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Revision 12 as of 2010-03-12 17:06:56
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Editor: ClintonEbadi
Comment: 2010 board statement
Revision 47 as of 2014-04-10 13:26:51
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Editor: ClintonEbadi
Comment: notes to self about ssl
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I am Clinton Ebadi. I am Clinton Ebadi. I am the reluctant President of the coop (someone has to do it), and the current lead sysadmin / DomTool maintainer / lo-fi AdamChlipala replacement.
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= 2010 Board Statement = = Board Statements =
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== Hardware == See [[/BoardStatements]]
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We have procured a new machine and, after some delays, are near to
having it online as our primary file and database server. This will
allow us to handle our (finally) growing membership gracefully.
= Pages to Update After Adding Stripe =
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My primary hardware goal for 2010 is to make our central services
redundant. At the very least allowing mail delivery, databases, and
read-only AFS volumes for all users to continue functioning in case of
the failure of one machine.
 * TreasurerInstructions
 * MemberManual/GettingStarted/NewMember
 * MemberManual/GettingHelp
 * ProspectiveMemberFaq
 * PayingDues
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== System Administration == = General Coop Goals =
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A year ago DavorOcelic was more or less our only admin, and I knew
next to nothing about our setup and could perform only menial tasks
under his supervision.
Unstructured musing on when/what I think the coop ought to be.
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After a year I have become competent enough with the software HCoop
uses to provide actual assistance to Davor, thus giving us two primary
admins. RichardDarst has also joined the admin team and has been quite
helpful with physical hardware visits and is now in our sysadmin
group.

This puts us in a tolerable situation, but this is still less than
ideal. Currently we are without a maintainer for DomTool or the portal
as AdamChlipala (after many years of volunteering) has decided to step
down from software maintenance.

Over the next year we will need to bring at least one more person onto
the admin team and find a new maintainer for our custom software.

== Financial ==

This year I was able to convince the board that $7/month dues were
reasonable, and we've managed to bring HCoop to a reasonably stable
financial position. We are within 20 members of being able to phase
out of the dues system (intended as a temporary measure, but relied
upon for far too long to keep us afloat).

My goal of expanding membership to ~300 was unrealistic last year, but
now that services have stabilized and our sysadmin situation is better
we have been slowly increasing membership month to month. Expanding to
200 members in 2010 would be reasonable without much effort; if we
attempted to attract new members we might well hit 300 (and we have
the infrastructure in place now to handle this many).

With even 200 members we will be in a position to replace our aging
hardware and thus expand the available services to all members.


= 2009 Board Election =

== Hardware ==

We should take stock of our current hardware, get hopper online soon,
and see if it is worthwhile getting xanadu online for shell access.

== Financial ==

Right now our financial situation is untenable; we have 134 members
with base expenses of over $750 per month and are only able to operate
because of members with multiple pledges. The active members of the
coop should attempt to get a friend or two to join, and we should
address any issues that would prevent someone familiar with UNIX from
joining.

A goal of expanding membership to around 300 by next year seems
reasonable given the hardware we own, and would put us in a position
to explore things like having a part-time paid sysadmin and expanding
a bit more aggressively six months to a year from now.

== System Administration ==

The main volunteer system administrator pool should be expanded from
three to four in order to replace mwolson and remove some task burden
from docelic. If no one else wishes to volunteer, I should be able to
assist, but it has been quite a while since I've done any system
adminstration for anything other than my personal machine.

