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Environmental Law Foundation - Linux server case study

By Francesca Richards
Lasa Information Systems Team

Case study of how Environmental Law Foundation used Linux, open source sever software, and refurbished equipment to provide an affordable solution to revamping their network.

Introduction

The Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) is a national UK charity linking communities and individuals to legal and technical expertise to prevent damage to and improve the environment.  ELF took part in Lasa’s Circuit Rider Project. The healthcheck process in 2005 established that the age and state of some of ELF’s equipment was inhibiting the progression of their ICT plans. Francesca Richards, Administrator for ELF, talked about how they went about solving their problems.

Why we upgraded

What sort of problems were you experiencing?

Our small peer to peer network was under strain, email was sometimes lost and it was difficult and time-consuming to back up data successfully. In addition, the Microsoft Access database which we had redeveloped recently by an IT4Communities volunteer, would be much happier being located on a “real” server.

Budgeting and funding

How did you go about identifying your requirements?

We worked with the Circuit Rider team to identify the best possible solution for our needs and budget. With very little money to spend on ICT, we couldn’t afford to spend several thousand pounds on brand new equipment and software and with only a small number of PCs, we didn’t need anything too fancy. Taking advantage of an open source server using a donated PC, and the free support of Circuit Rider, and JADe the Project’s technical support provider allowed us to get maximum facilities at minimum cost.

How important was the use of refurbished hardware and open source technology for ELF?

Being an environmental organisation with limited resources, there was a strong feeling that a low budget, environmentally beneficial solution would be welcome.  JADe came to our rescue with a number of refurbished PCs provided by Action Aid.  These were installed ahead of the server installation – we’re using Windows on the desktops.

Preparation

What preparation did you have to do prior to the server installation?

The server installation provided a good opportunity to sort out our PC folders and eradicate duplicate files on separate PCs. I copied and pasted all staff and volunteer folders onto the one PC and organised them into a simple structure with drives, and project folders. Bringing the data together not only allowed easy migration to the server, but resulted in a much better system of working, and made backing up data a lot quicker because unnecessary files were deleted. I made sure that all staff and volunteers began saving their work in the new folder system to ensure that no data was lost during the migration to the server.

We requested 20 logins and had to provide a username and password for each. Although we only have 10-12 staff and volunteers registered with us at any one time, we wanted to allow for future expansion. Related to this was the decision to introduce specific facilities to separate logins – now only staff can look at the “secure drive” which holds financial, funding and personnel information.

Installation and implementation

How did the installation go?

JADe installed two new hard drives to provide redundancy, added extra memory and installed the CentOS open source operating system. Ian from the Circuit Rider project came along to give additional support which was really helpful in understanding how the installation would proceed.

The process did take longer than expected, about three days in all, so the JADe technician soon felt like a regular member of the team. We were able to carry on working on most of our PCs during this time so it wasn’t really a problem.

Additional equipment was necessary which we had not anticipated including new switches, a new router and a new USB hard drive for backing up. However these items weren’t expensive and JADe helped us source good quality equipment at a reasonable price.

Any ongoing issues?

Initially staff and volunteers found it a very different way of working. Outlook rules and desktop settings were lost in the change-over so these had to be set up again and staff did feel a bit disorientated. Ian showed me how to ensure that “My Documents” on each PC pointed to the server so no one could accidentally save data to individual machines. I made a basic information sheet for everyone to refer to with hints and tips, including trying to avoid saving work to the desk top as I was told this really slows down the server.

We did have an issue on a couple of machines where the PC would suddenly go “offline” and the PC was spending a long time trying to synchronise documents saved on the server with versions we had been working on while offline. This was irritating but the problem was resolved with remote help from JADe.

Benefits

Has it changed your life?

The server has made our work much more organised. We no longer have to waste time turning on PCs to access the files on them and the Access database is running much better. Saving work in project folders on the shared drive or in the administration or secure drives prevents duplication and makes it much easier to find documents which may need to be accessed by a number of different people.

Our back ups are now much quicker and simpler to carry out and we can now back up emails which we couldn’t do before. We have had several issues with some of our PCs and laptops crashing in the past so it’s a relief to know that now all our emails and documents are on the server and regularly backed up, we will be able to carry on working if the worst happens.

Future Plans

Any plans for the future?

We know that the PCs, which are around 4 or 5 years old, may have a limited lifespan and that replacement will again be needed soon. We are continuing to look for opportunities to access free/low-cost services and equipment available to small charities such as ourselves and hopefully we should be able to carry on improving our ICT facilities.