About Me

I am a Network Coordinator at [http://weber.edu Weber State University], where I work with Cisco network equipment. As part of my job, I work with many open source network management applications including:

• [http://nedi.sf.net NeDi] - Network Discovery

• [http://nfsen.sf.net NFsen] - Netflow visualization

• [http://www.packetfence.com PacketFence] - Network Access Control (NAC) application

• [http://www.pfsense.com pfSense] - Advanced firewall appliance

• [http://www.cacti.net/ Cacti] - Network performance monitoring

• [http://www.groundworkopensource.com/community/ GroundWorks Open Source (Nagios)] - Network Availability Monitoring

• [http://ntop.org Ntop] - Real-time Network Performance

• [http://www.splintered.net/sw/flow-tools/docs/flow-tools.html Flow-tools] - Netflow collector

• [http://snort.org Snort] - Intrusion Detection System (IDS)

• [http://secureideas.sourceforge.net/ Base] - Web-based reporting of Snort alerts

My interest in Ubuntu

I have been with Ubuntu since the beginning (2004). At that time, I was thinking about running [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UserLinux UserLinux] as my Linux desktop. Lucky for me, I began hearing about a secret Debian-based distribution (http://no-name-yet.com) that was being created by the "Warty Warthogs".

After downloading and installing the Ubuntu 4.10 Preview Release, I fell in love with Ubuntu at first sight! I was infatuated with how Ubuntu took the best parts of Debian (huge apt repositories, commitment to open source software, great community) and improved on all the things that Debian lacked (regular releases, simple install). It was a dream come true!

I truly believe that the world will be a better place when people of all backgrounds have access to high-quality free software. There is a principle that the more resources that are applied to open source software, the better it becomes for everyone (not just paying customers). That is why I promote the use and adoption of open source software every chance I get.

Open source software is not always better quality than proprietary software, but I do believe it is always ethically superior.

Contact

• Name: Tristan Rhodes

• Launchpad: [https://launchpad.net/~tristanrhodes TristanRhodes]

• Blog: [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/ The Open Source Advocate] - I often write about Ubuntu, so make sure you take a look!

• Email: tristan {at} witenko {dot} com
• Jabber: tristan.rhodes {at} gmail {dot} com

• My Public Key: [http://keyserver.ubuntu.com:11371/pks/lookup?search=0x744BF6F9&op=index 744BF6F9]

• IRC:
  • Nick: tristanbob
  • Channel: #ubuntu-utah
  • Server: irc.freenode.net

Contributions to the Ubuntu Community

Regular activities

• Maintain a regular Bittorrent seed of the latest Ubuntu ISO images
• Download and test alpha releases (flights, knots, herds, etc) on a virtual machine
• Enjoy following all Ubuntu related news on a daily basis

  • [http://planet.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu Planet]

  • [http://fridge.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu Fridge]

  • [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter Ubuntu Weekly News]

  • [https://features.launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu Launchpad specifications]

  • [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecentChanges Changes to the Ubuntu Wiki]

UtahTeam Member

We help provide local support and education about Ubuntu for the state of Utah. For information about our team please see:

• ["UtahTeam"] wiki

• [https://launchpad.net/people/utahteam UtahTeam Launchpad Page]

• [http://ubuntu-utah.org Ubuntu-Utah.org] Website

• I have been known to [http://ubuntu-utah.org/index.php/2006/12/12/pictures-from-december-9-2006-meeting/ take pictures] at these meetings

Friends and Family

• Mailed out Ubuntu disks with my Christmas cards (2004) - Thanks Canonical for ShipIt!

  • A friend used his Christmas CD to install Ubuntu after his Windows crashed due to viruses
• Installed Ubuntu 6.06 LTS on my brother's PC (now upgraded to 6.10)
  • His Windows installation was also unusable due to viruses
• Running Ubuntu Server on several network management servers at work
  • My co-workers have since become very interested in Ubuntu
• Installed Ubuntu 6.10 for my father
  • He doesn't want to have to upgrade to Vista, so he is learning Ubuntu
• Distributed hundreds of Ubuntu CDs to friends, family, co-workers, and college students

  • Keep them coming, Ubuntu!

