Status Reports: PVSWiki

Table of Contents

Weekly work notes for Shane Courtney
Home Phone: 406-563-0003
Home Phone2: 406-221-2366

Status Reports

Week Ending Jan 22, 2017

DevComm PC replaced and tested
VoIP finalization
New Server build
Workstation app and auth research and testing

Week Ending Jan 15, 2017

Testing a working VNC connection to Linux Workstation
Finalize DevComm PC
Testing CentOS authentication candidates
Further VoIP quotes and research
Working with Peter on IT packing

Week Ending Jan 8, 2017

Building DevComm media PC with Windows 8
VoIP quotes and research
Research packing materials for move

Week Ending Dec 25, 2016

VoIP quotes
Demoing Vonage and MegaPath webtools
Building Windows 8 replacement for mailing PC
Working with Cassie to determine specific needs for MS Office
Researching why mail merge from Donor Perfect not displaying properly in Open Office
Researching open office plugins
Testing Word alternates

Week Ending Dec 18, 2016

VoIP options and quotes
Server outage
Blackfoot contracts

Week Ending Dec 11, 2016

Windows 8 workstation candidate for mailing workstation
Ebay sales
Researching pricing for Windows and Office products for computers
Researching pricing for server at Drake
Working with Devcomm wellsfargo access
Donor Perfect backup issue

Week Ending Dec 4, 2016

Continued AV research
Researching limited and/or micro server for Drake
Researching soft fax
Rolling out Yum updates to all computers
Ebay sales
Continued Decentralized workstation setup
Troubleshooting lodge wireless

Week Ending Nov 27, 2016

Continued Poprocks cleanup and helping DevComm with cleanup
Ebay sales
Creating Centos Build without IPA
Pushing updates to workstations
Planning backup of poprocks
Looking at freenas.org as possible option for server at drake
AV alternative that can be monitored via mantis

Week Ending Nov 20, 2016

Poprocks cleanup
Office cleanup and packing
Building Windows 8.1 Image
Trying to mount NFS from Windows

Week Ending Nov 13, 2016

Election streaming setup
Network troubleshooting
GApps cleanup
User cleanup
Developing Images for Workstations for server less environment

Week Ending Nov 6,2016

Additional server setup
Gathering documentation for per-formatting for wiki
Plan of action for selling, tossing and organizing IT hardware
Setting up DonorPerfect Dashboards
Continued troubleshooting drivers for NFS access on Windows 7

Week Ending October 30, 2016

Testing PandoraFMS on peeps
Working with Bill attempting to get zoom to work for a classroom speech
Attempting to mount NFS volume on Windows 10
Building Windows 7 test image for mounting NFS volumes

Week Ending October 23, 2016

Finalizing Ebay sales
researching scanning softwarefor check imaging
AWS modifications and bringing up new instances
Developing new image for life without poprocks and gapps syncing
Evaluating removal of local Samba services and going to all linux environment
Troubleshooting Devcomm mass mailing issues

Week Ending October 16, 2016

Working with Wells Fargo and check scanner after another Wells Fargo Update
Bringing up additional AWS servers
Ebay Sales
Testing PandoraFMS for server monitoring
Testing Zabbix for server monitoring
Evaluating Generator for extended power outages

Week Ending October 9, 2016

Ebay sales
Reading through additional postgres tutorials and docs
Check scanner setup
Tech support with Wells Fargo applying work around for Windows 10 Anniversary update
Testing saltstack beacons

Week Ending October 2, 2016

Salt research setting up more intelligent state files
Ebay sales
Troubleshooting authentication issues on poprocks
More ebay sales since Ashley was out
reading documents on postgres

Week Ending September 25, 2016

Postgres training
Webmaster responses
Testing and installing Lubuntu on Zotacs for Ebay sales
Researching replacement for check scanner

Week Ending September 16, 2016

User cleanup
Self Training Postgres
Helping Adelaide with hardware and onedrive
Assisting Devcomm with Donor perfect and remote access to local pcs
gapps cleaning and continued testing with google drive mounting on pcs

