[Toolserver-l] Toolserver status, and what WMDE is doing about it

[Daniel Kinzler]

(sorry for the repost, the original mail got the wrong subject line by mistake)

Dear Toolserver Users

As you have probably notices, things havn't been going to well with the
toolserver lately. The main reason is that River is no longer available as much
as before, and we do not have a replacement. DaB is doing what he can, but far
too often, there's simply no one to fix things when they break. Also, our plans
to buy more storage went on hold because of this situation, and so we are
running out of disk space now. Which causes more things to break.

So, what is Wikimedia Germany doing about this? Here is what:

* Sebastian Sooth has taken charge of IT management at WMDE. He's way better at
this stuff than me, so that will help.
* We are hiring an interim admin. I hope we'll have the contract finalized by
next week.
* We will buy and install more storage. The new admin will plan that in
coordination with DaB, Sebastian and me. Expect this to take at least 8 weeks
before we have everything installed.
* Meanwhile, we'll try to assess and fix any other issues that have piled up
over the last couple of months.
* In the process, we'll create and improve documentation of the cluster, so it
becomes easier for people with access but little knowledge (like myself) to fix
things when they break.
* We will run a proper job offer for a payed toolserver admin. The idea is to
eventually have two payed (part time) system admins. The job offer will be
posted to toolserver-l.

I know things havn't been for the best lately, but I believe we are getting a
grip on the problem now. If you have any questions, please contact me.

Regards,
Daniel Kinzler

Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.


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