WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:12.000 I'm starting to regret doing this in dark mode, but let's give it a go. 00:12.000 --> 00:15.000 Hello everyone, I'm here to talk about the bus factor this morning. 00:15.000 --> 00:16.000 Thank you all for coming out. 00:16.000 --> 00:19.000 So I've a lot to cover, so I'm just going to get started right now. 00:19.000 --> 00:20.000 I'm Ruan Merchettroyd. 00:20.000 --> 00:23.000 I'm a fourth year computer science and German student over into U. 00:23.000 --> 00:24.000 Dublin in Ireland. 00:24.000 --> 00:26.000 I'm the Irish Cloud Computing Champion. 00:26.000 --> 00:28.000 I'm a star student at SAP. 00:28.000 --> 00:31.000 I'm a systems administrator at CS++, which is what we're talking about. 00:31.000 --> 00:34.000 And I'm the former president of societies at TU Dublin. 00:34.000 --> 00:37.000 But what is a society? 00:37.000 --> 00:47.000 In the UK and Ireland, societies are 100% volunteer lead organizations for student life in TU Dublin, primarily academic, cultural, and social. 00:47.000 --> 00:51.000 We're funded by the university and sponsors. 00:51.000 --> 00:54.000 And there's around 53 active at the moment. 00:54.000 --> 00:57.000 But I want to talk about CS++ today. 00:57.000 --> 01:01.000 CS++ restarted in 2022 and tracing its roots back to go. 01:01.000 --> 01:05.000 I'm so in 1998, is our computer science society. 01:05.000 --> 01:09.000 Our aim is to give students unique experiences and teach skills they don't get in class. 01:09.000 --> 01:11.000 In fact, CS++ are here today. 01:11.000 --> 01:16.000 We've brought up by 20 of our members on a subsidized trip to Phastem because it's one of the best conferences on the continent. 01:16.000 --> 01:21.000 We're a committee of 15 students, five of whom are systems administrators. 01:21.000 --> 01:24.000 Systems administration at CS++ is quite an interesting one. 01:24.000 --> 01:35.000 Because we're students from any of six computer science courses across any of three campuses running a four-note proxmox cluster in a concrete basement in one of our campuses that they're trying to sell. 01:35.000 --> 01:42.000 We're running 40 services for six societies with the aim to onboard five more in the next six months. 01:42.000 --> 01:48.000 We run mission critical data and services for our members and other societies and where students. 01:48.000 --> 01:53.000 That's a bit of a problem because that means we're pretty susceptible to the bus factor. 01:53.000 --> 02:00.000 And it's not just what I said earlier that we've a huge range of syllabi, none of which are synchronized. 02:00.000 --> 02:03.000 We can't guarantee any sort of experience. 02:03.000 --> 02:04.000 We're volunteers. 02:04.000 --> 02:10.000 It's very difficult to vet people whether students and we're all volunteers and no one's being paid. 02:10.000 --> 02:11.000 But we're still all. 02:11.000 --> 02:15.000 The maximum tenure is four years and that's why we have a four year bus. 02:15.000 --> 02:17.000 So how did we handle this? 02:17.000 --> 02:19.000 We've split this into three solutions. 02:20.000 --> 02:24.000 First of all, systems and administration is a practical concept. 02:24.000 --> 02:26.000 So why not teach practically? 02:26.000 --> 02:31.000 We've a flight of 11 practical challenges starting from how to create a VM and run a Docker container. 02:31.000 --> 02:36.000 And culminating in here are five Raspberry Pi's put together proxmox cluster. 02:36.000 --> 02:38.000 Make it highly available and make it resilient. 02:38.000 --> 02:39.000 I will come back in a few hours. 02:39.000 --> 02:41.000 I'm going to start unplugging things. 02:41.000 --> 02:43.000 Let's see how resilient your work is. 02:44.000 --> 02:47.000 Secondly, documentation, everyone hears about this and work, 02:47.000 --> 02:52.000 but documentation is the core of everything that you do. 02:52.000 --> 02:53.000 Information will be lost. 02:53.000 --> 02:55.000 I'm sure this stuff that I've forgotten to write down. 02:55.000 --> 02:57.000 That's going to disappear when I graduate. 02:57.000 --> 03:01.000 Everyone has a timer, but at least for CS++, we know ours. 03:01.000 --> 03:03.000 It's four years or less. 03:03.000 --> 03:05.000 People will leave. 03:05.000 --> 03:07.000 We have people on arasmus right now. 03:07.000 --> 03:11.000 We have people in systems administration who are on their internships. 