Setting up a firewall and user limits similar to what we used on
fyodor is essential to expanding beyond our current membership; right
now we have resources to spare and ports a plenty, but I suspect that
with 300 or so members we'll be close enough to our hardware limits on
at least mire that we'll need to prevent the occasional runaway
process from interrupting service for other users.
 * (./) January 2013: New website online, navajos and bog both up with new members using them
 * February 2013->June 2014: Big push for new members. New website should make us seem more alive, we've finally fixed about 3/4 of the "temporary" hacks from when we first moved to Peer1, etc. (./) mire is gone (less work: we just have to get people off of it), but also work toward getting rid of deleuze. Web services first (low hanging fruit), even if it means punting on fully converting to domtool managed sites (at least packaged and documented). AFAICT other than those we're just left with:
   * (./) DomTool dispatcher
   * Master DNS
   * Exim
   * IMAP (might have to patch courier-authdaemon)
   * (./) A few straggling openafs volumes (+ AFSDB records?)
   * Backups
   * MailMan
   * The portal
   * {X} FTP (''support for plain ftp removed'')
   * Webalizer
 * April 2014: Rekey the afs cell
 * July/August 2014: Catch the sales on the last generation Dell 2U/2-socket machines and create a clean counterpart to fritz.
   * See NewServerDiscussion2013
   * Minimal KVM host setup for base OS. We might run the KDC and OpenAFS on the bare metal, not entirely certain.
   * Create new wheezy based VMs, duplicating (and turning into master) services hosted in VMs on fritz
     * For the first time, this is realistic: all of those months packaging our configuration pay off by sparing future-me from herculean efforts.
 * March 2014->July 2014: Transition remaining services off of deleuze onto KernelVirtualMachine``s on new kvm host
 * Winter 2014: Assuming 150+ members, perhaps more bandwidth is in order
 * Spring 2015: Ponies for everyone.
   * IPv6, mediagoblin, diaspora, gitorious, (./) xmpp works again (and ability to use vanity domains), ...
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 * 41087914 (ICQ)
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= Something Else = = Immediate Tasks =
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I a bicycling and beer brewing bearded man who espouses a philosophy of personal freedom harmonizing with its contrary the needs of society. I hack Lisp and Scheme (mostly Common Lisp nowadays) and read strange old philosophy books for fun.  * Rekey the cell
 * Unsuck mail (bounces, `DefaultAlias = user`)
 * Networked domtool-tail
 * Possible donations for new server
 * Backups (blocked by lack of hardware)
 * Spec out new server
 * Consolidate web stuff onto navajos
   * Upgrade squirrelmail
   * webdav/svn
     * Can we support gssapi negotiate? Seems like it should be trivial on the server side.

= Admin Stuff =

== fastcgi setup notes ==

Notes to self about configuring fastcgi for at least php

http://httpd.apache.org/mod_fcgid/mod/mod_fcgid.html

 * Depend on `libapache2-mod-fcgid`
 * `a2enmod fcgid` in postinst (the package seems to enable itself, but en/dis anyway)
 * Need to install our own `mods-available/fcgid.conf`
   * Do NOT enable `fcgid-script` script hander by default, require use of `fastCgiExtension` in DomTool
   * `FcgidFixPathinfo 1` to let php work properly (seems to not affect anything else)
   * Need to configure process limits (expire fairly quickly to prevent issues with tokens/memory exhaustion)
 * Have to write a wrapper shell script to exec `php5-cgi`, placed within `/afs/hcoop.net/` (but where?)
   * Wrapper script needs to gain kerberos/afs credentials... but `$USER` is not available (`whoami` works however)
   * suexec also wants the file to be owned by the user... hrm.
 * Mailing list posts elsewhere indicate fcgi workers are not allocated by the apache worker -- we might need to use an `FCgidWrapper` that grabs tokens and there may be token leakage from reuse of workers?

http://code.google.com/p/modwsgi/wiki/ConfigurationDirectives WSGI looks much easier to set up, at least enough for moin. We could get away with enabling it and supporting only `WSGIScriptAlias` initially. Not sure about interaction with mod_waklog.

