communication Server and I was quite impressed and knew I could do at least some features via open source software but wanted to know if it was possible to have a total replacement that is completely open source.  The short answer is “yes AND no.”  Yes you can replace it, but it takes a few open source components working together to do it.

The first question is “what does Microsoft Communication Server do?”  It’s essentially a version of MSN Instant Messenger on steroids, as it not only handles instant messages and collaboration within an organization, but handles phone calls and group conferencing.  As I looked around at the linux and unix offerings, I discovered Microsoft is actually late to the communications party.  Many of the projects discussed have existed for a long while and are quite mature and have been used extensively in business environments.

So to replicate an environment consisting of Exchange, Active Directory, and Communication Server an open source environment could use:

• OpenLDAP and Samba for PDC/AD type functionality and file sharing
• Asterisk (technically, a Microsoft setup *still* requires Asterisk or another telephony system so this is required either way)
• Zimbra for an Exchange like mail server (Zimbra has many technological advantages in it’s own right as well)
• Openfire which operates a Jabber (XMPP) server and integrates with Asterisk, SBS, and even SugarCMS to provide a robust contender to the MS Communication Server.

Not that there is anything wrong with choosing to go the Microsoft route, but we believe that people should be able to choose their solution, and this lineup of services offers another option for organizations.

There is no denying that it is highly beneficial to have centralized authentication and file services.  Over the years we have made a lot of strides in AiHua.  Our first server was an old box with Mepis on it that served as our file server during the spring of 2006.  Our next few systems were based on LTSP or DRBL which effectively both have centralized login’s and centralized file repositories.  It makes a huge difference when staff can login to their own desktop and files from any computer in the building.  It also allows for them to continue working at another station or with a computer/thin client that is in reserve.

When an entire company is comprised of linux/unix desktops and servers, it’s easy to set up LDAP services for authentication and NFS for centralized storage; however, windows computers are not so simple.  In the past it took some level of expertise in both unix/linux and windows machines to create an effective ldap/samba replacement for a domain controller, it isn’t overly daunting and there is a great deal of information on the internet; however, it’s still not for the faint of heart.

This is where a fantastic open source project called ebox comes in.  Ebox installs ontop of ubuntu (a free/open source linux) server editions and provides an out of the box domain controller!  It also features easy to use web interfaces to add users, groups, and computers.  It’s no one trick pony, as it also features a firewall/gateway, proxy/nat, DHCP, TFTP, jabber server, e-mail server, and VPN server out of the box.

We recommend you give it a try and replace the Windows servers around your office with this powerful solution.  If you need help setting it up or setting up a PDC on another linux distribution like openSuse, we are availible.  Follow the links to the right to contact us.

This is a quick update on using Untangle as a Gateway/Router and/or NAT.  Ours is working fantastic, even though we have very few windows instances in our office (only one windows virtual instance for RDP connections) it isn’t uncommon for guests to bring windows laptops into our offices.  Those windows boxes may or may not have proper security implementations and are thus susceptible to viruses, malicious software, and phishing schemes.  Untangle effectively protects those computers by standing as a door guard between what can be retrieved from the internet.  It also has a complete proxy suite which allows for content control so administrators can decide what catagories or individual websites are appropriate for office viewing.  The only drawback is that it requires a moderate computer for an small to medium business deployment (SMB), it realistically needs a single core processor between 1-2Ghz and memory between 1-2GB depending on the size of the office; it’s well worth the sacrifice.

The same effect can be had on less powerful computers by building solutions from a headless linux distribution; however, it takes considerable expertise to build and implement, and is not as friendly to manage.  If you’re interested in protecting your network, please contact us for information about your own networks.

We have added a page for Jobs and Internships which is accessible to the right.

Currently we have opportunities for:

• Local Chinese IT staff.
• Short and long term foreigners in IT and accounting.
• Work from home on virtual servers (linux/unix/open source).

Visit the Job’s & Internships page for more details, pay, and benefits.

I’ve been working with KIWI-LTSP for openSuse for the last 2 weeks.  It’s a fabulous solution and allows for easy terminal server setup, maintanance, and deployment.  It also easily allows for easy and fast remote helpdesk support, local applications, NX, and even allows clients to boot from CD or USB instead of the PXE server (which would be useful for running clients over a vpn and NX server).  It’s quite stable and I would recommend it or Ubuntu LTSP5 to any site that would like to deploy thin clients on their network.  For questions or consultations regarding thin clients please use the contact link.

