What should I do this thanksgiving break? Here’s my list of potential development projects:
1. Write a Host Auditing Application
Existing Features:
- Generates XML configs based on specific command generation
- Outputs to flat XML database
New Features:
- Runs from central monitoring platform
- Gathers host information first by shelling into boxes and gathering packages / processes
- Verifies application by NMAP of high number ports
- Outputs into individual HTTP / XML formatted files
- Creates index for easy host data access
- Could run locally to create a host status page
- Create nagios byhost config on output
Thoughts:
- This could go over really well
- Would be fun to write
- Could land me in scope creep hell
- Should I output through Apache, or a servlet…
2. Update the Real Time System Config Generator
Existing Features:
- Generates Content Switching configs from application data
- Has a web interface for development access
- Notifies help desk
New Features:
- Create firewall definition files
- Create nagios probe config
- Integrate XML submission probe generation
Thoughts:
- Nice to have, but 90% of the functionality is already there
3. Update Nagios System Config Generator (nagiosuploader)
Existing Features:
- Grabs system info when run locally
- Posts configs to monitoring server for processing
New Features:
- Host auditing to determine services monitored
- Clean up error condition handling
- Web interface for config generation
Thoughts:
- Having a web interface for users to fill out would lower my workload
4. Automate Web Application Error Reporting
Existing Features:
- None, well… manually executed text processing on log files. I wouldn’t call that an application
New Features:
- Automation of customer / error code matrix grep statements
- Output in XML / http format web page and email
- Text only output in commented form for command line mail clients
Thoughts:
- Proves the point that certain people can be replaced by very small shell scripts (Unix humor)
- Should be a big hit with Client services
- Could drive the application “digital dashboard”
- Should be fun to practice using AWK for formatting data in a standard output
- Serious danger of scope creep
- May be better implemented in a MySQL back-end
5. Personal Growth Items
- Finish the VMware image for the 7206 emulator and post to VMware Technology Network for general use (delete IOS files before uploading)
- Read more of Long’s storage book
- Write a sample chapter for Stay at Home Photography
- Get GTK pod to run under my cmcnamar account, not root (I think the iPod’s file system doesn’t like changing ownership or file attributes)
- Redo the 2cups homepage
- Clean the Garage…