== Improve SSL Experience ==

 * We are not managing certificates well
   * e.g. we don't check and warn members when their certs are going to expire
   * You have to use bugzilla/irc/email to get an intermediate certificate installed
 * DomTool's SSL support leaves much to be desired
   * No abstraction for setting up an ssl-only vhost that redirects http -> https
   * No abstraction for creating an SSL+non-SSL host that serve the same content
   * SSL type is problematic
     * e.g. `sslCertificateChainFile` is forced to soft-fail at run-time
   * `use_cert` takes a full pathname, it would be better to use a short name. There may be a case where a user may need to use a cert not in the primary store (is there?). If there can be no case made for domtool allowing certs to be stored outside of a single location, we can make `use_cert` just pass its argument through for transition. `sslCertificateChainFile` has no reason to take a full pathname and could directly take short names instead.
     * {{{
extern type your_cert;
extern val cert : your_cert -> ssl_cert_path;
(* SSL = use_cert (cert "mydomain.pem"); *)

or:

extern type your_cert;
extern val cert : your_cert -> ssl;
extern val use_cert : ssl -> ssl

extern type ssl_cacert;
extern val sslCertificateChainFile : ssl_cacert -> [Vhost];
(* sslCertificateChainFile "GandiStandadSSLCA.pem"; *)
}}}

=== Portal ===

The portal page should allow Intermediate CA Cert permission and installation requests. Installed CA certs should be presented as a drop-down showing the subject CN and file name.

The portal request page should display all certs a user is permitted to use already, their common name, and their expiration date.

=== Managing Certificates ====

Upon installation, certificates should be recorded in a database that stores `(filename, type, subject, expiration)` (where `type = user | intermediate`). Removal, naturally, should remove the database entry and files from all web servers.

This information could then be used to present information on a member's certs on the portal page, and make requesting CA certs easier.


== etc. ==

 * default DirectoryIndex does not include index.shtml, should this be changed?

== Website ==

(create Website bugzilla product and move these there)

 * Convert hcoop.net into domtool config (looks trivial, a few rewrites... except for userdir support?)
   * On the topic of user dirs: allow members to register a redirect for hcoop.net/~foo?)
   * Perhaps: Move userdirs to `http://users.hcoop.net/~foo` (302ing from `hcoop.net/~foo`)
   * Replace `000default` with something other than the hcoop web page?
 * Replace facebook links with other "get to know the members" text
   * Inspire members to join the planet
   * Make the locations tool usable again (something we can use with Openstreetmap).
 * Give BtTempleton and LaurenMcNees write access as needed

=== Wiki ===

 * [[http://moinmo.in/MacroMarket/ChildPages|child pages macro]] for listing the section of the member manual in the sidebar?

== domtool plans ==

 * Feature backlog
 * Networked domtool-tail
 * Enhance easy_domain `DefaultAlias` to default to `user -> user`, but also allow dropping all or catch-all.
 * `default CSymbol = Value` for binding default environment variable settings
    * Expands the scope of extensions that can be written in pure DomTool, slight flexibility gains
 * vmail helper for the portal `VMailPasswdChange $user $oldpass $newpass` (restricted to users with `vmailadmin` permissions)
 * Improve `fwtool` as needs become clearer (FirewallTool)

== Major Sysadmin Tasks for 2014 ==

 * Acquire and install new server, cleaning up the back of the rack in the process
 * Get everything off of deleuze
 * Clean up keytabs (at least `$user.mail` for mail delivery, sync to as few nodes as needed, etc.)
 * Overhaul mail delivery
   * Revisit routing/transport; the current routing config has too many entry and exit points making changes extremely complicated (i.e. likely to break mail delivery)
   * Take advantage of new exim features like DKIM.
   * Secondary MX
 * The great DES to AES openafs rekeying
   * ~~(Major pain: we have to upgrade all client and servers machines to openafs 1.6.5)~~

= Board Stuff =

 * What address should we be using for the "owner" of hcoop services? It's a mix of the current treasurer, registered agent, and data center right now... is the registered agent correct? Do we need to get a PO Box or something?
 * We need a private wiki of some sort for filing sensitive information like welcome emails for services and various credentials... is it safe enough to do that using the public moin and acls? I'm not sure sure...

I am Clinton Ebadi. I am the reluctant President of the coop (someone has to do it), and the current lead sysadmin / DomTool maintainer / lo-fi AdamChlipala replacement.

1. Board Statements

See /BoardStatements

2. Pages to Update After Adding Stripe

3. General Coop Goals

Unstructured musing on when/what I think the coop ought to be.

