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Dust and sweat ... and fun [2014-04-19]

For most of this week we continued our work at Compostela National High School (CNHS), along with a morning in the Estaca Elementary IT lab for a follow-up visit.  We also enjoyed a rare weekday afternoon off at a beach birthday celebration with some of the CNHS teachers and PTA board members.  It was a nice break from the long hours of work!

Neal has been preparing the new main server for CNHS.  This involves a change of hardware but more challenging is the operating system upgrade from Ubuntu 8.04 to 12.04.  He has also written a lot of custom software for the school environment, so that is being updated as well.  Other computers on campus had already been upgraded to 12.04 in previous years, but because of the complexity of the system, the main server was still running 8.04.  Since we have more time in the Philippines this year, it’s time to make the change.  He has spent innumerable hours this week holed up in the “lab” in our apartment, wrestling with the software demons to get everything to work smoothly.  Unfortunately few people have the chance to witness or truly appreciate the incredible dedication, effort, and skill that he puts into this work.  I am truly proud to be his wife!

Jade, Ma’am Nerry, and I tackled the IT lab rearrangement, which offered interesting challenges of its own.  Last week we had moved all of the computers and monitors to an adjacent lab.  Some new tables were built, painted, and then reinforced to carry the weight.  We made a scale-model layout of the lab and spent a long time moving the pieces around and contemplating how to arrange everything.  At last we found a good solution and the tables were positioned.  The electrical wiring was completed early Tuesday morning.  Wednesday we ripped out multiple generations of Ethernet cable from the lab and began the laborious task of planning how to route it for the new layout.  Working together we actually got most of the cabling tested, routed, and labeled by the end of Wednesday.

Thursday morning we faced a blank slate – the empty tables and Ethernet cables in place but no computer units yet.  It was a bit intimidating, but once we got started things really rolled.  By the end of the day, we had almost everything in place with the connections made.  We tested things out on Friday and got some final units in place; there are now 43 computers in the IT lab for students’ use!  Everything is ready now for the new main server to be put into place once it is prepared, and then we’ll have lots of testing to do.  We also have some work remaining in the library, auxiliary lab, and science lab, but a lot of the heavy lifting is behind us now.

The other lingering task is scouting for projects for new schools, both for this summer and for 2015.  We have not made much progress on that front in the last couple of weeks due to the end-of-the-school-year crunch and Holy Week, which is observed by closed offices and businesses here in the Philippines.  Hopefully this coming week we’ll be able to renew our efforts and get some evaluation trips planned and scheduled.  We also have follow-up trips to several of the new installations on our to-do list.  It’s looking like another busy few weeks ahead.

Reneal IEO hopes and plans for 2015 are contingent upon the generosity of individual and corporate donors.  We are always in need of used computer equipment that can find new life in schools, and monetary donations help to buy other essential items such as server parts, surge protectors, Ethernet cable, and mice.  We our “How to Help” page for more information on giving!