home.md

+BRL IT needs
+============
+
+Remote access
+-------------
+
+### Rationale
+
+- as a lab with a strong CS dimension, remote access is critical. Remote desktop is not a replacement for actual remote access to people's machines + a lot of researchers are using the command line to run/monitor code.
+
+### Possible improvements
+
+- VPN: should be standard, cross-platform, readily available to everyone registered at BRL (no need to ask for activation)
+
+- SSH: direct SSH would be ideal, otherwise possible through VPN
+
+Web-facing webserver
+--------------------
+
+### Rationale
+
+- BRL website hosting
+- cross-university internal website (eg MSc dissertation allocation)
+- public-facing research-related projects: crowd-sourced experiments; research tools that need to be shared with partners
+- currently, things are done on an ad-hoc basis (BRL website hosted by private hosting, research projects on researchers' personal websites, some app hosted on server inside BRL, thus not accessible outside of BRL, including to UoB staff, etc)
+
+### Possible improvements
+
+- access to a web-facing webserver
+
+- with sufficient permission level to install tools/framework (nginx, python, db, etc)
+
+- cross-university auth solution
+
+- open questions regarding cyber security: to be discussed
+
+Cross-university access
+-----------------------
+
+### Rationale
+
+### Possible improvements
+
+- gitlab: cross-university auth
+- same recommended tools: eg communication tools (Microsoft Teams)
+
+Linux support
+-------------
+
+### Rationale
+
+Many Linux users in the lab, for various reasons including OS of robots, Linux-only tools for robotics (like ROS) and better developer experience
+
+### Possible improvements
+
+- Linux to be an officially supported OS by IT (UWE, UoB?)
+- if useful, decide for a standard distribution (eg Ubuntu 20.04, Fedora 32 -> is there smthg at UoB?)
+- increase Linux experts within UWE IT
+- as much as possible, recommend tools at university level that are cross-platform (eg Microsoft Teams instead of Skype for Business, etc)
+
+Networking
+----------
+
+### Rationale
+
+Many subnets (wired & wifi) due to the need to interface with the robots.
+
+### Possible improvements
+
+- connecting dedicated Wifi routers to network should be officially supported (as long as they do not provide DHCP themselves)
+- lab-wide Wifi network on the same subnet as the wired network, for use with the robots
+
+Procurement
+-----------
+
+### Rationale
+
+Lots of special orders
+
+### Possible improvements
+
+- [x] direct contact points at IT for BRL orders
+
+Streamlining UWE/UoB/BRL Office365
+----------------------------------
+
+- email aliases (@brl.ac.uk redirect to @uwe.ac.uk or @bristol.ac.uk, without duplicating Office365 accounts)
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