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September 28, 2010
Oracle UTL_HTTP
VERY cool...
I found some UTL_HTTP code that will make my life and possibly others easier.
In the past we've had some need for PL/SQL to "post" data to a URL (usually off campus) and retrieve the response.
Throughout many attempts, I have always been thwarted. But, at last, I have overcome. I found some code on the web that was already organized into a PL spec/body so I copied it and compiled. Looks simple, seemed to work OK. But I've pulled code off of webpages before, so that's no big deal.
It's the POST that's complicated. AND the response.
So I did something naughty. I passed the form variables in the URL AND told the page to POST ... and something magic happened. No errors. A little more screwing around and lo-and-behold - I found return data in the third header ... or the 2nd one ... I don't remember. I tried again without doing both and I got errors and crashing and ...
But it works. You can POST data to a website inside of the code, AND get a response AND do something about it ... all on the server ... all securely ... all without pain or delay.
It's brilliant.
The procedure also has the ability to use a username/password and a web proxy. These are details that might be handy to authenticate to our Wiki server, or mine data out of a website remotely. Who knows?
Posted by ellism at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)
re-Captcha
To enhance security on our digital systems, WOU has begun to implement re-Captcha.
The captcha technology is designed to make it so that "bots" (automated computer scripts) cannot attempt to hack into web pages. Computer programs have advanced to read letters out of standard images, so the captcha images are purposefully obfuscated to allow humans to read it (although possibly not easily) and impossible for computers.
As an added value, re-Captcha uses real scans from books or magazines as the security words. So, in the process of security campus systems we also help Google digitize old copies of documents that computers have had difficulty with.
It's the perfect marriage - security + academic progress!
Overall, the system works quite well. I've only had problems once or twice when entering the words. It allows you to refresh many times to find an image you think you can type in. Also, it provides an audio version for those unable to read the messy letters.
Posted by ellism at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)
September 3, 2010
Mini Dreams
Multiplication!
I now have 34 Mac Mini's with which to cluster.
Cloud computing is becoming all-the-rage, and I intend to plug a bunch of these bad boys in and cluster them together to do...something.
I'm thinking Ubuntu Cloud.
Again, still don't have any real SETI-type work to do, but having a cloud just seems super powerful, and like a lot of fun. That's why the call it research, eh?
Posted by ellism at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)
Updates Burst
There is a lot going on. September has arrived. Busyness has increased. Stress is climbing. Projects are nearing completion. Vacation time will have to wait until November...
Yet hope remains.
Today I sent my touch-screen Dell over to Richard so he could start monitoring the network. The Cisco IPS has been a really valuable tool in securing our network perimeter. It tells about of basically everything and we can simply filter out events that aren't helpful/pertinent.
I cleaned up my desk and am trying to prioritize my myriad of tasks to help me stay organized during this busy and stressful time of year - in preparation for a new school year.
We released the SSO bar and the video. The Web2.0 experiment appears to have failed, but I don't really like Web2.0 so I'm not really disappointed.
We have two upcoming videos starring ... NOT ME. I'm excited to be able to give other staff member the opportunity to present areas of expertise and increase general knowledge/training of topics like security, VDI and Banner/EDW.
I've been working with Dr. Dukes and Mike Ross to get the Health and Wellness center program purchased and rolling. Ross will be taking over this project next week - after I help them finalize some details.
We've made some upgrades to DNS/DHCP that will help the campus run more securely and with greater stability.
That's all for now.
Posted by ellism at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)