Testing Equipment

Through testing and the installation of Ubuntu, we identified that approximately half of our harddrives were non-functioning. We replaced these harddrives with different harddrives from the closet.  Several of the harddrives were replaced multiple times.  This required much time and effort as in many cases it was determined that the CD-ROM drive was also nonfunctional.

Originally, we would replace a drive, then D-Ban it, then install Ubuntu.  Mid-installation of Ubuntu, the computer would fail in various ways.  In order to isolate the problem, we identified a computer that we knew to be functioning in all capacities and hooked up the hard drive in question.  We came to realize that taking the time to D-Ban a drive that might not even work was not efficient, and so we began to first test and see if we could boot Ubuntu from disk to rule out completely non-fuctioning harddrives sooner.  If the hard-drive appeared to be functioning, we would then d-ban it and then install Ubuntu, then move the harddrive back to the original machine.  From there we would test the CD-ROM of the original machine by copying large disks to the desktop.

Replacing the four nonfunctional CD-ROM drives proved to be more difficult than expected.  We kept experiencing drive failure (one computer rejected seven CD-ROMS), and were shocked by the frequency, though we came to suspect and accept that this was just a quirk of our machines to reject each of these drives rather the drives actually being non-functional.  In addition to have to find a CD-ROM drive that agreed with our machines quirks, we additionally had to deal with an irregularly-shaped space for the drive that made many of the drives unable to be used.

“Horse”, one of the Dell Optiplex, unfortunately bit the dust due to a failing power supply, and was replaced with a white Gateway we affectionately refer to as “Horse of a Different Color”.

Our printer was originally nonfunctional.  Another group had attempted to troubleshoot the printer, but was unable to get it to accept standard-sized paper, only small square sheets of paper.  We restored the factory settings of the printer and it was then able to print normally.

Adam assisted with the installation of the printer on computer “Horse” which will be used primarily by the supervisor in the Living Word Learning Center.  Once the router and switches are set up at Living Word the printer will be installed on the network with the assistance of AB2, so that the user “lwadmin” is able to print from any computer.

Installing Ubuntu

Installing Ubuntu via disk went smoothly, however, it was during this step that we were began to identify additional harddrives and cd-rom drives that were not functioning.

Installing Software

Initially, we had intended to install each piece of software individually on each machine. This is not the most efficient method for installing 30+ programs on ten computers, but this was before we developed an understanding of repositories, packages, and scripting.

Details about the scripts used are available in the Technical Documentation section. Scripts were developed by Adam Kehoe and Walker Weyerhaeuser.

We ran into a few errors in Script 2 that had to be repaired, but our biggest difficulty with scripting had to do with slow mirrors. Running Script 1 on the computer originally took over 11 hours. This seemed plausible, until Allison took one machine home to experiment with how to go about installing the remaining software. Running Script 1 from home took 20 minutes. Hearing this, Adam identified that the problem was that the presently-selected mirror was painfully slow. He instructed us on how to search for the fastest mirror to speed up the process, using these steps:

1. Click on “System | Administration | Software Sources”
2. Under “Ubuntu Software” tab, choose “Other” in the “Download from” list box.
3. Choose your country and then click “Select Best Server” and choose the recommendation.

We still ran into some difficulties with connections to mirrors cutting in and out, which led to vital media software not being installed as it should have been by the script, which required us to rerun the scripts.

Once the software was downloaded there were still some minor issues left that needed fixed.

Firefox uses RealPlayer to stream some video content. The realplayer plugin that comes with firefox on Ubuntu 9.04 is slightly out of date, which required us to change the settings within each computer’s instance of firefox to use the new plugin (which was installed with Script 2) instead of the older one for those content types.

An error was identified in Script 2 – “sudo” was missing from in front of a command. Sudo means “super user do” and gives you elevated privilege to make changes that other users of the computer may not be permitted to make. Since “sudo” was missing, a needed change was not made to the configuration file for the banking program Buddi. One line in that configuration file specifies the path for Java, because the banking program can only run when Java is also running. The script was to change the path where Buddi would look for Java.

To correct this mistake, we opened the configuration file for Buddi in Gedit, a text editor, and made this change to the file on each of the ten computers. We could have instead inserted the missing “sudo” into the script and rerun the script, but that did not make sense since all other functions of the script had executed properly.

Finally, media opening in VLC was painfully loud, so we opted to change the default volume.

Site Set-up

Friday setup of our site was limited to 12-3pm due to evening obligations of Bessie and Alicia. In this time we were able to setup all ten computers, monitors, keyboards, and mice, and the Lexmark printer and establish they were in working order. All of our cables were the proper lengths needed. We arranged the hardware in the lab to the specifications of Bessie & Alicia who were pleased with the arrangement and stated that everything looked great.

