[volunteers] SVLUG Mail Working?

[Rick Moen]

Last Thursday, I wrote:
> Quoting Mark Weisler (mark at weisler-saratoga-ca.us):
> 
>> Do we need more memory for the old server?  [Yeah, yeah, I was a 
>> manager...  ;.]
> 
> No, not really.
> 
> My own server gets by extremely reliably with _half_ as much RAM as the
> legacy www.svlug.org server has, and the MTA / antispam setup is
> remarkably similar, except that the software in question consists of
> more-mature versions, with much, much more emphasis on intercepting spam
> in the front-end of Exim4, the C-based, fast, small rulesets, before
> handing off mail streams that survive those tests to (slow, bloated)
> SpamAssassin (spamd).  _And_ those more-mature software versions aren't
> wacked-out 2002-era betaware cobbled together by the Crazy Frenchman.
> 
> What he did was really cutting-edge -- in 2002.  As an unfortunate
> consequence of how he did it (e.g., non-deb-packaged source tarballs
> used to build binaries in /var/local), it's in practice completely
> unmaintainable.  

So, that reminds me:  I just wanted to review the server migration plan, 
because I suspect we might've gone off in a strange direction again.

svlug.svlug.org = legacy host, relies on a single ancient IDE drive,
   is at least now backed up (thanks to Mark).  Hosted at via.net.
   Funky 2U short chassis, 512 MB RAM.  Currently has DNS names
   "www.svlug.org", "lists.svlug.org", and "svlug.org".   IP
   157.22.20.227.

"gruyere" = linode virthost, IP 64.62.190.98, 8192 MB disk (originally
   3072 MB, and will need repartitioning to use the extra).  Was originally 
   limited to 80MB RAM, but Lisa Corsetti talked to them and got it upped
   to 256MB.  Has DNS name "ns1.svlug.org" (serving as primary DNS 
   nameserver).  Slated to get "www.svlug.org" migrated to it, housing 
   the MoinMoin wiki-format replacement Web site Heather and I worked 
   so long and hard on.[1]  (Migration stage 1.)

"brie" = SVLUG's "new" [sic] VA Linux Systems model 2230 with outboard
   SCSI RAID array.  512 MB RAM.  _Was_ at Via.net (IP 157.22.20.228), 
    but I hear that Paul recently had it at Heather's house after some
   meltdown(?).  Slated to house a hot-backup copy of the Web site, 
   that can be brought online quickly via DNS repointing, if needed.
   Slated to get DNS names "lists.svlug.org" and "svlug.org" pointed to 
   it, _after_ the separate Web-site migration described above.  
   (Migration stage 2.)

Having completed migration stage 2, we'll finally be able to reformat
and repurpose the now-unfixably funky (as to software) and brittle (as
to hardware) legacy host.

I might have missed some change of plan.  (This is Paul and Mark's baby,
ultimately.)  Please advise if I missed something.

If I didn't, then I'm a little puzzled about the current work on "brie".
Shouldn't the current priority be getting the MoinMoin content served up
by the lighttpd installation on "grueyere" that Paul says he debugged
in early 2007?  (That would be migration stage 1.)

Stage 1's really important, because it's the hard part.  I can move the
SMTP and mailing lists over a weekend, once we have that.

So:  Paul?  Mark?  Heather?  Where are we?  What's up with the "brie" work?


[1] Contents of our prototype on http://gemini.starshine.org/SVLUG/ 
were once current, and _nearly_ complete as to pages reimplemented in
wiki format.  They're still not 100% populated, but now have the
additional task of needing updating to match subsequent changes 
all around the legacy site.

(I've never been sold on the notion of wikis solving the problem of not
enough people helping maintain our site.  That was J. Paul Reed's idea; 
I still think it's a crock, but it's not my call.)