XS: OLPC School Server. Internet in a box.

1. XS: OLPC School Server
The Internet in a Box
(unsung hero too!)
Sameer Verma, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Information Systems Department Presentation: OLPC San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco State University http://tinyurl.com/olpcsf Unless noted otherwise
San Francisco, CA 94132 USA

2. Multiple hats...
Disclaimer: I do not work for OLPC.
I am only a volunteer!

3. OLPC San Francisco Bay Area
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_SanFranciscoBayArea
sf
http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-sf m/ olpc
yurl . co
in
t p: //t
ht

4. OLPC-SF Deployments
● A hub for exchange of ideas, plans, content, etc.
● Deployments
– Afghanistan (Carol Ruth Silver, MTSA)
– India (Humaira Mahi & Sameer Verma, SFSU)
– Jamaica (Sameer Verma & Univ. of the West Indies)
– Madagascar (June Kleider, XO-ology)
– Senegal (Drew & Lick-Wilmerding Schools)
– South Africa (EduWeavers)
– San Francisco (Starr King Elementary)
– Uganda (UC Berkeley)

6. School environment
Manage content
Manage access
Manage assessment
have
to
good

7. What does the XS look like?
Fantasy View

8. What does the XS look like?
Reality View
http://www.flickr.com/photos/popcorncx/149706221/

9. What does the XS look like?
● Any x86 box with requisite memory, crunch and storage can be the
XS.
– It could also be a ARM machine in the near future...
● Ideally, we want a machine that
– Consumes very little power
– Has the necessary crunch
– Portable
● Pocketable, even?
– Very forgiving for power brownouts, heat, dust, etc.
● Kinda like the XO.

10. Services that the XS runs
● Networking
– DNS
– DHCP
– NAT/Masquerading
– Bridging
● Identity management
– Seamless XO login
– Single One Time Password (SOTP) on server
● Activation
– Theft deterrence

11. Services that the XS runs
● Collaboration
– XMPP via ejabberd
● Storage
– Files and attachments for courses
– Backup files
– Other media
● Backup
– Journal/Datastore backup
● XO Software updates
– Push updates including firmware and OS images
● Activity server
– Pushing activity bundles

12. Networking
● Provides networking infrastructure for the school.
● Acts as an Internet gateway (if backhaul exists)
– Includes HTTP proxy (optional)
– Content filter (optional)
● Supports Wi-Fi:
– Ad-Hoc
– Mesh (IEEE 802.11s draft)
– Infrastructure (Access Point)

13. Identity management
● Single One Time Passwords (SOTP) for maintenance.
– Remote ISP maintenance, etc.
● OLPC XO Browse
– authenticates seamlessly with Moodle
– Moodle talks to ejabberd for permissions, etc.
● First XO to access Moodle
– This XO becomes admin.
– This XO can assign other teachers, course creators, and
other such roles

14. Collaboration
● XMPP-based collaboration via ejabberd.
– Ejabberd is a XMPP (jabber) server written in erlang.
● Uses gabble mode under telepathy in Sugar.
– Gabble allows for server-based collaboration
● XOs switch to salut mode in case no XS is found.
– Salut allows for peer-to-peer collaboration
● Activities such as Chat, Write, Memorize use XMPP to collaborate.
http://xmpp.org/
http://collabora.co.uk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy_software

15. Storage
● Much of the storage lives in /library partition.
– Mount /library on external USB disk or other media and
expand storage.
– Run rest of the system off a CF or SD card (solid state)
● Files can be served as
– links via Moodle
– links via Apache (add Apache config)

16. Backup
● Three processes:
– Traffic control
● provides basic "traffic control" to manage load.
– Backup-complete script
● Creates links for latest snapshot.
– Daily cleanup
● enforces a per-user "soft" quota.

17. Updates
● Pushing updates to OS image and firmware via rsync.

18. Layout (Access Points)

19. Hardware recommendations
● Schools with less than 40 laptops:
– use XS-on-XO: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XS-on-XO
– Requires a SD card (4GB, preferably class 6)
– External USB hard drive (may need own power)
– USB-Ethernet for backhaul.

20. Fit PC and Fit PC2
● Fit PC works well and is comparable to the XO-1 in performance.
– More configurable than the XO-1.
– Replace a SSD in the FitPC to make it cooler and more
power efficient.
● http://www.fit-pc.com/fit-pc1/
● Fit PC2 has heat problems.
– Intel Atom runs too hot
● Surprise, surprise.
● Maybe glue on a large heat sink?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndevil/3535934684/

21. Hardware recommendations
● Schools with up to 100 laptops:
– 1GHz CPU, 1GB RAM,
– at least 2GB disk storage per laptop.
– Something in the mini ITX form-factor works well.
– Fanless units are better

22. Hardware recommendations
● For up to 500 laptops:
– dual-core 2GHz CPU
– 2 to 4GB RAM
– at least 2GB disk storage per
laptop.
– This type of a machine
usually works in
environments with good
power resources.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/popcorncx/149706221/

23. Hardware recommendations
● More than 500 laptops
– Server-class dual CPU
– 4 to 16GB RAM
– at least 2GB disk storage per
laptop.
– Data center hosting is also an
option.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamisonjudd/2433102356/

24. School Server

25. Screenshots
XS Moodle Screen Shots

26. Main page

27. Front page settings

28. Front page roles

29. List of users

30. Roles and permissions

31. Presence service

32. Antitheft controls

33. Add a course

34. Site files

35. Question bank

36. Moving courses
Create in San Francisco...
...deploy in Madagascar!
A zip file, which includes
content and structure for
the entire course!

37. XS: Internet in a box
No Internet? No power? No problem :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLPC_XS
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/School_server

38. OLPC San Francisco Bay Area
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_SanFranciscoBayArea
sf
http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-sf m/ olpc
yurl . co
in
t p: //t
ht

39. Made with the free stuff
Its your intellectual property. Keep it open.
Vote with your fingers.
Use open formats!
http://www.openoffice.org/