short version of the project, originally in spanish: https://support.mayfirst.org/wiki/projects/servidores-de-respaldo
Project: Decentralized Backup Servers
Background.
A review of the technical feasibility and search for collocation alternatives in Mexico City is documented at: https://support.mayfirst.org/wiki/projects/server-colocation-mexico The project has been discussed at different times and its objectives are registered in Priorities defined in the members meeting 2017, Priorities defined at the 2016 member meeting, Social object defined in the constitutive basis of the cooperative 2013
Context: diagnosis of present risks
Human rights organizations and journalists are those who recurrently face serious risks to their integrity and their lives, although they are not the only actors / actresses who suffer from threats, violence and other types of attacks; In that sense one of the recurring attacks is the theft of the information contained in their computer equipment and other devices. It is striking that information is considered a strategic resource when it comes to politically motivated assaults. The cases are numerous and in the Spanish version of this document you can find several examples: https://support.mayfirst.org/wiki/projects/servidores-de-respaldo#Contexto:diagnósticosobrelosriesgospresentes
Context: digital security
In the current situation in which the community of beneficiary members of the development of the technical infrastructure of our cooperative make increasing use of digital communication and information resources,while the security risks in the social movement are also increasing and The costs associated with such risks become higher, it is essential to increase the information culture and good practices in the digital field, which is accompanied by a policy directed at the safety of our cooperative in Mexico for the adoption of standards , Software, hardware and various resources that improve the conditions of operation, its continuity, as well as the privacy and confidence on the safeguard of the information of our communities and associates.
Goals
General objective
Installation and maintenance of low consumption servers for research, experimentation and capacity building purposes in Mexico that can contribute to the PMEP infrastructure based on the development of democratically managed technological resources and knowledge about free technologies.
Particular objectives
1-Initiate the deployment of infrastructure in Mexico in order to assess future possibilities for broad and robust development. 2-Achieve transfer of knowledge and technical skills between the United States and Mexico across borders, walls, barriers and contexts. 3-Establish the training and development of skills and abilities of technical partners incorporating the gender and working class perspectives into the project's policy definitions. 4-Expand the participation of fellow women in technological development. 5-Contributing to the equitable urban-rural technological dialogue.
Concrete goals
1-Establish the installation of a network of servers with location in Mexico 2-Evaluate the operation of the servers from their function as part of a remote backup system 3-Implement a technical-political training program for the Management of Servers, aimed at social movement partners 4-Implement an educational program for members on the basis of infrastructure achieved to sensitize them about the conditions of digital security and the relevant measures that are within their reach.
Technical description
Encrypted backups
Facing some of the aforementioned aspects, particularly those related to the loss of information due to failure, theft or loss of equipment, is feasible and economical even when the users have very demanding work routines and intensive use Of their equipment that prevents them from manually performing periodic backups of their information.
Such backups can be automated and carried out when personal computers are connected to the Internet, while storing and transporting the information in encrypted form over the global network from any point where they are located to the servers dedicated to the backup.
The association is able to have a decentralized network of servers that share the remote storage function, the project will incorporate low-power servers and Internet connectivity providers for small offices and can additionally add capabilities to back up member information Is taken outside the data center.
Tools for members
There are some Free Software tools available for automating encryption and making remote backups for GNU / Linux:
- [Back in time http://backintime.le-web.org/]
- [Grsync http://www.opbyte.it/grsync/]
- [Deja Dup https://launchpad.net/deja-dup]
- [FlyBack http://www.flyback-project.org]
- [Tomb https://www.dyne.org/software/tomb/]
For Windows:
Instructions for implementing backups:
- How to set up an account for backups in MF/PL?
- How to create an account for backups for a member? for administrators
Training and deployment of services
Enabling backup and experimentation with other services
There are basically two needs for remote information backup:
1-The one that organizations and individuals need to back up from their personal and office equipment.
2-The one that is in the existing network of servers, coming from the operation of the hosting services of the association which has a quite complete architecture of support. One of the components of this architecture is the back-up outside the facilities of the accommodation centers.
For the deployment of these services it is contemplated the use of a server available for production
Program
| march | april | may | june | july | august | september | octobe | november | december | notes | |
| Acquisition of equipment | |||||||||||
| Installation of server destined to off-site backups and the backup of information of organization and individual members | server in production | ||||||||||
Development of capacities for the management and implementation of new services
For MF/PL the development of technical capacities within the social movement is a priority, on which the possibilities of structural, economic, political and cultural change depend, as well as to achieve a technological transfer to the peoples of the Global South, Be solidary and internationalist, based on the principles of Sovereignty (technological) and Self-determination. To that end, MF / PL, drawing on its training experience, can contribute to capacity building within the social movement in Mexico. One of the work of the Technological Cooperative in this project is the call to member organizations and - as an advocacy strategy - to those who are not members but who are part of the left social movement to take part in this workshop.
On the other hand, the support team has identified new needs in this dynamic and changing environment, the same to meet digital security needs, that new collaboration tools, in that sense, progressively the use of a second server initially intended for training Will lead to new services, including:
1-Support for the TOR anonymity network (through the installation of an output node or retransmission).
2-Make Loomio available for on-line collaboration of work groups, planning and joint decision-making.
Program
| march | april | may | june | july | august | september | october | november | december | notes | |
| Acquisition of equipment | |||||||||||
| Call for training and selection | |||||||||||
| workshop | Second server workshop (training) | ||||||||||
| Installation of virtual servers for the implementation of new services | second server (experimentation / production) | ||||||||||
Accompaniment of the US support team
We have the support team, partners with great experience in the planning, deployment and management of server networks, in the development of a training program aimed at people representatives of organizations interested in acquiring these capabilities for the management of servers
Budget
It includes the acquisition of two servers and two electrical backup units (UPS) and associated costs per month
Equipment purchase
Quotes from tecno-dinamica.com, forlac.com, lufac.com
Best quote: forlac.com
| description | notes | USD price |
|---|---|---|
| Two servers: * SYS-5018A-MHN4 * RAM 32GB (4x8GB) * HDD four Toshiba 3.5" 6TB SATA 6Gb/s 7.2K RPM 128M 512E * Flash drive one SATA DOM 128GB | USD$5,760 | |
| Two units: APC SMART UPS C 1500VA LCD 120 USB | USD$905 | |
| TOTAL | USD$6,663 |
Operation costs
| description | notes | USD price |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 500W | |
| Internet connections: Main connection fiber optic 200Mbps symmetric secondary connection 50Mbps asymmetric | ||
| TOTAL | fixed-costs per month | USD$150 |
Means for its realization
1. Contribution of the MF/PL Support Team
It is important to consider the disposition of our colleagues in the Support Team, full-time professionals in the management of network infrastructure servers, who are in charge of the deployment and maintenance of about two hundred servers of our association as part of its membership .
2. External financing: Cooperative Support Program
With public resources from the local Government of Mexico City Amount US $ 6,250
3. Collaboration in the APC sysadmins capacity building project
Read: [Collaboration for the training of systems administrators in the APC.org network https://support.mayfirst.org/wiki/projects/apc/sysadmins]
4. Collaboration for a shared infrastructure in partnership
In this regard, colleagues from other organizations and groups agree at this time to join forces and resources for the implementation of a network of servers that houses the computation of various social and cultural initiatives in the space of the Electronic Ranch in Mexico City.