Internet Set-up

We were assured by Bessie and Alicia that the internet service had been activated. We were provided with the DSL modem/router and all accompanying paperwork. We unpacked the router and strung cables around the room to be prepared for router and switch installation the following day. We left at three with an understanding we would return at 8 am on Saturday to set up the switches (which were being purchased that evening), router, OpenDNS, and network printer (the last two with the assistance of Jonathon of AB2).

Retrospectively, it would have been advisable to setup the router and test the internet connection immediately upon arrival, rather than focusing on setting up the lab first. Perhaps then, several problems could have been identified and worked through on Friday evening.

Something happened Friday, that looking back, should have been more meaningful to us. Examining the jack in the lab, we were confused to find a RJ11 jack where we expected an RJ45 jack. We unscrewed it and it appeared to be cat5 cable attached to a RJ11 jack. We were confused that a cat5 cable would be attached to a RJ11 jack inside the wall, but 1) we didn’t really know what we expected to see inside the wall, 2) we knew that phone service could be delivered through a cat5 cable, and 3) we knew that the AT&T-provided-DSL modem/router would connect to the internet provider through a RJ11 jack, and so we moved on. It was the presence of a RJ11 jack where we expected to find a RJ45 that threw us.  Rather than immediately identifying that the jack should be replaced with an RJ45 and that the other end of the cat5 should be located, we accepted the setup, thinking that that we could hook the router up to the RJ11 in the lab. I lament that this did sound any alarms for us.

We then accompanied Daniel and Yuting to Straightway and assisted with their site setup.

We returned Saturday at 8 am with a new time constraint of 1 pm, and two switches. It was known previously that Allison would depart at 1pm, but due to vehicle issues, we would all be leaving our site at 1 pm.

We spent this day mainly focused on wiring the network together and setting up the internet. Networking went smoothly since Becky had pre-made all our cables. After plugging in the switches, Keren got to work setting up the modem/router and AT&T internet via the RJ11 in the lab.  The RJ11 faceplate looked to be wired correctly but we were unable to get the modem to respond with any sort of connection (red DSL light = bad news), nor were we able to get a dial tone on a phone. We tried another RJ11 jack in an adjacent room also without success.

After extensive troubleshooting to the best of our ability, and a phone call to Martin, we realized we first needed to identify exactly which phone line the DSL was ordered to.

Bessie informed us the church had two phone lines and one FAX line. We located a receipt for the DSL order and found the phone number at the top, which was for the church FAX, located in an office we had previously not known to exist.  We moved the modem, wires, and Allison’s laptop into the office to see if we could get a connection from the FAX line.  Once the equipment was connected, the modem showed it was finally receiving a connection using this jack. We went through the AT&T Internet registration process with Bessie. She chose her email and passwords and was given the booklet containing all of the information for future use.

We would later come to realize that in our intial visit, Martin suggested cat5 be cable be run from the office to lab if the church desired to have internet in both the office and the lab.  The importance of this did not hit us until late in the game.  Unfortunately, neither Bessie nor Alica knew where the cat5 cable originated, and Deacon Tony was not available on Friday or Saturday to answer questions due to his work schedule. We were thus unable to connect the router (in the front church office) to the switches (in the lab to the rear of the church), meaning we also could not install OpenDNS or the printer on the network.

By this time it was nearly time to leave. We did not get the computers up on the internet, and in the end we were not able to solve the problems we faced given the time and information available to us. Nonetheless, we do feel that we faced the situation to the best of our ability and applied the patience and troubleshooting skills we had developed thought the term. In particular, the patience. As we like to say, “if the first five hard-drives don’t cooperate, try, try again.”

The main step remaining in obtaining Internet access is to connect the cat5 cable from the lab to the FAX/DSL line via the router, connect the RJ45 to the switches in the lab, and then install openDNS and network the printer.  Our group plans a return visit to finalize our project.

Cleaning of Equipment

Our group took care to clean all equipment we provided to Living Word, and did the same for the group we assisted at Straightway.  We brought a vaccuum into lab to remove the extensive dust buildup inside the computers.  We came to realize that our monitors, keyboards and mice (all that creamy white color that shows dirt so well) were embarrassingly filthy.  We asked Bessie if we could use any cleaning supplies on hand and took turns cleaning the equipment while the others were troubleshooting the internet.  Using what they had on hand, we found that a soft brush helped loosen the dust on the keyboards that we could then shake out, any surface spray helped remove the hand crud from a mouse, and Softscrub (usually used for bathrooms) worked wonders on discolored monitor cases.

The lab looked great when we departed, and we felt good about the items provided. While we realize the point of this class is not to develop cleaning skills, we felt this was important to the quality of the lab we were providing.

Individual Lessons Learned

We were fortunate to have a cohesive and fun-loving group that was able to communicate well with one another.  We were able to work together effectively and efficiently.  Throughout the project we shared details of our experiences and lessons learned with one another so that the whole group would benefit, thus our presentation of lessons learned is that of the group.