Re: announcing the Gentoo Server Project

On Thursday 24 July 2003 08:48 pm, you wrote:
> Folks --
>
> After talking with Wade a bit last night about the Gentoo Server
> Project,
> I'm happy to announce that the Gentoo Server Project is going to become
> an
> official sub-project of Gentoo Linux.

Woot!

>
> For now, I'm only announcing this to this list since we still need to
> get
> our ducks in a row before announcing it publicly.
>

Don't know if this has any effect from the Gentoo side of things, but my offer 
to provide hosting still stands.  We've got silly amounts of bandwith and I'm 
sure I can score a server if we host the project.  Just let me know.

> In chatting with Wade, we talked about how best to organize the new
> project
> to ensure that all areas are covered.  I suggested that we organize it
> by
> function, which would mean categories like:
>
> * installation
> * configuration
> * administration
> * documentation
>
> Those are simply example categories.  The goal is to ensure that all
> *major* aspects of running Gentoo in a server environment are accounted
> for.
>

The install & configuration areas are of the most interest to me but I'll help 
where ever there is need. I also would like to see some additional 
optimization/security added to the server configuration part of things - not 
as in-depth as gentoo-hardened but some more general tightening and 
optimizing that's wise for servers.

> That seems to align with the ideas that have been discussed here on the
> list so far.  Your comments are, of course, welcome.
>
> I'll be the project admin, at least for now.  Wade expressed some
> concern
> about the amount of time that I'll have for this project.  As I told
> Wade,
> this project aligns more closely with my personal interests and I've
> already informed the management team that I'll be withdrawing from my
> responsibilities as PR manager and (interim) Portage manager.  Going
> forward, I will be focusing on Infrastructure and this project.
>
> Right now, Wade is the only other member of the project.  We need to
> change
> that. :)  If you're interested in participating, please contact either
> myself or (for a faster response) Wade at [email protected].
>
> Please include a general description of what area(s) you are interested
> in
> helping out with and what skills you can bring to the table.
>
> --kurt

Sign me up!  

Areas of Interest:  Installation, Configuration.  Additional security & 
optimizations to configuration (server vs desktop)

Programming Experience:
I've been tinkering with web development since ~1997.  The first post-college 
job I had was with a telecom - Viatel.  I worked as a programmer in their 
data center doing web development in Java (Servelets), PHP (3.03) & Oracle.   
I also did some Apache/Linux sys-admin to set up some develpment boxes for 
our group.
   I left Viatel and moved to my current job almost 3 years ago.  (Viatel 
folded ~ 5 months after I left.  I did speculate with my former co-workers 
that somehow word of me leaving got out ; )  Although I was hired as a web 
developer, I've been more a sys-admin for the last 2 years.  I came into a 
all Win NT shop and got tired of NT & related Windows anoyance.  I've 
systematically replaced every WinNT box under my control to Linux except one 
holdout (who date with destiny is this fall).  I continue to do PHP as well 
as some Bash scripting, occasionally Python and rarely C.   I also do free 
lance programming from time to time. 

Linux Experience:
I started out with RedHat 5.2.  Also tried Slackware, Suse, Mandrake, Turbo, 
Caldera (years ago), Debian, Yellow Dog, OpenNA...  I always had a Linux box 
at the house and finally got a second so I could have one stabe one and one 
that I pounded on constantly.  I tended to favor Mandrake & RedHat but was 
always willing to try a new distro.  The server's at my current job have been 
RedHat until I found Gentoo.  I was doing _very_ minimal RH installs (ie 
de-select every package option) then hand compiling everything else.  This 
ended up with a really great server but took forever.  Gentoo was awsome 
since I could get an optimized, compiled OS almost automagically.  Work has 
sent me to several Linux training classes & I've recieved a Linux+, LPI 101 
and RHCT from those classes (for what those are worth). 

I'll be rather busy for the next ~3-4 weeks launching a college wide portal 
with a "home page" for each of 450+ classes using Moodle (www.moodle.org - a 
great bit of PHP coding) and training the faculty on how to use it.  After 
that, I'll have a lot of free time and am eager to contribute to 
Gentoo-Server since Gentoo has made my life a lot nicer and saved me from RPM 
dependancy hell & hand compiling 60% of the software on a server.

-- 
Matt Tesauro
Systems Analyst and Web Applications Developer
Office of the Dean
Mays Business School, Texas A&M University
979.862.3949
[email protected]
--
No sense in being pessimistic, 
   It wouldn't work anyway...



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