We have been expirimenting with some open source routing software this week.  I have to say that I’m incredibly impressed with Untangle as a network solution, so much so that it went into operation on an old P4 desktop we had lying around.  It’s now serving as a VPN and web filter and doing quite well at it.  I’d thoroughly recommend the open source edition for any organization who’s fed up with spam, malware, time sink hole websites, and viruses.  It works best with a computer in the 1Ghz to 2ghz range with 1 to 2 Gigs of ram and 2 ethernet ports; however, it gets by quite well even on 500+ Mhz with 512 megs of ram with 2 ethernet cards.  It will also work within a virtual machine if setup properly.  We are happy to assist in the setup or consultation of routing and gateway solutions, use the contact page to the right for questions or to setup an appointment.

AiHua has begun offering assistance in setting up open source document services and groupware systems.  We are able to install Alfresco or CYN.IN (pronounced sign in) into your infrastructure.  We can also install other groupware systems such as e-groupware.  Moodle or other teaching software is also an option should you have need of it.

Document services and/or groupware can be used to streamline work processes by making sure documents are automatically sent for review by supervisors as well as sharing them with relevant personnel and departments.  They often offer project management solutions as well, giving you a powerful tool to stay on top of deadlines and budgets.

We can offer virtual appliances or standalone servers, for consultation services please use the contact us page.

It seems that in the virtualization race that a couple of relatively new entrants are making headway.  The first, proxmox, works much like a hypervisor for xen.  It actually runs on a modified Debian linux, making it quite similar to one of our favorite distributions in the office: Ubuntu linux, which is also based on Debian.  It’s a true open source project that also supports openvz guests which have a speed advantage but are restricted in which operating systems can be virtualized.

The second new development comes from Sun Microsystems who is soon going to offer an open sourced virtualization server which is also based on xen.  This one will be a hypervisor based on OpenSolaris (which is a tried and true unix variant and makes our list of favorites with Ubuntu and OpenSuse) and thus features some of the fantastic features that Solaris variants have.  The most exciting of which is native support for the most advanced file system available: ZFS.  It will also feature interoperability with their acquired technology from VirtualBox (an open source product I heartily recommend to desktop users who need or want virtualization) and has a vastly improved interface compared to previous interface attempts by Sun Microsystems.

These technologies will make implementation and installation much quicker and significantly simpler for organizations to achieve.  It will also make deployment of virtualized appliances (such as those offered by AiHua) easily installed by persons with minimal technical know how (as configuration can be primarily achieved by IT personnel prior to distribution).  They also seem to support many more hardware configurations than the often expensive name brand servers that ESXi seems to prefer.

To discuss the feasibility and potential benefits and side effects you can use the contact page to engage our consultation services.

When I first arrived in China at the AiHua offices in 2005, I must confess that I did not know very much about open source software.  I was working in graphic design and web design at the time (cobbler’s son’s wear no shoes).  I was given an additional task by our general director to start paving the way for another team member who had been selected to pioneer using Linux as the desktop of choice for NGO’s around the province of Yunnan.

Unfortunately that team member never made it to our offices; however, with a Mandriva CD in one hand and an OpenSuse one in the other, myself and my national collegue James began learning the ins and outs of linux and other open source software.  I had tried Linux in 1995; however, it never really stuck with me back then.  Nearly 19 years later, it had evolved into a very usable and very powerful operating system.  I became more and more hooked as I discovered this was the silver bullet our office needed!  No longer did we have to fumble with anti virus software, firewall software, and complicated backup strategies.

Eventually I landed on Ubuntu as my distribution of choice because of it’s ease of use and great multilingual support.  While many staff were apprehensive at first, it has met with more and more praise for it’s stability, ease of use (Gnome interface), and veritable immunity to viruses.

Now, 3 years after becoming a linux administrator, I can’t ever see myself going to any other system.  The power and flexibility is unmatched, and all of it offered legally at absolutely no cost!  This is why I’m a vocal open source proponent and for the foreseeable future will remain so: because it improves organizations and saves money… and every bit of efficiency that can be eaked out saves money for use in charitable work!