Week Ending September 9, 2016

create simple salt state w/o logic for updating pypvs
Troubleshooting prezi and research for converting to pdf
researching logic for salt to update workstations in batches
research connection to db using gnumeric
testing mounting google drive with ocamlfuse
working with Adelaide and Richard to resolve email issues

Week Ending September 2, 2016

Troubleshooting recent Firefox issues
Researching Email retention policy for Walker
Working with Blackfoot on charges for a circuit that we don't use
Salt stack setup on AWS

Week Ending August 26, 2016

Troubleshooting lighttpd
Investigating AWS services
Updating Ebay and PayPal accounts in prep of selling
Gathering sales info and pictures of equipment
AWS Training
Gmail cleanup

Week Ending August 19, 2016

User and server cleanup
Troubleshooting lighttpd
Troubleshooting local client/Chicko web browsing issues
Adjusting group options after DonorPerfect changes/update

Week Ending August 12, 2016

User and server cleanup
AWS training

Week Ending August 5, 2016

Self training on AWS
Self training on YAML
researching google apps slowness with firefox
troubleshooting smtp and dns

Week Ending July 29, 2016

Researching why Chrome sucks and is crashing computers
Testing google docs local synchronization
working on beacon and reactor system for salt
testing grive2 (google docs synchronization) on computers
testing alternate browsers on workstations
learning jinja for use with salt stack

Week Ending July 22, 2016

Setup saltstack on peeps test server.
Testing service monitoring, reporting, and server/workstation self healing and updating
Testing saltstack services for network/service monitoring and reporting

Week Ending July 15, 2016

tracking down streaming users
fixing salt and repairing updates on workstations
dealing with many small issues arising from updates

Week Ending July 8, 2016

finished patch 1.6 on missed workstations
installing yum updates on pcs individually to minimize network impact
Researching and testing self healing server and notifications

Week Ending July 1, 2016

Started testing self healing servers with saltstack
Dealing with network issues and Chrome
Applying more policies to Chrome
Researching Chrome alternatives
Researching WS network monitoring and reporting
Tuning network and looking at changing I/O scheduling
Salt rollout of patch 1.6

Week Ending June 24, 2016

Addressing errors tuning workstations
Working with DonorPerfect to get backups working
Streamlining saltstack on poprocks
consolidating all image versions into saltstack master state and integrating most recent fixes into saltstack

Week Ending June 17, 2016

Chrome Tuning and rollout
NFS Tuning and rollout
Research for improving I/O wait on poprocks

Week Ending June 10, 2016

Testing nagios setup on peeps
Implementing and testing NFS/Network tuning
Testing various Chrome tweaks to reduce RAM/Network issues

Week Ending June 3, 2016

Donor Perfect Online security and backups
Server tuning (IOWait, NFS)
Donor Perfect Audit and Configuration
Tuning DPO backups
Many little problems and user needs

Week Ending May 27, 2016

researching and testing network monitoring tools
updating workstations

local browsing cache
ssh authorized_keys

working with Blackfoot
Working with DonorPerfect
setup and test DonorPerfect backup
Working with Kimball's

Week Ending May 20, 2016

Pushing logon updates to all workstations
Setup peeps and SMTP relay
Server room cleanup
Working with Blackfoot

Week Ending May 13, 2016

Email and old account cleanup
build new server and setup internal email relay
Power outage and troubleshooting generator, server, and network issues
Checking DNS double gmail settings to ensure smooth mallo decomission
Troubleshooting bacula and Pez removal

Week Ending May 6th, 2016

Finalize public PCs rollout and updates
Decommission Pez
Working with DonorPerfect and Blackfoot
Bacula research removing clients

Week Ending April 29,2016

Gmail groups, and troubleshooting smtp
Researching various methods to get email from mallo to gmail
Negotiate proposal with Donor Perfect
Repurposing working Acer laptops for ranch staff (cook, maintenance)