03:11.000 --> 03:14.000 People have lives that they have to go to. 03:14.000 --> 03:19.000 As volunteers, we have to recognize that people's lives and people's academic work 03:19.000 --> 03:24.000 is ahead of everything else that they do. 03:24.000 --> 03:28.000 Our docs are open-source, not just to show everyone what we're doing, 03:28.000 --> 03:33.000 but because if all of us get hit by a bus, there's three of the siblings here right now. 03:33.000 --> 03:36.000 Hopefully in a few years of the society comes back. 03:36.000 --> 03:40.000 We can have students come along and read documentation to recover 03:40.000 --> 03:43.000 and bring us back to a state where we were earlier. 03:43.000 --> 03:46.000 Record keeping is your highest priority because no one is 03:46.000 --> 03:50.000 infallible to leaving or changing jobs or something worse 03:50.000 --> 03:52.000 that I don't want to talk about. 03:52.000 --> 03:55.000 Your documents should have layers. 03:55.000 --> 03:58.000 Docs are what I like to call the Holy Runbook. 03:58.000 --> 04:04.000 We need to teach everything when you need to teach it. 04:04.000 --> 04:07.000 You need to test your docs when you're onboarding someone 04:07.000 --> 04:09.000 and fix the issues they run into. 04:09.000 --> 04:12.000 When you're onboarding someone, you need to make sure that everything they know 04:12.000 --> 04:15.000 but forgot to write down is written down. 04:15.000 --> 04:18.000 Let's look at how C.S.Possible Supporters Are Docs. 04:18.000 --> 04:23.000 So, we have a fully functional infrastructure more or less. 04:23.000 --> 04:27.000 So, you can't have automation without services and you can't have services 04:27.000 --> 04:30.000 without an operating system and you can't have an operating system 04:30.000 --> 04:32.000 without hardware and networking. 04:32.000 --> 04:34.000 So, we teach bottom-up. 04:34.000 --> 04:36.000 We start with layer zero. 04:36.000 --> 04:37.000 What is a computer? 04:37.000 --> 04:38.000 What is a server? 04:38.000 --> 04:40.000 How do you spec a server? 04:40.000 --> 04:42.000 What is networking equipment? 04:42.000 --> 04:43.000 How are these connected? 04:43.000 --> 04:44.000 What is SPF? 04:44.000 --> 04:46.000 What is RJ45? 04:46.000 --> 04:48.000 We have to assume they know nothing. 04:48.000 --> 04:50.000 Then, what is proxmox? 04:50.000 --> 04:51.000 What is Debian? 04:51.000 --> 04:52.000 What is Linux? 04:52.000 --> 04:53.000 What is Windows? 04:53.000 --> 04:54.000 Why are these important? 04:54.000 --> 04:56.000 How do you do network attach storage? 04:56.000 --> 04:58.000 Then, what are we running? 04:58.000 --> 04:59.000 Who are we running for? 04:59.000 --> 05:03.000 What are those crazy quirks that our password manager has? 05:03.000 --> 05:05.000 All of this has to be covered. 05:05.000 --> 05:09.000 And finally, you can make their lives easier by teaching them how do you automate. 05:09.000 --> 05:15.000 So, you don't have to be in that terrible concrete basement from nine to five. 05:15.000 --> 05:19.000 Our third solution is ownership and I've gone way too fast. 05:19.000 --> 05:21.000 But that's okay. 05:21.000 --> 05:23.000 We are volunteers. 05:23.000 --> 05:24.000 We will disappear. 05:24.000 --> 05:25.000 We will reappear. 05:25.000 --> 05:29.000 So, the aim is let's specialize with a few people that we have. 05:29.000 --> 05:32.000 We have an ownership table on our documentation site. 05:32.000 --> 05:38.000 This covers all of the services and all of the overall concepts that are involved in our line of work. 05:38.000 --> 05:43.000 So, we delegate, which is the best thing that a student society can do. 05:43.000 --> 05:45.000 When I started, it was just me. 05:45.000 --> 05:50.000 I was the owner of about 20 services and the hardware and the security and the architecture. 05:50.000 --> 05:52.000 So, we delegate. 05:52.000 --> 05:56.000 We now have systems running about on average two to three services. 05:56.000 --> 06:00.000 And now all I have to worry about is the security and overall systems architecture. 06:00.000 --> 06:03.000 The owners aren't the ones doing all of the work. 06:03.000 --> 06:07.000 And if you apply the concept of ownership, this is so important to hammer home. 06:07.000 --> 06:12.000 People are afraid to take on responsibility if they think they're the one going to be doing all the work. 06:12.000 --> 06:16.000 These owners should be the experts in their field, not just workmules. 06:16.000 --> 06:19.000 You want to ask them for their opinion. 06:19.000 --> 06:23.000 They should be the one going, oh, hey, Ruan, you have a few minutes. 06:23.000 --> 06:25.000 The pastor manager is down right now. 06:25.000 --> 06:27.000 I think it's this and this. 06:27.000 --> 06:28.000 Can you go check it out? 06:28.000 --> 06:30.000 Here's the docs on the site. 06:30.000 --> 06:34.000 They are the one we should go to when an issue is coming along because they will the one. 06:34.000 --> 06:36.000 They will be the person who will do the triage. 