I should probably write a bit about Diggers, seeing as that's the only thing I've been doing for the last few days...

I was here last year, and at the end of day one we were exhausted. The network had been patched here and there, people couldn't use VPNs and at about 3PM the Telstra ADSL died meaning tha twe routed everything out through Curtin's 64kbit/sec IDSN line. Considering they have 500 people on that link already, it was painfully slow to the point that it just didn't work at all.

With this memory in mind, we planned well ahead what services we were going to deliver, and how we were going to do it. Even still, I've learnt things that I'd do differently next time. For example, the first time I came up here, I pre-uilt the servers. This time I installed Debian on them when I was onsite in Kalgoorlie. This took too long, not because it is a tiresome process, but it had ramifications on other tasks; we needed the Internet up before we could do most things.

The same goes for the switches and access points. These could all have been preconfigured before we shipped them here which would have meant we deployed them and let them do their thing.

Also, there's a few scripts I'd like to have written, like those that monitor (with SNMP) a port on the switch, and when it is activated (indicating a client has arraived and connected into the network) it could have fired off an e-mail to me. This means that within 5 monute of connecting they get me at their doorstep saying "hi, we saw you connected to the network and wanted to check everything is working." Customer service++.

Also, a script that monitors the number of DHCP leases we have issued would ahve been handy. Not only does this give us an actual count that we can provide the organising staff, but it would show us just how popular the LAN vs. wireless really is. I have a feeling we've come close to filling up an entire /24 range, with the 4 APs being used heavily, and over LAN connections active.

Later I'll write more about what we did right because this year has been a much bigger success than last year. Stay tuned...

I've been run off my feet so much today, and haven't had a minute to write about it. I will later, if I get a chance. We're expecting to be here until the early hours of the morning.

How's this for cool: there's a dude the the surname Kuntz here this year ;)

I'm using my first wireless hotspot from here in the domestic terminal at Perth Airport. I am waiting to boar the flight to Kalgoorlie, drinking my coffee and generally being cool. It's good to be hanging out with Peter again - we should have fun this week.

They use a captive portal to enable access, and I entered in my mobile phone number in and got an SMS. The SMS had an authorization token. They charge $5 for the first 15 minutes, and 20c/minute after that, so the initial connection fee is probably priced about as high as most people would entertain, yet if you're looking for an hours access it won't break the bank.

Literally within 30 seconds I had authenticated with the access point, entered my mobile number and logged in. Without a doubt, this has been the easiest Telstra service I've ever had to use ;)

The call for papers has begun for the 2005 Linux.conf.au (LCA2005) and this year I'm cosidering submitting a paper for presentation.

The conference officially operates for three days, with two days of 'unofficial' mini-conferences. These mini-conferences address a specific topic amongst the Linux community, like Python, Linux in government or education, and my favourite, Debian. The presentations at both the main conference and the mini-conferences are generally highly technical in nature, but I was thinking of doing something a little 'off the chain.'

My idea is to present on how Adam and I have over the last year developed a successful software development business centred soley around Free and Open Source software. I would discuss what's involved in starting a business (in general), the hurdles we've faced (and cleared) and where we intend on taking The Frontier Group over the coming 12 months.

I've mentioned this to a few close people, and the feedback has been good, so today I sent of an introductory e-mail to the LCA organisiers asking for their recommendations. Hopefully they'll be as interested as I am excited, and next year I'll be wearing a "delegate" badge instead of a "boring normal person" one :) It will be wierd writing a paper for my own enjoyment, rather than for marking against some standard set by a lecturer, who's probably never experienced the world beyond their classroom.

What do you all think?

How easy is this? I wanted SMP support for the server we deployed, and the initial thought was to compile a new kernel. Not necessary - we use Debian!

With one simple command, I had the latest 2.6 kernel installed, with all the kernel modules I needed and the updates to GRUB being made automatically. SMP works, and the kernel now sees dual processors, each with about 5500 bogomips.