Week Ending Apr 22,2016

Securing Savannah's gmail account from further infection
Prepping gApps for primary email
Evaluating current network usage and working with Blackfoot
Setting up workstations
running updates to address LibreOffice and java issues

Week Ending Apr 15, 2016

Finalize setup of back office
Recommend purchase for deploying all computers
gmail virus issues
troubleshooting and resolving issue with RBL listing gmail on blacklist

Week Ending Mar 25, 2016

Getting audio working on Windows boxes
Working with Devcomm and Donor Perfect
Looking into email delays on google
Helping with National Director stuff

Week Ending Mar 18, 2016

setup SSL cert on chickostick
pricing and research on cat 5 cabling, monitors, core switch and possible replacement for intern isle switch
researching gnome nfs file mask issues
applying fix for firefox printing pdf bug
working with devcomm and investigating mass mailings being flagged as spam
looking at reading docs for AWS services
nfs troubleshooting, internal network slowness

Week Ending Mar 11, 2016

Finalize and create image Version 1.2
Applying changes and updates to active client machines
Creating saltstack states and testing Pillar/State deployment
Finalize SMTP relay, email migration

Week Ending Mar 4, 2016

Testing network throttling, browser settings, extensions, deployment
Imaging computers
Setting up R on poprocks and working with Walker on getting scripts running on server
Finalizing Google mail replication of mallo

Week Ending Feb 26,2016

Troubleshooting Libreoffice issue
Workstation updates and tuning
Testing salt scripts and documenting
Testing web browser blocking automatic video playback
Looking at AWS services and Alternative to Nagios

Week Ending Feb 19, 2016

Tuning Linux PCs based on reported issues
Research on http throttling
Researching browser RAM usage
Updating Image
Investigating local caching for Browsers (NFS and FreeIPA)
Research on FreeIPA and best practices for using NFS home folders and automount using FreeIPA
Documenting FreeIPA current setup

Week Ending Feb 12, 2016

Imaging new PCs
Adjusting image as needed to deal with preferences and minor issues
Resolving disk full issue on Mallo

Week Ending Feb 5, 2016

Research and pricing on Core Switch
Installing saltstack on poprocks
Documenting and testing saltstack client management
New PC rollout

Week Ending Jan 29, 2016

Linux Image ready, worked out majority of bugs
Testing salt stack deployment and research on installing it on Fedora
Finalized gmail functionality, groups and forwards
Creating cleanup scripts for new deployment
Final prep for new pc rollout

Week Ending Jan 22, 2016

created groups, forwards and aliases on gmail for transistion from mallo
Client Image tuning and documentation
research and setting up smtp relay on pez
research on kerberos authentication and troubleshooting new image /export/home authentication
working with vendors and Jamieson on PC purchases and DonorPerfect

Week Ending Jan 15, 2016

making tweaks to linux image
working with vendor to get new pcs ordered
updating client documentation on wiki
researching and testing puppet
researching and testing spacewalk
Setup and tesing SaltStack CM for PC deployment
Planning Gmail migration

Week Ending Jan 8, 2016

Finalized CentOS install on new PC, imaged, and tested
Install Windows 7 on new PCs
Finalized and tested Windows 10 install on new pcs and created image
Worked with vendors getting quotes

Week Ending December 25, 2015

New PC setup and testing
Researching deployment methods and versioning
Documenting new PC setup and testing

Week Ending December 18, 2015

Finalize user cleanup
Performance tuning sssd and ldap
Testing CentOS and freeipa
Donor perfect correspondance

Week Ending December 11, 2015

Cleaned up all users from IPA, poprocks, and gmail
Donor perfect troubleshooting
Research and FreeIPA troubleshooting
Performance tuning FreeIPA

Week Ending December 4, 2015

Setup all remaining Windows PCs on RANCH2 domain and modify pdbedit database entries on Poprocks
Troubleshoot and repair Kyocera printer and search for parts and possible replacement
Update windows workstation and samba configuration documentation.
Staff Meeting
Setting up and groupmaps in samba on poprocks for RANCH2 domain
Copying DonorPerfect from Pez to Poprocks
Troubleshooting and repairing network port
Donorperfect issues on Poprocks, cannot reliably access share with more than 3 PCs simulataneously

Week Ending November 27, 2015

Validating apcupsd start on boot and access on all servers
Fedora does not fully support AD on samba without significant tweaking of Kerberos, abandoning due potential breaking of live server.
Troubleshooting chrome DNS issues and updating settings on workstations
Testing various scenarios with folder redirection and usage of Windows 7 on samba RANCH2 domain.
Testing Windows 7 and RANCH2 domain with John, updated Wiki for rollout process.

