Re: How do you use Linux in your Library?

[psmith@mole.lib.purdue.edu (Preston Smith)]

 At Purdue, we use many Debian Linux boxen to complement our main servers, 
 IBM RS/6000s. (A little tidbit: Ian Murdock, the founder of Debian, was a 
 a sysadmin for the Purdue Libraries for a couple of years.) Personally,
 I'm a quite minor developer for the Debian project.

 Some things our Linux systems do:
  * Desktops for the sysadmins. (GNOME)
  * CVS for in-house development.
  * Hosting our GPO Access site (http://gpo.lib.purdue.edu,
    Using Apache, mod_perl)
  * Server DBMS (MySQL and Postgresql)
  * Web applications (Online ILL ordering, searchable Ovid stats, etc) 
    with PHP, and the DBMS mentioned above.
  * DHCP for 3 networks.
  * File storage (central collection point for web logs)
  * Samba->LPD print services for public access OPAC stations in 15 library
    locations.
  * Proxy server for off-campus access to IP-restricted services. 

 Mail and our main web site runs on our main server, which is an RS/6000.
 Someday when it becomes obsolete, a Linux box may do those jobs. (The server
 software, though, is open source: Apache for the web server and Smail 
 for the MTA)

 DNS is centrally controlled by the University, so we don't run BIND or
 anything, though we would use linux for it if we needed to run it.

 We've done some testing with using Linux-based netscape kiosks to replace
 the management headaches that one gets using Windows machines as terminals
 in the Libraries. Nothing's been done yet, but I hope it still might happen.

 I'd use Linux more if I could, but some things, like the Voyager system,
 need a commerical Unix. 

 But almost exclusively, Linux is used on the server side. And that's simply
 because we the sysadmins feel it's the best tool for the job, not by any
 administrative interest.

 Hope this is of interest.
 -Preston Smith
  Systems Administrator 
  Purdue University Libraries

-- 
 Preston M. Smith <psmith@lib.purdue.edu>
 http://www.lib.purdue.edu/~psmith 
  "History repeats itself only if one does not listen the first time."