06:36.000 --> 06:41.000 Who will give us the update and will have the information to empower us to do the work. 06:41.000 --> 06:46.000 And this makes things more or less felt tolerant because I get, as I get busy with my thesis, 06:46.000 --> 06:50.000 I'm able to delegate away the tasks hand over the things that I know. 06:50.000 --> 06:54.000 So we have a new owner when things change. 06:54.000 --> 06:56.000 This makes it very easy for us. 06:56.000 --> 06:58.000 We have a four year revolving door. 06:58.000 --> 07:02.000 Maybe less people can join and have joined in their second and third years. 07:02.000 --> 07:06.000 That's very little time to teach them on a pretty complicated stack. 07:06.000 --> 07:10.000 So with that, why should you care? 07:10.000 --> 07:13.000 There are a lot of people from the Computer Science Society here, obviously. 07:13.000 --> 07:20.000 But for those in other volunteering groups or technical groups or maybe even a real job, I don't know what that is yet. 07:20.000 --> 07:25.000 What can you learn from what we're doing here as a volunteering organization? 07:25.000 --> 07:30.000 You need to be ready to hand things away in case you go somewhere else that you might like more. 07:30.000 --> 07:33.000 But you also need to be ready to receive things from other people. 07:33.000 --> 07:36.000 A working environment is a cooperative environment. 07:36.000 --> 07:41.000 And while hierarchies are great, you're all working together towards the same goal. 07:41.000 --> 07:45.000 And you need to be able to support each other if they need just a little break. 07:45.000 --> 07:51.000 Humans learn by doing fussed-em, the programming systems administration is inherently practical. 07:51.000 --> 07:54.000 So try and make your onboarding as practical as possible. 07:54.000 --> 08:03.000 If you have a very complicated co-based, you're going to want to give simpler tasks that build on top of each other until they fully understand the overall concept. 08:03.000 --> 08:05.000 There is no hive mind. 08:05.000 --> 08:08.000 I have thought I've said a lot of things. 08:08.000 --> 08:11.000 I've just said them in my mind and I haven't properly handed them over. 08:11.000 --> 08:20.000 You need to write things down because if you're sick and you miss a meeting, and that's where they're talking about the topic that you're the owner of. 08:20.000 --> 08:22.000 And there's no documentation to back you up. 08:22.000 --> 08:24.000 You're in a bit of a bind. 08:24.000 --> 08:28.000 And in my opinion, at least I think democracy rules. 08:28.000 --> 08:33.000 Let's flatten the hierarchy, listen to each other, and most importantly, trust each other. 08:33.000 --> 08:36.000 With ownership, you can trust that person kind of knows what they're doing. 08:36.000 --> 08:40.000 And even then, you can vote on what you probably think the best idea is. 08:40.000 --> 08:44.000 That might work slightly better in a student-led society as opposed to a real workplace. 08:44.000 --> 08:47.000 But nonetheless, you should trust your colleagues. 08:47.000 --> 08:52.000 So the most important part, and I'm finishing with so much extra time. 08:52.000 --> 08:55.000 There is one thing that you should never forget. 08:55.000 --> 09:01.000 To the day, I joined CS++, exactly 1,200 days ago. 09:01.000 --> 09:11.000 This talk has been the culmination of those 1,200 days because I only have 150 days left before I graduate. 09:11.000 --> 09:12.000 And I'm gone. 09:12.000 --> 09:13.000 So I have to write down all of this. 09:13.000 --> 09:18.000 I have to hand over everything that I think I know and everything they should know. 09:18.000 --> 09:25.000 Because we all have a clock and can your project survive yours running out. 09:25.000 --> 09:27.000 That's it for me. 09:27.000 --> 09:29.000 I would love to talk if you have any questions. 09:29.000 --> 09:32.000 I have been thinking about this for 12, 100 days. 09:32.000 --> 09:35.000 And if you'd love to reach out to the computer science society, 09:35.000 --> 09:37.000 I would love to hear from you. 09:37.000 --> 09:39.000 So thank you all very much for coming out so early. 09:50.000 --> 09:52.000 I have time for questions. This is great. 09:52.000 --> 09:55.000 No pressure if not, that's totally fine. 09:55.000 --> 09:56.000 Does anyone have any questions? 09:58.000 --> 09:59.000 Oh, a mic. 09:59.000 --> 10:01.000 I can give you this mic and I can hold the other one. 10:01.000 --> 10:02.000 Oh, yeah. 10:05.000 --> 10:07.000 I mean, it is 920. Oh, hello. 10:27.000 --> 10:39.000 So the question was about if we're doing more than just teaching systems administration. 10:39.000 --> 10:43.000 So I have this pretty much just to the operations of the society. 