Training on managing RSpace for IT Teams
Summary
IT Training is usually made up of five main topics, and additional live follow-up sessions as needed. Each session takes about 30 - 60 minutes. Usually we'll fit 1 - 2 topics in a webcast session, so you can expect 2 - 3 web cast sessions to cover the entire training package.
The core topics covered are as follows:
- How RSpace runs
- Patching & updates
- General maintenance
- Backing up RSpace
- Troubleshooting RSpace
RSpace also routinely works with technical teams to build custom training sessions tailored to your needs. This may involve supporting any custom solutions. If theres anything you would like us to cover, you can let us know and we'll craft something to your specific requirements.
Training recordings
We recommend that all sessions be recorded (by customer, for privacy), and links to the recorded sessions are distributed to all users (we hereby grant permission to record and distribute these training events). There is quite a lot of material to cover, so the live training moves at a rapid pace, and the recorded sessions allow users to review what they have seen at their own pace.
Users that sit this training should already have a basic understanding of the Linux file system, the APT package manager and MariaDB. They should also know what Apache2 and Apache Tomcat do, but they do not need previous experience in these tools. An introduction to Linux session can also be covered before the “How RSpace runs” session, if general linux, mariadb and apt skills are missing.
Be sure to note questions that occur to you so that we can answer any questions you may have on the system. This can be during the session (I don’t mind if you interrupt to ask a question!), at the end of the session, or via email after the session is completed (although it's better to ask in the call).
IT Staff Training
Members of staff who plan to manage the RSpace server, including performing updates, backups, general maintenance and troubleshooting should take part in this training
How RSpace runs
- How RSpace is installed
- RSpace on Tomcat
- How Tomcat, OpenJDK & RSpace work together
- How Tomcat is stopped, started and restarted
- The Tomcat user & the linux file system
- The main tomcat config files
- How RSpace and MariaDB work together
- RSpace & the use of Microservices
- Deep dive into the RSpace deployment.properties and /etc/rspace
- RSpace file structure & layout on the filesystem
Patching & Updates
- How to update RSpace using the update script
- How to update RSpace manually
- What to do if an RSpace update goes wrong
- Common failure points of RSpace updates
- How to patch Tomcat & OpenJDK
- Common failure points of Tomcat & OpenJDK updates
General Maintenance
- Database tuning for RSpace
- Tomcat & Apache2 performance tunning
- Exploring the use of ansible for RSpace maintenance
- Hardening RSpace
- Shibboleth maintenance & certificate refreshes (Single Sign on systems only)
- Renewing SSL certificates
- Enabling automated patching
- Sending the RSpace logs (info,warn,error) to a central log solution
Backing up RSpace
- File system backups
- Database backups
- Complete RSpace backups (from the update script)
- RSpace export / import tools
- Restoring RSpace backups
Troubleshooting RSpace
- Fixing slow performance
- Why Tomcat may fail to start
- Reading and understanding the RSpace error logs
- How devtools can help you understand front end RSpace errors
- Common errors between RSpace & integrations and how to fix them
- Reporting bugs to the RSpace team
If your RSpace is running on Docker, then you'll still benefit from all the points above (the tech stack is the same, just running on top of containers, instead straight on Linux) . You'll just learn a few additional points such as:
- How RSpace runs on Tomcat, inside a Docker container
- Backing up / restoring Docker containers
- Setting up Security Hardened Docker
- Updating Docker & RSpace on Docker
- How the RSpace filestore keeps data on Docker volumes