Re: [Server-devel] DanGuardian and XS Plans
2008/10/24 Anna [EMAIL PROTECTED]: I haven't been keeping up with this list as well as I should have, but I just noticed some discussion regarding internet filtering in Birmingham. Good info thanks! I'm trying to understand more aobut what people are doing, what tools are useful from an educational perspective and what tools are not. All the http proxy and filtering space is a bit of a complicated area at the moment. I'm not particularly happy with any of the available tools. Proxies aren't as good as I'd want them to be, and the filters seem inefficient (in terms of cpu/memory) and stupid. Part of the parent's contract is to monitor their children's internet usage, anyway. Can you tell me a bit more about that? It does sound interesting. Do you mean that there is an agreement / social contract where parents look over the logs of their kids? Age groups? What tools are used? Is this done at a specific time? What is the general result of the practice over time? cheers, m -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- School Server Architect - ask interesting questions - don't get distracted with shiny stuff - working code first - http://wiki.laptop.org/go/User:Martinlanghoff ___ Server-devel mailing list Server-devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
Re: [Server-devel] DanGuardian and XS Plans
I haven't been keeping up with this list as well as I should have, but I just noticed some discussion regarding internet filtering in Birmingham. At our XS testbed school, Glen Iris, when I set up the 0.4 box, I edited /etc/named.conf and /etc/named.conf.in to use the OpenDNS IPs. SInce the DSL connection there has a static IP, it was really easy to set up on the OpenDNS site. It is CIPA compliant and a lot of other schools and libraries use it, we figure we're safe as far as internet filtering goes. Per the administrators' request, I set the filter on high which means it blocks timewasters - pretty much everything fun like myspace and even gmail. I haven't gotten any requests to whitelist anything yet. As far as when the XOs are away from the school, I installed the Foxfilter plugin for FF3, which is the best I could think of. It's certainly not perfect, but it's better than nothing. Part of the parent's contract is to monitor their children's internet usage, anyway. So, unless there's a better option, we're going to plan on using OpenDNS on the XS's here. Anna Schoolfield Birmingham ___ Server-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
Re: [Server-devel] DanGuardian and XS Plans
On Oct 7, 2008, at 3:06 AM, Martin Langhoff wrote: On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 4:17 AM, John Watlington [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In existing deployments (not trials) content filtering is being done upstream in the internet connection. Interesting! I didn't know that - Content filtering is a very sensitive subject, and any offering made by OLPC should make it VERY CLEAR that the country is responsible for the filtering -- both the initial setup and maintaining the filter. Yup. And also very clear that we believe that filters are quite leaky -- meaning that they will have problems with it, and a plan / process to deal with it. Some local teams may find planning for such situations hard. Squid has been supported since build 161, long before Martin started wholesale improvements.Easier to install ? Right now you have to type one command line: /etc/sysconfig/olcp-scripts/TURN_SQUID_ON to permanently enable Squid. This was done simply because not all installation will want it. Yep - TURN_SQUID_ON works well on the current xs-0.5 dev version. However, I'm not very happy with it due to memory footprint, and considering replacing it with a apache + mod_cache_disk which - from what I've seen - plays to the strengths of linux's disk i/o handling. No disagreement as to the desirability of the change, but last time I looked, apache did not support use as a transparent proxy. Using it to replace squid would require setting the browsers on all laptops to point to it. Have they changed that ? Cheers, wad ___ Server-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
Re: [Server-devel] DanGuardian and XS Plans
On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 4:17 AM, John Watlington [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In existing deployments (not trials) content filtering is being done upstream in the internet connection. Interesting! I didn't know that - Content filtering is a very sensitive subject, and any offering made by OLPC should make it VERY CLEAR that the country is responsible for the filtering -- both the initial setup and maintaining the filter. Yup. And also very clear that we believe that filters are quite leaky -- meaning that they will have problems with it, and a plan / process to deal with it. Some local teams may find planning for such situations hard. Squid has been supported since build 161, long before Martin started wholesale improvements.Easier to install ? Right now you have to type one command line: /etc/sysconfig/olcp-scripts/TURN_SQUID_ON to permanently enable Squid. This was done simply because not all installation will want it. Yep - TURN_SQUID_ON works well on the current xs-0.5 dev version. However, I'm not very happy with it due to memory footprint, and considering replacing it with a apache + mod_cache_disk which - from what I've seen - plays to the strengths of linux's disk i/o handling. cheers, m -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- School Server Architect - ask interesting questions - don't get distracted with shiny stuff - working code first - http://wiki.laptop.org/go/User:Martinlanghoff ___ Server-devel mailing list Server-devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
Re: [Server-devel] DanGuardian and XS Plans