10:43.000 --> 10:48.000 But as a technical society, a great thing to do is our university doesn't 10:48.000 --> 10:52.000 comprehensively cover Git, which is pretty much our only standard in this industry. 10:52.000 --> 10:54.000 So the first thing that we try and do is teach Git. 10:54.000 --> 10:59.000 We're also teaching other technologies like Docker and everything else that people may use for 10:59.000 --> 11:03.000 home labs or programming languages or approach to programming. 11:03.000 --> 11:07.000 The people might not know because the more knowledge they will be able to get is something they 11:07.000 --> 11:10.000 can apply in their own personal work and in the workforce. 11:10.000 --> 11:15.000 Are you part of that group or are you sort of academic staff supporting them? 11:24.000 --> 11:37.000 So you have permanent staff as well as sort of a revolving door of students. 11:37.000 --> 11:39.000 And this is a really unique approach. 11:39.000 --> 11:46.000 If you are in a situation like this, you can do that. 11:46.000 --> 11:50.000 So you have permanent staff as well as sort of a revolving door of students. 11:50.000 --> 11:52.000 And this is a really unique approach. 11:52.000 --> 11:56.000 If you are in a situation like this, especially those in universities. 11:56.000 --> 12:00.000 Anyone in a permanent position like that should help support those groups of, let's 12:00.000 --> 12:02.000 call them transient members, right? 12:02.000 --> 12:06.000 They will appear and disappear with helping them think about this sort of hand over and 12:06.000 --> 12:08.000 these other concepts. 12:08.000 --> 12:13.000 Because if you are the cornerstone of any sort of organization, 12:13.000 --> 12:17.000 your concept should be how will other people hand over, 12:17.000 --> 12:19.000 especially if you are in it for the long run. 12:20.000 --> 12:24.000 Anything else? 12:24.000 --> 12:29.000 Hello. 12:29.000 --> 12:38.000 Heck yeah. 12:38.000 --> 12:43.000 So the question was how do you sort of get people involved in a volunteering group, 12:43.000 --> 12:44.000 especially in university? 12:44.000 --> 12:46.000 That is a really hard issue. 12:47.000 --> 12:50.000 And this is really suffered since the pandemic. 12:50.000 --> 12:54.000 Obviously student life in a university context has really gone down. 12:54.000 --> 12:55.000 And engagement has gotten worse. 12:55.000 --> 12:59.000 And the core concept of this is because people are much more sprawled away. 12:59.000 --> 13:02.000 My community university is up to one and a half hours each way. 13:02.000 --> 13:04.000 So I get very tired when I go home. 13:04.000 --> 13:07.000 And a lot of people don't want to stay out when they would rather go home. 13:07.000 --> 13:08.000 Go work on their assignments. 13:08.000 --> 13:11.000 The engagement is mostly by being there. 13:11.000 --> 13:19.000 I want to actively approaching people and actively engaging and giving things they would want. 13:19.000 --> 13:22.000 A lot of people will get there in to a volunteering group, 13:22.000 --> 13:24.000 especially in university by going to events. 13:24.000 --> 13:28.000 So if you go to events and do what we do and get that little niche that they need, 13:28.000 --> 13:31.000 that they aren't getting, you're going to get people there. 13:31.000 --> 13:32.000 They'll know your name. 13:32.000 --> 13:34.000 They'll know what you do. 13:34.000 --> 13:37.000 And then after that, I love saying, hey, we have some positions open. 13:37.000 --> 13:39.000 So we have two sets of positions opening. 13:39.000 --> 13:40.000 One, two events so far. 13:40.000 --> 13:42.000 I keep on mentioning it after every single one. 13:42.000 --> 13:44.000 And after that, you will get people engaged. 13:44.000 --> 13:48.000 The majority of people who get engaged are those who actually really want it. 13:48.000 --> 13:52.000 And that's a really unique position because when there's no money, 13:52.000 --> 13:55.000 people are just doing it for the love of the game. 13:55.000 --> 14:01.000 So be there, be present, be vocal, and give them exactly what they want. 14:01.000 --> 14:05.000 It's never too bad to ask, hey, is there something that you would like us to do? 14:05.000 --> 14:07.000 Or hey, can we support you in our inner endeavors? 14:07.000 --> 14:12.000 We sometimes support our members with purchasing equipment to do some systems of 14:12.000 --> 14:14.000 administration, or do some homework, etc. 14:14.000 --> 14:17.000 And that will, hey, I'd love to give back and support these people. 14:17.000 --> 14:19.000 Thank you so much. 14:19.000 --> 14:22.000 Anything else? 14:22.000 --> 14:24.000 I think it's good. 14:24.000 --> 14:26.000 Thank you all so much. 14:26.000 --> 14:29.000 Thank you, Ron, for presentation.