moodLearning Wiki

This is an old revision of the document!


eLibrary System

_

This eLibrary System is a locally-networked repository system suitable for organizations or places where the interweb is non-existent or at best spotty. It hosts digital resources primarily for K-12 and secondary education but can also be used in other instructional settings or in tandem with other knowledge management systems. Initially the System is meant to be a support system for less-privileged schools. The Project is driven by a partnership between a school and the Project champions.

Equipment

  • router with DHCP service
  • wifi access point (if router has no wifi and the repository is to be made available via wireless connection)
  • computers

Direct cost estimate of equipment for the basic system is about Php 80,000 (USD 1,580) per site with existing LAN and workstations.

Contents

The contents on the eLibrary System are provided for by partner institutions. They are collected based on the specific instructional needs of the partner school. The System is also meant to be a reposity of institutional memories of the school or the community where the school is located.

Essential Steps

Server

  • install a linux server/desktop (in this example, Ubuntu 14.04 or some LTS version is assumed)
  • mod /etc/hosts to include your made-up domain (whatever.org) to point just to itself (127.0.0.1)
  • use Eprints installation guide from Unimas. Skip the part on LDAP authentication, especially if you don't imagine hundreds of people logging in to upload materials. Ordinary users can download stuff even without authentication. Also skip the https part, unless you're dealing with sensitive information and you can imagine some of your users capable of doing a man-in-the-middle attack.
  • mod your router's DHCP to provide for a static IP for the server (say, 192.168.254.101) that's within the area of your DHCP service

Client

  • mod /etc/hosts to point whatever.org to the static IP address of the server (192.168.254.101 in this example). For Windows 7 or 8 OS, it's on Windows|System32/drivers/etc folder. For Mac, just under /etc/hosts. For Android, download ES File Explorer to edit /etc/hosts

Limitations

  • Number of simultaneous users. This is limited by the kind of wifi access point, network devices, and server used for the infrastructure. Also limiting access are the access devices used by users. Using some home-type wifi access point (like the one that came with Globe Tattoo), some networked PCs, and a home PC as server, reportedly simultaneous access is limited to about 10 users at a time. For this, immediately recommended are improved routers and access points. Check also the resource utilitzation of the server itself.

See Also