ReteLIM project presentation - network problems

Here you can find the link to a presentation of mine of the ReteLIM project.
The main goal of the project is to enable hospitalized children to keep in contact with his classmates and teachers; I explained a bit in a previous post of mine.

The main big problem in Italy is the lack of good network connections in the schools AND in the hospitals.

Unfortunately hospitals are not build with a 2.0 conception. People often risk to spend lot of lifetime in an hospital and there should be the availability of a free guest network connection, isolated from the internal hospital network, so that citizen either sick or relatives can have a view of the world and a means to keep in touch with the outside.
This is place where free internet has an additional meaning.

Unfortunately in Italy we are much in late with the free internet access.

Maybe in the context of the "Agenda Digitale" there could be means to address also this problems:

- Bandwitdh for schools and hospitals
- Public cloud where PA (and schools obviously) can procure computing power for services

These are themes that have to be centrally solved.

JBoss 7.1.1 + GeoServer 2.2.2

I'm deploying GeoServer 2.2.2 into JBoss 7.1.1 and there are not many hint around on how to solve some issues.

If you download the WAR version of GeoServer and just deploy it into the standalone/deployments folders you get the following errors:

14:47:26,944 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5) java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com/sun/imageio/plugins/common/BogusColorSpace

14:47:26,944 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at it.geosolutions.imageioimpl.plugins.tiff.TIFFImageReaderSpi.onRegistration(TIFFImageReaderSpi.java:168)

14:47:26,944 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at javax.imageio.spi.SubRegistry.registerServiceProvider(ServiceRegistry.java:698)

14:47:26,944 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at javax.imageio.spi.ServiceRegistry.registerServiceProvider(ServiceRegistry.java:285)

14:47:26,959 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at javax.imageio.spi.IIORegistry.registerApplicationClasspathSpis(IIORegistry.java:191)

14:47:26,959 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at javax.imageio.spi.IIORegistry.(IIORegistry.java:121)

14:47:26,959 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at javax.imageio.spi.IIORegistry.getDefaultInstance(IIORegistry.java:142)

14:47:26,959 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.geoserver.GeoserverInitStartupListener.contextDestroyed(GeoserverInitStartupListener.java:236)

14:47:26,959 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.listenerStop(StandardContext.java:3489)

14:47:26,959 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.stop(StandardContext.java:3999)

14:47:26,959 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.start(StandardContext.java:3917)

14:47:26,975 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.jboss.as.web.deployment.WebDeploymentService.start(WebDeploymentService.java:90)

14:47:26,975 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.jboss.msc.service.ServiceControllerImpl$StartTask.startService(ServiceControllerImpl.java:1811)

14:47:26,975 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.jboss.msc.service.ServiceControllerImpl$StartTask.run(ServiceControllerImpl.java:1746)

14:47:26,975 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.runTask(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:886)

14:47:26,975 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:908)

14:47:26,975 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:662)

14:47:26,975 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5) Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.sun.imageio.plugins.common.BogusColorSpace from [Module "deployment.geoserver.war:main" from Service Module Loader]

14:47:26,990 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.jboss.modules.ModuleClassLoader.findClass(ModuleClassLoader.java:190)

14:47:26,990 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.jboss.modules.ConcurrentClassLoader.performLoadClassUnchecked(ConcurrentClassLoader.java:468)

14:47:26,990 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.jboss.modules.ConcurrentClassLoader.performLoadClassChecked(ConcurrentClassLoader.java:456)

14:47:26,990 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.jboss.modules.ConcurrentClassLoader.performLoadClassChecked(ConcurrentClassLoader.java:423)

14:47:26,990 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.jboss.modules.ConcurrentClassLoader.performLoadClass(ConcurrentClassLoader.java:398)

14:47:26,990 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     at org.jboss.modules.ConcurrentClassLoader.loadClass(ConcurrentClassLoader.java:120)

14:47:26,990 ERROR [stderr] (MSC service thread 1-5)     ... 16 more

14:47:27,006 ERROR [org.jboss.msc.service.fail] (MSC service thread 1-5) MSC00001: Failed to start service jboss.web.deployment.default-host./geoserver: org.jboss.msc.service.StartException in service jboss.web.deployment.default-host./geoserver: JBAS018040: Failed to start context
    at org.jboss.as.web.deployment.WebDeploymentService.start(WebDeploymentService.java:95)
    at org.jboss.msc.service.ServiceControllerImpl$StartTask.startService(ServiceControllerImpl.java:1811) [jboss-msc-1.0.2.GA.jar:1.0.2.GA]
    at org.jboss.msc.service.ServiceControllerImpl$StartTask.run(ServiceControllerImpl.java:1746) [jboss-msc-1.0.2.GA.jar:1.0.2.GA]
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.runTask(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:886) [rt.jar:1.6.0_35]
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:908) [rt.jar:1.6.0_35]
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:662) [rt.jar:1.6.0_35]