Week Ending November 20, 2015

Copied officemgr to gmail and created alias on mallo for account
troubleshooting kyocera printer
dealing with power outage
Windows 7 and RANCH2 domain configuration and testing
Bacula schedule check
Updated DNS in IPA and removed /etc/hosts entries
Donorperfect installation on Windows 7 procedure and testing
Acquiring domain admin rights to RANCH2 domain
Dealing with kasperski update that broke Windows Vista computers
Testing and instruction of commonkey password management
Investigating viability of upgrading RANCH2 domain to work with AD services.

Week Ending November 13, 2015

DHCP and DNS Migration to poprocks
Rebuilding Windows PCs
Researching Password Management software
Testing Donor Perfect from poprocks
Samba testing on poprocks
MS Office 2016 setup and testing on mail pc

Week Ending November 6, 2015

Updating and testing Fedora 21 image
Updating Vista computer image
Setting up PC for Erik
Samba documentation and testing
Working on mallo

Week Ending October 30, 2015

Troubleshooting freeipa connection problems between updated client image and server
Testing alternate OS's on workstations and evaluating for speed and compatibility
Warranty printer setup and settings backup for future re-configure
Working on promoting Poprocks to primary domain controller in Samba and documenting current setting on both Pez and Poprocks
Researching replacement PCs
Working with Blackfoot for VoIP quote
Evaluating DonorSnap donor management software

Week Ending October 23, 2015

Infomation and consulting with Vonage and Blackfoot about VoIP
Mapping and evaluating physical network
Research and pricing for Donor Perfect
Network troubleshooting
Linux Image tuning
Printer troubleshooting

Week Ending October 16, 2015

Office cleanup
Deploying new printer on all pcs
Finalize setup of front office and PC updates
Finalize CopyToDock
Update Windows Vista image
Apply updates and tweaks to Linux image
Setup scanner to scan to network folders
Finalized network cabling cleanup
Working with Blackfoot and Vonage for VoIP solution

Week Ending October 9, 2015

Finished front office cabling and pc setup
Troubleshooting and fixing floor jacks in devcomm area that had become damaged
Cable management and cleanup in PCT
Setup and testing of offsite backups with removable hard drive on Kitkat
Repair and rollout of HP4350 printer
Creation of Printer Supplies wiki page
Research for alternate phone service/system
Testing of Windows 7 on RANCH2 Domain on Poprocks

Week Ending October 2, 2015

Finalized move of files to Poprocks and disabling shares on Pez
Pez user account cleanup
Rolling out PCs with new image
Setting up front office in prep for closing back office

Week Ending September 25, 2015

Examining and fine tuning workstation settings for use with FreeIPA
Troubleshooting slowness issues with FreeIPA
Pez cleanup and migration to Poprocks
Finalized image 11.5 and full roll out

Week Ending September 18, 2015

Finalized Windows 7 Image - No Donor Perfect
Working on Samba on Poprocks
Updating Linux image to 11.4
Troubleshooting Printers
Testing mail merge alternate using Abiword
Looking at alternates and/or upgrade to Donor Perfect
Troubleshooting file permissions and moving files between NFS locations

Week Ending September 11, 2015

Finished cable management and to central island in intern area
Troubleshooting of Walker's pvsadmin_staff database
Work on Windows 7 image
Troubleshooting and adjusting images to address Chrome issues and improve overall stability and performance
User cleanup accounts, groups and email lists