  • (./) January 2013: New website online, navajos and bog both up with new members using them

  • February 2013->June 2014: Big push for new members. New website should make us seem more alive, we've finally fixed about 3/4 of the "temporary" hacks from when we first moved to Peer1, etc. (./) mire is gone (less work: we just have to get people off of it), but also work toward getting rid of deleuze. Web services first (low hanging fruit), even if it means punting on fully converting to domtool managed sites (at least packaged and documented). AFAICT other than those we're just left with:

    • (./) DomTool dispatcher

    • Master DNS
    • Exim
    • IMAP (might have to patch courier-authdaemon)
    • (./) A few straggling openafs volumes (+ AFSDB records?)

    • Backups
    • MailMan

    • The portal
    • {X} FTP (support for plain ftp removed)

    • Webalizer
  • April 2014: Rekey the afs cell
  • July/August 2014: Catch the sales on the last generation Dell 2U/2-socket machines and create a clean counterpart to fritz.
    • See NewServerDiscussion2013

    • Minimal KVM host setup for base OS. We might run the KDC and OpenAFS on the bare metal, not entirely certain.
    • Create new wheezy based VMs, duplicating (and turning into master) services hosted in VMs on fritz
      • For the first time, this is realistic: all of those months packaging our configuration pay off by sparing future-me from herculean efforts.
  • March 2014->July 2014: Transition remaining services off of deleuze onto KernelVirtualMachines on new kvm host

  • Winter 2014: Assuming 150+ members, perhaps more bandwidth is in order
  • Spring 2015: Ponies for everyone.
    • IPv6, mediagoblin, diaspora, gitorious, (./) xmpp works again (and ability to use vanity domains), ...

4. Contact

  • <clinton at unknownlamer dot org> (Email)

  • unknownlamer (AOL Instant Messenger)
  • <clinton at hcoop dot net> (Jabber)

  • unknown_lamer on freenode (IRC) in #hcoop

  • +1 443 538 8058 (Phone, SMS preffered)

5. Websites

6. Immediate Tasks

  • Rekey the cell
  • Unsuck mail (bounces, DefaultAlias = user)

  • Networked domtool-tail
  • Possible donations for new server
  • Backups (blocked by lack of hardware)
  • Spec out new server
  • Consolidate web stuff onto navajos
    • Upgrade squirrelmail
    • webdav/svn
      • Can we support gssapi negotiate? Seems like it should be trivial on the server side.

7. Admin Stuff

7.1. fastcgi setup notes

Notes to self about configuring fastcgi for at least php

http://httpd.apache.org/mod_fcgid/mod/mod_fcgid.html

  • Depend on libapache2-mod-fcgid

  • a2enmod fcgid in postinst (the package seems to enable itself, but en/dis anyway)

  • Need to install our own mods-available/fcgid.conf

    • Do NOT enable fcgid-script script hander by default, require use of fastCgiExtension in DomTool

    • FcgidFixPathinfo 1 to let php work properly (seems to not affect anything else)

    • Need to configure process limits (expire fairly quickly to prevent issues with tokens/memory exhaustion)
  • Have to write a wrapper shell script to exec php5-cgi, placed within /afs/hcoop.net/ (but where?)

    • Wrapper script needs to gain kerberos/afs credentials... but $USER is not available (whoami works however)

    • suexec also wants the file to be owned by the user... hrm.
  • Mailing list posts elsewhere indicate fcgi workers are not allocated by the apache worker -- we might need to use an FCgidWrapper that grabs tokens and there may be token leakage from reuse of workers?

http://code.google.com/p/modwsgi/wiki/ConfigurationDirectives WSGI looks much easier to set up, at least enough for moin. We could get away with enabling it and supporting only WSGIScriptAlias initially. Not sure about interaction with mod_waklog.

