The Spring 2005 GNU/Linux/BSD/OpenSource Fest

May 16-21, San Antonio College and the San Antonio Linux Users Group will host the 2005 Spring Open Source Fest, a celebration of freely available computing technologies. There will be classes and demonstrations on a variety of topics, and probably a surprise or two. The exact schedule is still being developed, but it's sure to include business, scientific and recreational uses of Linux, BSD Unix, Apache, and similar software.

Monday through Thursday 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Friday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, and Saturday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Most sessions will take place in Nail Technical Center on the SAC campus, 1300 San Pedro.

Free admission. This is a community service of SATLUG and SAC.

If you'd like further information, or wish to present your project at the OpenSource Fest, please contact:
Don Wright, SATLUG - openfest@wricomp.com
Steve Kolars, SAC CIS - skolars@cis.sac.accd.edu

The following classes and demonstrations are currently scheduled. They have been organized by the level of computer experience needed to get the most from that topic. Click on the title or scroll down for the details of each topic.

Please check this page frequently for additional items as they are added.

What is open source?
Who uses open source?
Where can I get support?
Who is SATLUG?

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This 4 hour session will cover the topics of building a low maintenance, zero moving parts, Small Office/Home Office firewall for your home or business.

It will compare several different "Live CD" based firewall distros, discuss the required hardware for various configuration needs, and step through the setup from MAC address-mapped static and dynamic DHCP, to caching DNS services, and ultimately, the router and security functions of your firewall system. The step by step 4 hour presentation will be taken from the yet unpublished book, "Linux Toys 2" by Wiley (C) 2005:
     -Compare and Chose Your Distro
     -Choosing Your Hardware
     -Customizing Options
     -Designing Your Network
     -Configuring Your Network
     -Poking Holes and Locking It Down

To get the most out of this session you will need to bring a computer that you can build a firewall on. At a minimum the computer should consist of the following hardware:
    -CPU/Box (at least P100 w/128MB RAM)
    -CD-ROM drive
    -3.5" Floppy drive (and a couple blank floppies)
    -Two Network Cards (modern rtl8139 or intel PCI based recommended)
You should also bring your keyboard, mouse, monitor, and power strip.
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Rationales for building from source. How much to build [kernel, 'the world', other (pkgsrc/ports)]? Kernel configuration files and customization. Tracking releases and/or -current. Spot fixes for kernel/utilities/daemons. Packages/ports. NetBSD pkgsrc on non-NetBSD platforms.
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Techniques for improving security on these popular host systems.
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This session has been designed for the absolute beginner. You will be introduced to how you can use Linux to do any (and every) task that you might need (or want) to do. Learn how to use e-mail properly. Learn how to easily eliminate annoying pop-ups. Learn how to...
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Learn how to rapidly deploy Linux desktops and servers using a variety of open source and commercial tools in your environment. Specific areas will include remote installation policy, patch management, securing applications, remote management, and thin client methodologies.

The products to be covered include: Novell Linux Desktop, SUSE Linux Enterprise, Linux Terminal Services Project, NoMachine NX Server, AppArmor, OpenVPN, eDirectory and pam_ldap, and Zenworks Linux Management. A production demonstration will demonstrate how all the technologies work together to produce an easy to manage Linux environment. More details are available at

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Bring Linux questions that you have not been able to figure out.
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Learn how to program sophisticated database-driven web applications using L.A.M.P. We will be using Apache, the number one HTTP server on the Internet, and PHP, a widely-used, general-purpose scripting language. For the back-end database we will be using MySQL, the world's most popular open-source database available. All under Linux. Some HTML programming experience recommended.
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There are many reasons why somebody would want to build a Linux system from scratch. The principle reason is to install a Linux system straight from the source code. A question many people raise is, why go through all the hassle of manually building a Linux system from scratch when you can just download and install an existing one?

One important reason for LFS's existence is to help people learn how a Linux system works from the inside out. Building an LFS system helps demonstrate what makes Linux tick, and how things work together and depend on each other. One of the best things that this learning experience provides is the ability to customize Linux to your own tastes and needs.

A key benefit of LFS is that it allows users to have more control over the system without relying on someone else's Linux implementation. With LFS, you are in the driver's seat and dictate every aspect of the system, such as the directory layout and bootscript setup. You also dictate where, why, and how programs are installed.

Another benefit of LFS is the ability to create a very compact Linux system. When installing a regular distribution, one is often forced to install several programs which are probably never used. These programs waste disk space, or worse, CPU cycles. It is not difficult to build an LFS system of less than 100 megabytes (MB), which is substantially smaller compared to most existing setups. Does this still sound like a lot of space? A few of us have been working on creating a very small embedded LFS system. We successfully built a system that was specialized to run the Apache web server with approximately 8MB of disk space used. Further stripping could bring this down to 5 MB or less. Try that with a regular distribution! This is only one of the many benefits of designing your own Linux implementation.

