Server Administration
Minotaur trailer We are now running on the new production server. This is the second server we have successfully configured to generate the map. A quick list of the major components:
- Mapnik – the geographical rendering engine.
- Tilecache – caches the tiles for speedier performance
- PostgreSql – the database
- PostGIS – the database plugin that supports spatial data
- phppgadmin – used to help administer the database
We are both getting a lot better at Linux server administration, setting up security groups and samba shares and getting the static IP addresses set up is getting easier. Our development environment was a Ubuntu 8.04 32bit machine that is just about 6 years old, needless to say we were in need of something new. Our new box is a Virtual Machine (Host is Windows Server 2008, running Hyper-V, but more on virtualization later) and it’s running Ubuntu 8.10 64bit on a machine that has four processors and 4Gb of ram, it’s quite the improvement. We are going to be soft launching the map this week to select number of folks, and then we will fixing bugs, gathering feedback and looking forward to our official beta launch in early February.
We also just went though the process of rebuilding our subversion/bugzilla/development server which also runs on Ubuntu Server, As of this point we have configured four Linux servers (all Ubuntu Server). Not bad for a shop where Open Source was a bad word and server was synonymous with Windows.
The Italian Job full The Good Shepherd dvd
Politics
On Monday we are presenting to the Executive Officers of the University. Our bosses have been banned from the meeting, by their boss. so it will be just us. Two developers trying to enlighten those who make the decisions as to the wonders and potential of web based mapping. We have reworked our powerpoint to be less technical and more of a broad view of what this can do.
The potential of a tool like this is really limitless. Any spacial data that currently exists, and there is a lot of it, can be integrated into the map as an interactive layer. The part that takes the longest is gathering the data about each feature, but thanks to a back end interface making updates to map features can be done quickly and easily by non technical staff, by the people who really have a stake in the data.
The example we’ve used most commonly is that of Disability Services. Currently they have an access map that shows all of the features on campus that are pertinent to the accessibility of the campus. We want the folks who work in that office to have a way to edit attribute data for different features as it comes available to them. Say an elevator breaks in the Liberal Arts building. Instead of them handing it off to the IT staff and wait a couple of days for it to get posted, by which time the elevator may have already been fixed, they should be able to log in and quickly and easily update the info important to them and the students they are there to support.