7.2. Improve SSL Experience

  • We are not managing certificates well
    • e.g. we don't check and warn members when their certs are going to expire
    • You have to use bugzilla/irc/email to get an intermediate certificate installed
  • DomTool's SSL support leaves much to be desired

    • No abstraction for setting up an ssl-only vhost that redirects http -> https

    • No abstraction for creating an SSL+non-SSL host that serve the same content
    • SSL type is problematic
      • e.g. sslCertificateChainFile is forced to soft-fail at run-time

    • use_cert takes a full pathname, it would be better to use a short name. There may be a case where a user may need to use a cert not in the primary store (is there?). If there can be no case made for domtool allowing certs to be stored outside of a single location, we can make use_cert just pass its argument through for transition. sslCertificateChainFile has no reason to take a full pathname and could directly take short names instead.

      • extern type your_cert;
        extern val cert : your_cert -> ssl_cert_path;
        (* SSL = use_cert (cert "mydomain.pem"); *)
        
        or:
        
        extern type your_cert;
        extern val cert : your_cert -> ssl;
        extern val use_cert : ssl -> ssl
        
        extern type ssl_cacert;
        extern val sslCertificateChainFile : ssl_cacert -> [Vhost];
        (* sslCertificateChainFile "GandiStandadSSLCA.pem"; *)

7.2.1. Portal

The portal page should allow Intermediate CA Cert permission and installation requests. Installed CA certs should be presented as a drop-down showing the subject CN and file name.

The portal request page should display all certs a user is permitted to use already, their common name, and their expiration date.

=== Managing Certificates ====

Upon installation, certificates should be recorded in a database that stores (filename, type, subject, expiration) (where type = user | intermediate). Removal, naturally, should remove the database entry and files from all web servers.

This information could then be used to present information on a member's certs on the portal page, and make requesting CA certs easier.

7.3. etc.

  • default DirectoryIndex does not include index.shtml, should this be changed?

7.4. Website

(create Website bugzilla product and move these there)

  • Convert hcoop.net into domtool config (looks trivial, a few rewrites... except for userdir support?)
    • On the topic of user dirs: allow members to register a redirect for hcoop.net/~foo?)
    • Perhaps: Move userdirs to http://users.hcoop.net/~foo (302ing from hcoop.net/~foo)

    • Replace 000default with something other than the hcoop web page?

  • Replace facebook links with other "get to know the members" text
    • Inspire members to join the planet
    • Make the locations tool usable again (something we can use with Openstreetmap).
  • Give BtTempleton and LaurenMcNees write access as needed

7.4.1. Wiki

7.5. domtool plans

  • Feature backlog
  • Networked domtool-tail
  • Enhance easy_domain DefaultAlias to default to user -> user, but also allow dropping all or catch-all.

  • default CSymbol = Value for binding default environment variable settings

    • Expands the scope of extensions that can be written in pure DomTool, slight flexibility gains

  • vmail helper for the portal VMailPasswdChange $user $oldpass $newpass (restricted to users with vmailadmin permissions)

  • Improve fwtool as needs become clearer (FirewallTool)

7.6. Major Sysadmin Tasks for 2014

  • Acquire and install new server, cleaning up the back of the rack in the process
  • Get everything off of deleuze
  • Clean up keytabs (at least $user.mail for mail delivery, sync to as few nodes as needed, etc.)

  • Overhaul mail delivery
    • Revisit routing/transport; the current routing config has too many entry and exit points making changes extremely complicated (i.e. likely to break mail delivery)
    • Take advantage of new exim features like DKIM.
    • Secondary MX
  • The great DES to AES openafs rekeying
    • ~~(Major pain: we have to upgrade all client and servers machines to openafs 1.6.5)~~

8. Board Stuff

  • What address should we be using for the "owner" of hcoop services? It's a mix of the current treasurer, registered agent, and data center right now... is the registered agent correct? Do we need to get a PO Box or something?
  • We need a private wiki of some sort for filing sensitive information like welcome emails for services and various credentials... is it safe enough to do that using the public moin and acls? I'm not sure sure...


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ClintonEbadi (last edited 2021-11-06 17:50:12 by ClintonEbadi)