To solve the problem you have to  create two files:
jboss-classloading.xml

<classloading xmlns="urn:jboss:classloading:1.0"
name="geoserver.war"
domain="GeoServerDomain"
export-all="NON_EMPTY"
import-all="true">
</classloading>

jboss-deployment-structure.xml

<jboss-deployment-structure xmlns="urn:jboss:deployment-structure:1.1">
    <deployment>
        <dependencies>
            <system>
                <paths>
                    <path name="com/sun/imageio/spi"/>
                    <path name="com/sun/imageio/plugins/common"/>
                </paths>
            </system>
        </dependencies>
    </deployment>
</jboss-deployment-structure>

These files have to be added inside the WAR in the \WEB-INF\

This solves the problem and you get a nice and working GeoServer inside the JBoss application server.

WebRTC mozilla implementation

Here is a great demonstration of the next WebRTC implementation that Mozilla is developing for Firefox 18.
This is going to put in the trash all the web conference solutions. or at least rising the minimum feature offering. The power to send the currend browser to the other participant is amazing and powerful.

This could have a big impact on eLearning tools, adding new communication tools directly within the platform (I'm thinking at a Moodle on steroids).
The interesting aspect is the fact that the WebRTC technology enable a new world of integrated applications on the web, just a few click away.

I hope that projects like OpenMeetings will soon be able to leverage on this standard.

New cloudstack' VMs security and password management

I happen to work with cloud infrastructure and use to create lots of virtual machines to test and develop new puppet modules.

Since the target is to finalize cloud templates and correct installation of the modules often these VMs stay up a few days to allow refining and so on.

I start from a very basic template, and all is installed by puppet, security has to be managed by the cloud and these machines are destined to stay in the internal private network exposing just the services they offer (whether they are a moodle machine or a JBoss server or whatever).

So no particular attention has been made in securing the host, but to be able to work with ease I just opened the 22 port of SSH server to connect and to the configurations.

Unfortunately the password was a simple one and since the work sometimes take more than a couple of days some machine were compromised; brute force attack to SSH server.

This to learn to use a good password: so since using a different password for each VM in the cloud could be difficult to remember (especially if you want to use non simple ones) I decided to use a nice feature of keepass: the ability to execute PUTTY as a URL action; in this way I do not have to bother to remember or type complex passwords anymore.

Here the code to insert in keepass:

cmd://PuTTY.exe -ssh {USERNAME}@{URL:HOST} {URL:PORT} -pw {PASSWORD}

cmd://WinSCP.exe scp://{USERNAME}:{PASSWORD}@{URL}

The first is for opening ssh URL the second to create a "scp" URL.  Mind that there is already an "ssh" URL scheme, but if you have SSH on another port you have to follow the command above to manage to connect.  This command works with the latest keepass 2.x version

To add it go to Tools -> Options...    press "URL Scheme Overrides"

Keepass options dialog

Create a new Scheme pressing "Add..."

URL Override

Adding "ssh" to scheme and the command above in the URL Override.

This way you can start PUTTY from keepass using secure complex passwords with ease.

To solve the problem of unsecure new machines I also added the installation of fail2ban to the puppet node description: no more brute force attack allowed.

Will work on automatically changing the root password and creating a CSV file to send to administrator to add info to central keepass DB.

Puppet, Augeas and sudoers

I'm developing some puppet modules in these days and I'm working on a Moodle module.

The interesting thing is that Moodle has a nice CLI interface that is possible to use to make the installation unattended and not iterative so is possible to create a puppet module that manages the whole installation by itself.
The module is still in the works, but I'm trying to make it as modular as possible since I could need to have the MySQL DB in a different host and so I prefer to set up the module to delegate to MySQL the task of building the DB.
This is something that many modules around to not take into consideration: not all environments have the DB in the same host as the application you are installing.  In my case is particularly true in my case since I work in a cloud environment and I need the machine to be automatically deployed in CloudStack letting the Moodle machine to export the DB need to the MySQL central machine.

