Thanksgiving Break Development Projects

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…