Computing
| Computing Team | |
|---|---|
| |
| Maintains URY's computer systems, both hardware and software. Keeps the URY streams and website running. | |
| Constitution | |
| Created | ??? |
| Defined | Here |
| Roles | Head of Computing Assistant Head of Computing Webmaster Computing Officer (multiple) |
| Contacts | |
| General Enquiries | computing@ury.org.uk |
| Get Involved | computing@ury.org.uk |
| Head of Team | head.of.computing@ury.org.uk |
Computing Team is the URY team responsible for maintaining URY's computer ordinance, both hardware and software.
What do we do?
We like to think of ourselves as the everything team, because while we're limited to poking anything that involves computers, we actually do an incredible amount of stuff:
Website
We look after the URY website, revamp or replace it when it gets old, and make sure that other teams are able to keep it full of content.
The website is written in Django, which is a Python web framework. Coincidentally, computer science students at time of writing now learn Python as an introductory programming language. We also have some Web systems written in PHP.
Our website runs on the Apache web server.
Servers
We run our own physical servers, which involves a lot of nipping into our server shed to turn things on and off, swap cables around and shout at power supplies. If you like pulling things out of racks, staring at them, sticking RAM in them and putting them back in racks, then we offer one of the finest physical server admin experiences available to York students.
Of course, it isn't all about the hardware. We also do a lot of system administration on the software side, making sure that all the processes that keep URY running stay up and don't tie themselves in knots. We run FreeBSD and Debian GNU/Linux, with a Windows Server domain controller for the desktop systems.
Desktops
Each studio has a few computers, typically running Windows, that are used by presenters for playing out sound, connecting to the Internet, and using our Studio Information Service. These have to be maintained, of course, and it's us that rise to the challenge.
Fun
Though Compteam have the burden of a lot of responsibility for critical systems most of the time, really most of us are here to have fun.
Being in and around a student radio station gives people who want to play around with new ideas in an existing context a real jumpstart, and as a consequence whenever we're not fixing stuff we're often in URY working on making new things. Here are a few examples:
- BAPS, URY's very own custom playout system (Matt Fortune, 20??/??)
- The studio clock system (Lloyd Wallis, 2011/12)
Prospective members
Computing Team is always looking for new members, so if you're interested by what we do, send us an email (see the infobox on the right hand side)!
You will need to be a member of URY (and thus pay URY membership dues) in order to run for a position or gain elevated access on URY systems. However, we allow non-members to "shadow" the team, attend team meetings and contribute to our public code repositories, so you can certainly try us out or get involved with no obligation to pay up-front.
What we like to see
As Computing Team's goals involve education and development just as much as professionalism and dependability, there is no requirement for prior knowledge as long as you're willing to learn on the job. That being said, some knowledge of any of the following would be a great start:
- Administration of Unix-style systems, especially Debian GNU/Linux and FreeBSD
- Administration of Windows client systems, Active Directory and Windows Server
- Python 2, especially Django
- SQL, especially PostgreSQL
- PHP
- Network administration (hardware and software)
- Continuous integration - Jenkins/Hudson, Travis
- Shell scripting
- Systems programming - C, Go, etc.
It'd be great if you're:
- Ready to learn and develop "on the job"
- Able to work both independently and as a team member
- Willing to investigate the way things are done and experiment with new ideas
- Willing to ask questions in order to get a better understanding
- Able to balance course and URY work, and not overly prioritise the latter over the former
History
Computing Team was formed by separation from the Technical Team as URY's dependency on computer systems increased during the late 90s and early 2000s.
Members (past and present)
Heads of Teams
- 2011-present: Matt Windsor
- 2010-2011: Gareth Andrew Lloyd
- 2009-2010: Alex Williams
- 2008-2009: Gareth Andrew Lloyd
- (More to be inserted here)