To solve this problem I'm using the exported resources and I can say that it works pretty well as I posted some times ago.

With this approach the Moodle module just takes care of the Moodle stuff and demand (issues a export resource and MySQL will catch it and create the DB) to other modules the task of managing their resources.

Thankfully puppetlabs is working hard to provide a set of good basic modules to manage thinks like MySQL (had to use the GIT version since there is a bug that has been fixed there)
One of the thingsI had a really awful time to solve is the use of Augeas in puppet to configure the /etc/sudoers file.
The problem is that Moodle CLI wants to be executed as the Apache user, but the apache user do not have TTY and is not allower to work without a password so googling around (I'm not a sysop, more a jack-of-all-trades and thus have to google a lot in my day :-) ) it turned out I had to have sudo and write /etc/sudoers to enable apache to work.
It seems easy ... (at least if you use visudo), but using puppet ...
Looking around I felt lucky augeas can write on /etc/sudoers ... but how?  No good example around so after many trials and error I decided to make this post to help others not loosing all the time I did:

augeas { "sudoapache":
    context => "/files/etc/sudoers",
    changes => [
      "set spec[user = '$moodle::params::web_user']/user \"$moodle::params::web_user\"",
      "set spec[user = '$moodle::params::web_user']/host_group/host \"ALL\"",
      "set spec[user = '$moodle::params::web_user']/host_group/command \"ALL\"",
      "set spec[user = '$moodle::params::web_user']/host_group/command/runas_user \"ALL\"",
      "set spec[user = '$moodle::params::web_user']/host_group/command/tag \"NOPASSWD\"",
      "set Defaults[type=':$moodle::params::web_user']/type :$moodle::params::web_user",
      "set Defaults[type=':$moodle::params::web_user']/requiretty/negate \"\""],
  }

This will produce the two rows in the file that allowed the CLI to make its own work.

apache ALL = (ALL) NOPASSWD : ALL
Defaults:apache !requiretty

Good puppetizing!

VUVOX a timeline storytelling

This is a really powerfull solution for alternative form of presentations.

The timeline approach transmits a narrative flow to the presentation and the power of hyperlinks to show videos, images, audio is a big addition.

This is one complementary alternative to Prezi.

You give the user the power to control the flow and the hyperlink is something tha Prezi lacks. These two tools offer a new way to present content in a rich and engaging style.

I can advise it.

Your data in the social network

This video is really funny!!

Is a good example of how our personal information is available to public access.

This true especially for young users of the internet, too many times people publish things that could represent a problem for their current or future public image or a threath to the security of web accounts.

TEIID 8.1 tutorial - Part 5

We prepared a VDB in the previous part of the TEIID tutorial.

Now we want to test it on a TEIID server.

To do so we need a fresh and clean TEIID installation.

We download a JBoss AS version 7.1.1 and unzip it into a folder (I'm runniong the tutorial on windows, but you can do the same on linux).

I usually check that JBoss works out of the box before installing anything.

When you have checked the JBoss AS installation you are ready to install TEIID, that is pretty easy stuff to do as you have to download the TEIID distribution and just unpack it into the JBoss installation; there is the same folder structure so everything will go to its place.

For the demo we'll going to run JBoss in standalone mode, this means that we'll look at the files into the standalone folder.

Since there is a standalone-teiid.xml file I usually create a start script to set the config file to be that one, but is a habit of mine, you can rename it standalone.xml and work on that (just keep the original standalone somewhere should you need it).

Done that just start JBoss again and this time we'll see that also TEIID modules gets loaded and it is ready and running; obviously there is no DB right now.

Shut down everything and make some few configurations (all these stuffs can be done in different ways, as a tutorial I prefer to show what gets written into the XML file so that is known what web consolle does behind the scene).

Since we are going to connect to MySQL we need to prepare the module for MySQL with the driver so that JBoss and TEIID can make a connection to MySQL create a datasource to our DB with the correct jndi name we used in the VDB.

The TEIID installation comes with a usefull set of examples/templates for the modules so we just have to copy the MySQL one in the modules folder, copy the jdbc driver in the folder, configure the modules with the correct name of the lib and the driver is ready.

We than need to add the driver information within the standalone.xml file.

Done that we can add the driver information in the standalone.xml file and set all the parameters to be able to correctly connect to the DB.

When you have finished the configuration start JBoss and go to the web concolle and check the functioning of the datasource testing the connection with the DB.



Once we have finished this part we can deploy the VDB.