Blogging about Ubuntu

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/09/participating-in-open-source-community.html Participating in the open source community: Giving back]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/11/ubuntu-reads-your-mind.html Ubuntu reads your mind!]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/11/ubuntu-canonical-as-business_07.html Ubuntu (Canonical) as a business]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/11/ubuntu-leader-speaks-on-oracleredhat.html Ubuntu leader speaks on Oracle/Redhat and Novell/Microsoft]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/11/comparing-hypothetical-donation-of-25.html Comparing a hypothetical donation of $25 million dollars]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/11/ubuntu-to-become-even-easier-to-use_14.html Ubuntu to become even easier to use!]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/11/debian-and-ubuntu-mutual-symbiosis.html Debian and Ubuntu: Mutual Symbiosis]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/11/why-i-support-use-of-non-free-software.html Why I support the use of non-free software in Linux]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/11/why-do-we-believe-in-open-source.html Why do we believe in open source software?]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/12/fedora-beats-ubuntu-dual-monitor.html Fedora beats Ubuntu: Dual-monitor configuration]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/12/why-cant-we-watch-news-in-linux.html Why can't we watch the news in Linux?]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2006/12/easy-way-to-resize-hard-drive.html The easy way to resize hard drive partitions]

• [http://useopensource.blogspot.com/2007/01/ubuntu-beats-fedora-long-term-support.html Ubuntu beats Fedora: Long-term support]

Wiki Contributions

• LoopList - A list of the best open-source applications that run on Windows (allows users to convert to Ubuntu

• NediHowTo - NeDi is an excellent open source network discovery application

• CactiHowTo - Cacti is an excellent open source network monitoring application

• MailScanner - MailScanner is a great tool for filtering SPAM, viruses, and phishing attacks found in email

• ClipArt - "Where can I get more clipart?" is the first thing my sister-in-law asked after I installed Ubuntu on her PC.

• [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/OpenSSL#head-fe267ac439e0d5549c94b2f111d87f803418d191 OpenSSL] - I created the section on "Redirecting HTTP traffic to HTTPS")

• [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/CommandLine CommandLine] - I created the section on "Enabling Repositories with a (non-interactive) Script"

Presentations

• 2004 - December 4th - 10:00 AM - [http://acm.weber.edu/orangeforum/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2300 Presented Ubuntu 4.10] (Warty Warthog) to the [http://www.oalug.com/ Ogden Area Linux User Group (OALUG)]. Many members have since [http://www.pthree.org/2006/06/10/my-linux-story/ converted to Ubuntu].

• 2006 - November 11th - 6:00 PM - [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UtahTeam/Meetings/2006Nov11 Presented on Ubuntu Online Resources] for the [http://ubuntu-utah.org/index.php/2006/11/12/november-11-2006-meeting-report/ Ubuntu-Utah Team].

• 2006 - November 18th - 10:00 AM - [http://www.oalug.com/2006/11/22/nov-18th-meeting-report-linux-games/ Presented on Gaming on Ubuntu] to the [http://www.oalug.com/ Ogden Area Linux User Group (OALUG)].

Future Plans

Packaging

I am interested in creating Ubuntu packages for the network management applications I use. While I do not yet have the knowledge on how to do this, I hope to learn under the guidance of mentors.

• Packages I want to create and get in Universe:

  • [http://nedi.sf.net NeDi] - Network Discovery Suite

  • [http://nfsen.sf.net NFsen] - Netflow visualization tool

  • [http://www.packetfence.com PacketFence] - Network Access Control (NAC) application

As an intermediate step to creating packages, I have written install scripts to install these applications on Ubuntu:

• My [http://z11.invisionfree.com/Nedi/index.php?showtopic=306 install script] for Nedi (Network Discovery Suite)

• My [http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/184 Nediva virtual appliance] that runs Nedi on Ubuntu

Ubuntu Member

(Status : Submitting Application) I advocate open source software and Ubuntu Linux in the state of Utah. I would love to see open source more widely used in homes, schools, businesses and government offices.

This content used to be found here: ["Tristanbob"]

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