[Server-devel] physical security issue

[John Watlington]

Sameer,
    We currently do not recommend that an AA be used in schools.
Scalability with AAs is a problem, due to problems with the mesh
protocols.   Hence my comment about likely needing an external
USB/network interface for the upstream connection.

This might make the physical security problem easier to solve,
as now the server can be located anywhere in the school, and
only the AP needs to be positioned for optimum wireless coverage.

wad

On Oct 8, 2008, at 1:23 PM, Sameer Verma wrote:

> On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 8:42 PM, John Watlington <wad at laptop.org>  
> wrote:
>>
>> Actually, Walter, we still hold hope for XOs as school servers
>> for very small schools.    The problem with this is insufficient
>> memory and insufficient disk space.   While an external disk
>> may alleviate the second problem, it has poor reliability and
>> is a very attractive item for theft.
>>
>> But there is nothing stopping a regular laptop from serving
>> as a school server.   An external network interface may be
>> needed for the upstream connection.
>>
>> wad
>>
>
> We do have a laptop (Fujitsu P2120@ approx. 900MHz Crusoe + 384 MB
> RAM) that works as a school server (XS 0.4) for OLPC-SF meetings, but
> it doesn't see more than 20~30 laptops via one AA, so scalability
> isn't something we've tested on it. Of course, if the laptop were more
> powerful and had more RAM, it should scale up.
>
> A couple of people at OLPC-SF have suggested alternatives like the one
> I mentioned for places that can afford to have a lot of bandwidth
> dropped in (donated) by a provider. I just wanted to ping the list and
> see if anyone else has thought along this route. If/when anything
> develops on our end, I'll post it here.
>
> cheers,
> Sameer
> -- 
> Dr. Sameer Verma, Ph.D.
> Associate Professor of Information Systems
> San Francisco State University
> San Francisco CA 94132 USA
> http://verma.sfsu.edu/
> http://opensource.sfsu.edu/
>
>> On Oct 7, 2008, at 11:25 PM, Walter Bender wrote:
>>
>>> Clarification: the XO is not the laptop I am proposing for the  
>>> server.
>>> Wad can speak to this.
>>>
>>> -walter
>>>
>>> On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 11:24 PM, Walter Bender  
>>> <walter.bender at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> One idealet (not worthy of being called an idea): What if the  
>>>> server
>>>> were a laptop that the teacher could take with him/her? Pros: The
>>>> school need not be secure. Cons: Price, and of course, laptops  
>>>> can be
>>>> stolen. But it does put the server in the hands of a presumably
>>>> trusted individual in the community.
>>>>
>>>> -walter
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 11:20 PM, Sameer Verma <sverma at sfsu.edu>  
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 8:00 PM, John Watlington  
>>>>> <wad at laptop.org> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> You keep pushing for centrally hosted school servers.
>>>>>> Are you sure you don't work for the phone company ?
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Last time I checked, San Francisco State University wasn't in the
>>>>> telco business.
>>>>>
>>>>>> Again, unless you have a 100 Mbit connection from the
>>>>>> school to the upstream ISP, you will need something with
>>>>>> a disk and a significant amount of memory present in the
>>>>>> school.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> OK.
>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't disagree about the need for physical security of
>>>>>> the machine, just the proposed solution.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> OK. Any other solutions? I'm all ears.
>>>>>
>>>>> Sameer
>>>>>
>>>>>> wad
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Oct 7, 2008, at 10:47 PM, Sameer Verma wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> As if discussions on this list aren't lively enough, here's  
>>>>>>> another
>>>>>>> issue to look at.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> While I was in Jamaica, I met with several people who work  
>>>>>>> with their
>>>>>>> school districts, and many pointed out that if a server was  
>>>>>>> to stay
>>>>>>> physically resident at the school, it will need a lot of  
>>>>>>> physical
>>>>>>> security. The most common problem is theft. The other problem  
>>>>>>> will be
>>>>>>> physical damage (just because somebody can). It is not  
>>>>>>> uncommon in
>>>>>>> some of these
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> If the school server is hosted at an ISP upstream, we need  
>>>>>>> something
>>>>>>> small (maybe an XO?) at the school that can VLAN or VPN over  
>>>>>>> to the
>>>>>>> school server at the ISP/Data Center.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Any ideas?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> cheers,
>>>>>>> Sameer
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Dr. Sameer Verma, Ph.D.
>>>>>>> Associate Professor of Information Systems
>>>>>>> San Francisco State University
>>>>>>> San Francisco CA 94132 USA
>>>>>>> http://verma.sfsu.edu/
>>>>>>> http://opensource.sfsu.edu/
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> Server-devel mailing list
>>>>>>> Server-devel at lists.laptop.org
>>>>>>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Server-devel mailing list
>>>>> Server-devel at lists.laptop.org
>>>>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Walter Bender
>>>> Sugar Labs
>>>> http://www.sugarlabs.org
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Walter Bender
>>> Sugar Labs
>>> http://www.sugarlabs.org