DICE Meeting 2002-05-14

Agenda

1. Corrections to minutes
2. Actions Arising from minutes of meeting of 2002-04-30
3. Profile Servers
4. General issues
   • Groups
   • Spam
   • Hardware

Decisions

1. Documentation: The documentation team will provide a framework for general purpose documentation for DICE(eg visitor).

Actions

• actions carried forward from previous meetings
• actions not under the Review of Tasks section.
• actions from Review of Tasks section that involves someone outside the task.

1. Actions Arising: machine purchase details need to be finalised and a tender submitted. (noted 2002-02-19)
   [CEG]
2. Actions Arising - teaching software: summary message to go to all teaching staff. (noted 2002-05-14)
   [Jeremy]
3. Actions Arising - faster deployment: Use of XDM and issues of speeding up deployment of DICE. [CEG]. Final conclusions to be drawn. (noted 2002-03-05)
   [CEG]
4. Actions Arising - Doc types: Deployment tasks need to notify Alison what types of documents they will be producing. (noted 2002-03-05)
   [Roger/Bill]
5. Actions Arising - DICE deployment publicity: Site managers should make sure that this publicity is provided. (noted 2002-03-19)
   [Alastair/Jeremy/Ken]
6. Actions Arising - Conversion of accounts to UUN: Site managers to arrange to contact users who will need to change their username to warn them. (noted 2002-02-19)
   [Alastair/Jeremy/Ken]
7. Actions Arising - MIS feed: check about getting data direct. (noted 2002-04-02)
   [Neil]
8. Actions Arising - Filesystem Maps: the proposal to be completed by 17/5. (noted 2002-05-14)
   [ Bill]
9. Actions Arising - Common Home Directories: List of 'top ten' groups from each site to be finalised (noted 2002-05-14)
   [Roger]
10. Actions Arising - Backups. A person responsible needs to be allocated to the stage 1 task. (noted 2002-04-02)
    [CEG]
11. Actions Arising - Timetable: update milestones with timetable dates. (noted 2002-04-30)
    [CEG]
12. Profile Server: provide change instructions and templates. (noted 2002-05-14)
    [ Alastair]
13. Groups Load group name to GID mappings into LDAP. (noted 2002-05-14)
    [Roger/Bill]
14. Spam: Get EUCS configuration for filtering mail from blacklisted sites. (noted 2002-05-14)
    [Craig]
15. Hardware Remaining server hardware to be ordered. (noted 2002-05-14)
    [Alastair]

Minutes

1. Corrections to minutes of 2002-04-30

   The privacy issue needs to be added to the list of decisions.

2. Actions arising from minutes of last meeting (2002-04-30)
   1. Actions Arising: machine purchase CEG to discuss machine purchase mechanism. (noted 2002-02-19) [Alastair/Jeremy/Ken]
      An initial proposal for purchasing ~210 CPUs has been made with a view to reusing existing monitors with a 20% annual replacement. The details need to be finalised and regrettably there needs to be a tender.
      Ongoing
   2. Actions Arising - teaching software: The issue of software required for next year needs to be raised with members of teaching staff. To be raised at Curriculum/Teaching Committees as appropriate.

      Jeremy attended Teaching Committee and discussed the issue. Teaching staff were encouraged to be proactive in contacting the relevant site reps.

      Done
      A summary message is due to go to all teaching staff. It was also suggested that tutors and lab demonstrators, where known for next year, need to be included in the pilot process.
      [ACTION: Jeremy]
   3. Actions Arising - faster deployment: Use of XDM and issues of speeding up deployment of DICE. [CEG].

      CEG haven't reach a final conclusion on the overall deployment period although anticipate it will be completed nearer to Summer 2003 than 2004.

      Use of XDM was agreed in principle with local sites working out the details of implementation. This will require 'login' servers for BP and FH/SB. Neil suggested xnest could be used as well.

      Done
   4. Actions Arising - Doc types: Deployment tasks need to notify Alison what types of documents they will be producing. [All deployment task 'owners'].
      Ongoing
      'Name and shame' list should be circulated on cos@inf.
      Done
      Decision: it was agreed that the Documentation team would provide a framework for general purpose documentation.

      COs who need information about a task in order to make use of it should mail Alison so she can chase the relevant task owners to provide documentation.

      Done
   5. Actions Arising - DICE deployment publicity: Site managers should make sure that this publicity is provided. [Alastair/Jeremy/Ken]
      Ongoing
   6. Actions Arising - Conversion of accounts to UUN: Site managers should contact those users who will need to change their username to warn them again of the need for the change and should arrange for a list of things to change/look out for. [Alastair/Jeremy/Ken]

      Roger has confirmed with Christine Rees that it should be possible to convert a few remaining login<->UUN discrepancies to avoid their owners having to change. The final list of changes needs to be coordinated with Ken/Alastair .

      [Roger]
   7. Actions Arising - MIS feed: check about getting data direct.[Neil]
      Neil has liaised with David Lowrie and the feed will be setup in due course.
      Ongoing
   8. Actions Arising - Filesystem Maps: the proposal will be complete within a couple of days of this meeting.
      [Bill]
   9. Actions Arising - Common Home Directories: unification of groups. [Roger]. List of 'top ten' groups from each site needs to be finalised
      [Roger]
   10. Actions Arising - Backups. A person responsible needs to be allocated to the stage 1 task.
       Ongoing
   11. Privacy: check requirements for support information that will be private. (noted 2002-04-30)
       Done
   12. Filesystems: aisubmit: check aisubmit requirements.
       There will need to be a group for aisubmit.
       Done
   13. Filesystems: LDAP partition table: Ken to do initial populate of table, Simon to provide script. Ken to get partition info from Bill.
       Done
   14. Timetable: update milestones with timetable dates. (noted 2002-04-30)
       Ongoing

3. Profile Server

   The new profile server will be installed soon. Switching configuration to use it requires a careful changeover procedure which Alastair will publicise.

   rfe works from DICE clients to multiple hosts.

   Alastair will provide a dummy template for clients and multiple ones for servers.

   [ACTION: Alastair]
4. General Issues

   Infrastructure

   The infrastructure task met on 2002-05-09. The minutes are here.

   Groups

   The list of finalised groups needs to get into LDAP. ALl the facilities are available for this it is just a question of getting a suitable textfile created and then loaded in.

   [ACTION: Roger/Bill]

   Spam

   The provision of spam filtering on the mailhub will come down to policy on what we want to do in conjunction/comparison to EUCS. However we should at least adopt the filtering of blacklisted sites as EUCS does and see what impact that has on overall levels of spam. After that we can consider lobbying for additional central support for individual services (eg spam-assassin) and/or collaborating with EUCS to develop these.

   Craig will look into configuration for filtering mail from blacklisted sites.

   [ACTION: Craig]

   Hardware

   Remaining server hardware is about to be ordered.

   [ACTION: Alastair]

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