Bulletproof Ubuntu for Remote Installations, like Timbuktu

Inveneo, a San Francisco 501c3 non-profit, creates and deploys sustainable communications and computing technology for delivery of vital services-education, healthcare, economic development-in remote and rural areas in the developing world.

Our systems are deployed in remote areas 10s of thousands of miles from our San Francisco offices. Local technicians are often hours or days away from project sites. And users are generally new to computers and unfamiliar with common administrative tasks.

Where we work, traditional desktop operating systems, ranging from Windows to Ubuntu, fail.

To meet the specific needs of remote rural deployments, Inveneo has developed Inveneo Desktop Linux (IDL). A desktop distribution based on Xubuntu, IDL is designed for:

• Simplicity of configuration and initial deployment
• Near-zero ongoing maintenance
• Resiliance to misconfiguration—unintentional or malicious
• Automated and remote configuration
• Bullet-proof stability

Core features include:

• Operation on read-only file system
• Locally executing applications (not thin-client)
• Server coordinated automatic configuration
• Safe “reset-to-factory” option to restore misconfigured or damaged systems
• Simplified desktop-UI

This session will discuss:

• technical architecture and details of approach and features
• current state of development
• deficiencies and development plan