Draft: GIS.lab workshop

GIS.lab GOALS

• rapid deployment of complete geospatial solution for collaborative data capturing, processing, analysis and publication on web

  • fully automatic provisioning
  • out-of-box working deployment with GIS.lab Unit

• self containing system

• very quick results (from plain hardware to web application in minutes)

• high added values

  • integration of precisely chosen set of geospatial FOSS (one best tool for one thing) to one system with consistent behaviour - opposite to OSGeo Live
  • collaboration tools
  • user support, software support

• full client computer performance utilisation (opposite to thin client)

• thinking about client environment more as about some kind of specialized client interface providing tools from desktop world rather than a traditional desktop

• computer resources sharing

• same deployment in LAN and cloud

• mobile clients (TODO)

• web administration similar to router or NAS (TODO)

• utilization: education and real work

HOW IS IT DONE ?

• automatic provisioning - Ansible
• virtual machine deployment - Vagrant and VirtualBox
• client boot service - LTSP Fat client/ own solution
• OWS services load balancing
• QGIS Desktop and Server as GIS.lab Desktop + own GIS.lab Web app
• GRASS as processing backend under QGIS Processing plugin and WPS
• own GIS software packaging

GOALS OF THIS WORKSHOP

• to provide technical knowledge required to build GIS.lab from source code and start using and hacking
• get serious feedback to know what to change and improve
• discuss GRASS 7 integration
• discuss improvements needed for using GIS.lab in education
• propose future development
• get new contributors

WORKSHOP TOPICS

• introduction to GIS.lab

• introduction to Vagrant and Vagrant commands (status, up, destroy, provision, ssh)

• GIS.lab installation in VirtualBox using Vagrant provisioner, configuration, update

• introduction to GIS.lab management commands (adduser, deluser, password, machine)

• extensibility with plugins and Docker containers

• creation of GIS.lab network from scratch

• booting physical client

• booting virtual clients (HTTP boot, file sharing with host machine)

• introduction to GIS.lab client environment (shared folders, Projects, Publish, Booster, software, services, PostgreSQL schemas, chat)

• introduction to GIS.lab OWS services load balancing

• creation of GIS projects in GIS.lab, publishing in GIS.lab Web

• testing GRASS in GIS.lab

• introduction to Ansible

• introduction to GIS.lab source code

• discussion about integration of education support tools

• discussion about integration of GRASS 7

• general discussion