Week Ending September 4, 2015

Finalizing tweaks on new images and showing users new features
Fighting with Microsoft to get account unblocked
Beginning new image rollout
Cable management and cleanup of intern island
Building core Windows 7 image

Week Ending August 28,2015

Imaging computers to address need for printing to Brother printer
Troubleshooting and recommendation for replacing Sharp Copier
Troubleshooting NFS filemask issues
Working on new FC22 image
Prototyping new image
Tech support with Microsoft to gain access to it@votesmart.org
Building Windows 7 image
Making modifications to new image based on issues

Week Ending August 21, 2015

Work on new images Windows image and documentation
Work on new Linux client image using FC22 and Lxde, currently having problems with NFS
Setup check imaging PC with Windows 10, non-domain and will have to downgrade due to Intel 3150 driver
Finalized rebuild of Kyocera FS-3920DN and setup on front office PCs

Week Ending August 14, 2015

Mounting, labeling, tracing, and replacing cabling as needed
Troubleshooting wireless and phone issues in lodge
Updating image with revised Brother printer, disabling IPv6
Troubleshooting IPA password expiration and resolving
Printer repair
Research on alternate client distros
Troubleshooting and attempted repair of check imaging PC
Followup with CDW on Windows licenses
Updated current client image to version 9 addressing printing and ipv6 issues

Week Ending August 07, 2015

Work on simplifying Bacula and get offsite backups working
Responding to tickets and help requests
Physical cable organization and labeling
Troubleshooting Brother printer issues
Setup CUPS on poprocks
Printer maintenance and troubleshooting

Week Ending July 31, 2015

Trouble shooting network hang and DNS errors generated on Mallo
Trouble shooting PVS office wireless issues
Re-organizing IT area and bench setup
Working on physical infrastucture
Responding to tickets and help requests
Cleaning up config files and working on bacula

Week Ending July 24, 2015

Continuation of Network performance troubleshooting
Continuation of labeling, inspection, and removal of excess cabling and equipment
Mantis tickets and responding to help requests
Virus removal on Richard's PC and installation of OpenOffice as he was using an expired trial version of MS Office
Setup diagnostic laptop

Week Ending July 17, 2015

Mantis tickets and responding to help tickets
Continuing to troubleshoot physical network
Finalized Wireless upgrade
Troubleshooting DHCP and DNS issues
Imaging spare computers
Reconfigure and testing of DHCP server
Cutting out and organizing physical network cruft

Week Ending July 10, 2015

Replace Wireless routers
Looking at bacula and troubleshooting backup to USB drive
Learning and documenting Imaging process
Troubleshooting physical network, replacing cables and switches where needed.
Organizing and cleaning IT area
Testing and re-imaging good Zotac's
Mantis tickets and responding to user problems.

Week Ending July 3, 2015

Morning walkthroughs
Addressing mantis tickets
Troubleshooting network and looking at Zotac drivers
Addressing network cabling problems and replacing or repairing cables as needed
Ordering replacement/spare network equipment
Creating and deprecating documentation for network
Setting up UPS and creating Power Matrix Documentation
Troubleshooting wireless issues
Troubleshooting wall jack, found that wall jacks are terminated 568A, patch panel terminated 568B. Wall jack associated with patch panel port 45 needs new drop.

Upcoming

Look into details for calling NTP on startup for workstations using systemd

ntp -g ignores time slew, ntpdate -b command

Verify all network cabling
Mount switches and routers on walls or easily accessible locations off floor
Cleanup network cabling to minimal length and mount using ties

Week Ending June 26, 2015

Week Ending June 19, 2015

Initial Training

Imaging
Learning basic roles of servers and how to access admin functions

Setup of tools and processes needed to perform support functions
Troubleshooting and ordering maintenance parts for Brother and HP 8100 printers
Resolving non-database help desk tickets
Compiling documentation for self and updating wiki
Familiarizing self with wiki and servers
Recommending purchases for both Windows PCs and Wireless networking

PVSWiki : ShaneCourtney