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Running an ISP in a Warzone
musatov writes "SGT Coughanour, David A (HHC 1-110th Infantry US Army) speech on NOTACON 3: "Right now I am currently serving in Iraq where I run IT operations for a small chunk of the Sunni triangle. One of the major projects that we have accomplished here is setting up an ISP that supports 350 subscribers. It has also survived multiple mortar attacks, and is built entirely on Linux."
Download video (80 MB QuickTime) Requires latest QuickTime installed. A mirror is available for people to download it."
I used to work at an ISP in Detroit.
Entrepreneur : (noun), French for "unemployed"
Maybe it IS possible to run an ISP in Manchester (UK) after all!
Who'd a thunk it?
I've always found disaster recovery plans to be an annoying necessity in large businesses. I'd hate to see all the other paperwork that would be needed if my systems were subjected to mortar attacks. That certainly justifies the need for clustering over a WAN.
Multiple mortar attacks would explain a lot about my isp.
Bulletproof hosting..
This sig all sigs devours
Now that's running Linux in sandbox mode.
For the perfect anti-Unix, write an OS that thinks it knows what you're doing better than you do and let it be wrong.
If they can survive putting an 80MB video file on the front page of /., well, lets just say I'll be far more impressed.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Linux...easy.. The hard task is doing that with Windows.
To dare, is to do.
but you have to DL quicktime for windows to watch the video
They also have to watch out for TCP/IP packets that arrive out of ordnance.
--
"Open source is good." - Steve Jobs
"Open source is evil." - Microsoft
Linux really is a bulletproof OS!
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, KIA = 0 (0% KIA)
Lets see, there's the Linux angle, with optional (anti)piracy garnish.
Then there's the Iraq angle.
Then there's the "we should be feeding people before we bother to set up ISPs in the 3rd world angle".
Gosh.
S/N ratio dropping to zero in 10...9....8....7....
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
It's just very, very neat to see how people do technical work like this in adverse situations.
I'm passing this one on to my branch's VP of disaster planning. He's very cool, and likes to have a little "extra" to hit people over the head about good planning.
"The Sage treasures Unity and measures all things by it" - Lao Tzu
Let's see them survive a mortar hit.
I was stationed at Camp Taqaddum for about 10 months in 2005. The MWR internet center was across camp a few miles so I decided to set up my own satellite based connection. Peak usage was about 80 soldiers and marines, fed off of multiple wireless APs.
The ability to be in constant communication with family while we were not out on missions (we did security patrols of our Area of Operation) was a great boost to morale. Web cams and email meant you could see and talk to the people that mattered most to you.
We sold the operation to another unit just before we left, and there were 3 other systems I helped set up in our area serving other groups.
To the current soldiers, marines, and others at Camp Taqaddum: Give 'em Hell and keep your buddyies safe!
I wonder if anyone has tried that for real. Some sort of multiple server system up and running when someone puts a bullet through one without the system missing a beat. Now that's a video that would get some attention, both for the insanity and technical merit.
Funny you should say that. HP just did it with their high end storage array. See here.
Here are a few mirrors to use up. I'll probably bring them down after a few TB of transfer...
6 _hajjinet.mp4
0 6_hajjinet.mp4
New Jersey
http://www.def-con.org/~nocfed/downloads/notacon0
Texas
http://www2.def-con.org/~nocfed/downloads/notacon
Yeah, you know, cause the guy who is trained to set up and administrate ISP level networks also has a job designing and implementing power grids. He's kind of a "do all" dude. That's what makes the army so cool.
Note to self: No more arguing with the faithful.
They're fighting against an occupation by killing their countrymen? Have you SEEN the casualty figures? These fuckers kill something like 10 Iraqis for every 1 US soldier. I don't remember George Washington blowing up crowded markets in order to kill 3 British soldiers, or putting American children in the path of British horses and then blowing up all of them when the brits come to a stop.
Whatever term you decide to use for them, don't for one minute beleive that their goals have anything to do with freeing Iraq from opression or occupation. The vast majority of your "insurgents" employ terrorist tactics, and their ultimate goals have more to do with gauranteeing power for themselves and their supporters than with bringing freedom to the average Iraqi. If that doesn't make them terrorists, then you must be employing a very unusual definition for that word.
Dude, this guy specializes in networking, NOT power and water engineering. So regardless of whether or not these people lack security, hospitals, power, and water...he can't do squat about it. He CAN however apply his skill set to getting a network up and running.
Life is not for the lazy.