Hello List Just from my (not too recent) experience with the Birmingham deployment: There are two competing interests: - As long as the Board of Education (BoE) receives federal funds under the No Child Left Behind Act they are responsible for providing internet only in a filtered manner (certified, lots of signatures and red tape ...). The Birmingham BoE is *very* broke so they rely on these funds. Effectively this means upstream filtering in the BoE's IT department's realm (this also helps them - gets abused for - demands for additional funding). - To provide a cost effective solution (without lots of additional funding for overhead / BoE infrastructure) the XS could provide a filtering solution of its own and thus provide a daring principal with a way of providing parallel infrastructure just for XO/XS purposes. This means as long as the BoE does not agree to a two tiered IT infrastructure (which they in my opinion can't), DansGuardian is not needed. Yet it might be helpfull in increasing acceptance for olpc products in a less messed up environment. In previous discussions I understood that olpc did not want get in a place where it could be held responsible for content filtering (with no resources and mandate to manage the servers remotely a very understandable stand). I do think though that olpc can only provide the tools currently available and should not worry too much about whether local admins put them to good use. (And I personally favour Brasil's teachers union's stand to turn filtering off. Life filtered is not life. Encounter the problems, use them for contents of lessons, and get on with reality.) just my 2cts (and keep up the great work!) Stefan Btw: I just relocated from Alabama to Germany for job reasons and have no personal stakes in the Birmingham deployment (nor any other deployments for that matter). Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2008 20:06:25 +1300 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: server-devel@lists.laptop.org; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Server-devel] DanGuardian and XS Plans On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 4:17 AM, John Watlington [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In existing deployments (not trials) content filtering is being done upstream in the internet connection. Interesting! I didn't know that - Content filtering is a very sensitive subject, and any offering made by OLPC should make it VERY CLEAR that the country is responsible for the filtering -- both the initial setup and maintaining the filter. Yup. And also very clear that we believe that filters are quite leaky -- meaning that they will have problems with it, and a plan / process to deal with it. Some local teams may find planning for such situations hard. Squid has been supported since build 161, long before Martin started wholesale improvements.Easier to install ? Right now you have to type one command line: /etc/sysconfig/olcp-scripts/TURN_SQUID_ON to permanently enable Squid. This was done simply because not all installation will want it. Yep - TURN_SQUID_ON works well on the current xs-0.5 dev version. However, I'm not very happy with it due to memory footprint, and considering replacing it with a apache + mod_cache_disk which - from what I've seen - plays to the strengths of linux's disk i/o handling. cheers, m -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- School Server Architect - ask interesting questions - don't get distracted with shiny stuff - working code first - http://wiki.laptop.org/go/User:Martinlanghoff ___ Server-devel mailing list Server-devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel _ MSN Toolbar: Alle Infos sehen, ohne die Website auf der Sie gerade sind zu verlassen. http://www.msn.de/toolbar___ Server-devel mailing list Server-devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
[Server-devel] DanGuardian and XS Plans
Hi Bryan, Martin et al, Good input on content filtering, thanks. Here's my take on the current state of affairs: 1 - We have a release called 0.5 which is almost done and should be available in October. It does not include DanGuardian. The following URL lists the work that is in or close to in: https://dev.laptop.org/query?group=statusmilestone=xs-0.5 Hopefully we can write a nice release note for it shortly, giving a better explanation of the new features. 2 - We can consider DansGuardian for 0.6 but there is not a firm date for 0.6 at this time. Looks like we have agreement on the need for a Content Filtering solution but not quite locked down on which one. I will work with Martin to try and get it on the roadmap. That said, looking at your deployment dates, you should plan on taking 0.5 and setting up the content filtering yourself. One question for Martin, Is Squid in and supported? Will it be configured/configurable and easier to install in the 0.5 release? I think I have asked that before and I'm pretty sure that the answer is Yes Squid is part of the XS image. Just double checking and seeing if we have made it any easier to configure. Thanks for the details on your plans from Tony and Bryan. Let me know if you have any other questions or need any more info. If Nepal can be a lead user for XS 0.5 that will help us burn it in for use in Birmingham and Paraguay and elsewhere. Thanks, Greg S ___ Server-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
Re: [Server-devel] DanGuardian and XS Plans
On Oct 6, 2008, at 10:43 AM, Greg Smith wrote: Hi Bryan, Martin et al, Good input on content filtering, thanks. Greg, In existing deployments (not trials) content filtering is being done upstream in the internet connection. Content filtering is a very sensitive subject, and any offering made by OLPC should make it VERY CLEAR that the country is responsible for the filtering -- both the initial setup and maintaining the filter. I'm very worried that a deployment would just turn on DansGuardian without making sure that the filtering met local requirements, if it is provided in the build. Installing DansGuardian onto XS-0.4 shouldn't be difficult. As mentioned before, the difficult part is configuring the filter. Squid has been supported since build 161, long before Martin started wholesale improvements.Easier to install ? Right now you have to type one command line: /etc/sysconfig/olcp-scripts/TURN_SQUID_ON to permanently enable Squid. This was done simply because not all installation will want it. Cheers, wad Here's my take on the current state of affairs: 1 - We have a release called 0.5 which is almost done and should be available in October. It does not include DanGuardian. The following URL lists the work that is in or close to in: https://dev.laptop.org/query?group=statusmilestone=xs-0.5 Hopefully we can write a nice release note for it shortly, giving a better explanation of the new features. 2 - We can consider DansGuardian for 0.6 but there is not a firm date for 0.6 at this time. Looks like we have agreement on the need for a Content Filtering solution but not quite locked down on which one. I will work with Martin to try and get it on the roadmap. That said, looking at your deployment dates, you should plan on taking 0.5 and setting up the content filtering yourself. One question for Martin, Is Squid in and supported? Will it be configured/configurable and easier to install in the 0.5 release? I think I have asked that before and I'm pretty sure that the answer is Yes Squid is part of the XS image. Just double checking and seeing if we have made it any easier to configure. Thanks for the details on your plans from Tony and Bryan. Let me know if you have any other questions or need any more info. If Nepal can be a lead user for XS 0.5 that will help us burn it in for use in Birmingham and Paraguay and elsewhere. Thanks, Greg S ___ Server-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel ___ Server-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