The presentation will give an overview of how to build your own Linux distribution. We will also give away two copies of the printed version of Linux From Scratch.
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Quick and easy ways to expand an existing office network with Linux servers and desktops.
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This is a hands on introduction to programming. The following topics will be covered:
1 - program definition
2 - compiling
3 - C main() syntax
4 - output and echo
5 - input and cat
6 - filtering and redirection
7 - using command shell
8 - simple shell
9 - cd and pwd
10 - fork and exec
11 - redirection and pipes
12 - suspend, background, and job control
13 - sockets: wget, nc, nmap, or ntp

You will get the most from this class if you read "Linux Application Development", by Johnson and Troan, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-30821-5 prior to attending this class.
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This workshop will introduce the use of Plones in Content Management and Web Development. Using the Plone CMS (based on Python and Zope not really dealt with here), attendees will get a hands-on experience with using and setting up a Plone site. We will explore some of the easier levels of Plones: adding and editing content, groups and security, interactivity of users, etc. The workshop will not deal with the higher levels of code or design, but we will provide documentation that will allow the attendees to begin their own exploration.
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Discussions on real time graphical rendering with sound representation techniques for modern systems running linux. This is a survey geared towards answering professional level design questions of what to include in a Linux platform real time program. The end of the session attendee will have knowledge of creating Ogg Vorbis, and Mp3 format audio and playing it in sync over cutting edge realtime graphics.

Sound API focus in: OpenAL with discussions of sound compression formats (mp3 and Ogg) engines, and 3d audio. Graphics API focus in: OpenGL 1.4 with discussions of graphic card programming using available high level graphic languages (OGSL, Cg, HLSL, RenderMan).

Suggested pre-req knowledge: (read a book or two or website prior to attending) C/C++ Programming or deep interest in subject. OpenGL knowledge a huge benefit; optional DirectX knowledge beneficial. Also requires a good grasp of understanding how to program using drivers. Suggest having taken following courses or equiv knowledge: data structures, Graphics, Advanced Graphics, Linear Algebra, OS, and Assembler.

Suggested equipment: NVidia Graphics card at generation 5 (FX) Creative Live soundcard

Libraries: OpenGL with headers downloaded from nvidia, OpenAL downloaded from creative, libvorbis, and libmp3. The usual libraries should also be there (libzip, libjpeg etc.)
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A practical guide to sharing files and printers on a mixed Linux, Windows, and Macintosh network.
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Student work will be presented on: firewalls, advanced UNIX security, and socket and pthread programming.
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The X Window system is the engine that makes a graphical user interface possible on Unix and Linux systems. This presentation will demonstrate how to properly configure and use X. There will be a discussion to demystify those configuration files that many users have puzzled over such as XF86Config/Xorg.conf, Xresources, Xmodmap, Xkbdmap, xinitrc, and xserverrc.
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Open source is the philosophy of software licensing where programmers give users the freedom to adapt the software to their own needs, and not be hostage to the choices of a particular vendor. The name comes from the availability of the source code (program instructions) for the user to view. Since users have a legal copy of the program's source, they are free to change or maintain the program even if the original programmer abandons it. The developers of open source software have chosen to license it in this way to maximize the user's freedom, just as proprietary software vendors have chosen licenses that restrict what you may do with it. Open source licenses rely on the same copyright laws as proprietary software to preserve the rights granted to the user.
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More places than you might think. If you've been on the Internet, you've used open source. If you've seen a movie lately, chances are the filmmakers used open source tools for animation or special effects. Around the world, governments, businesses, and individuals have discovered the quality and cost-effectiveness of open source software. For example, Ernie Ball, a leading manufacturer of guitar strings and accessories, switched its entire business to open source. The new supercomputer for the US Army runs on Linux. The TIVO video recorder and even some Motorola cell phones have open source operating systems at the core.
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You've already found one place. SATLUG and other local user groups are great places to get advice from computer professionals and others in the open source community. There are also mailing lists for specific products where your question might be answered by the author of the program. You may also contract with local consultants or software distributors for paid support, though many find it unnecessary. Steve Rosenbluth, of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, said "The quality of technical support in the Linux community is equal to or better than the technical support from commercial companies."
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SATLUG, the San Antonio Linux Users Group, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 1998 to support Linux and open source users in the San Antonio area. SATLUG members are typically computer professionals from business, education, and government, and include men and women from students to retired seniors. These members have joined together for mutual support and education, and to offer the benefits of open source software to the community. SATLUG's community outreach includes monthly meetings, twice-yearly Installfests, appearance at computer shows and other community events, and a widely-read mailing list.

In keeping with the spirit of open source, there is no charge to join, subscribe to the mailing list, or attend SATLUG meetings.
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