Tech crew

The Tech-crew consists of three different sub-crews:

• Tech:Net - Responsible for the net in Vikingskipet during the easter.
• Tech:Server – Responsible for maintaining the servers, delivering the streams from Event and all the web services for TG (i.a. gathering.org)
• Tech: Support – responsible for the actual wiring of the net, support for the participants and disassembling the net once TG is over.

The Tech crew at TG is perhaps the crew one least notices during the party, that is not to say their task is unimportant, it is rather the opposite. During the time before and after TG they make sure that gathering.org is online.

During the party their task is none the less important, once the party has started they are the ones who make sure that everyone in Vikingskipet gets their fix of internet, that you can play via LAN with all the participants and they are the ones who helps you if you have any technical difficulties, to mention some of their tasks.

Tech:Net

Tech:Net is the crew for you if you are interested in switching, routing and up to two million packets per second and are willing to put down a great effort both before and after TG. The tasks of Tech:Net may be split in three, before, during and after TG.

Before TG they are responsible for designing, configuring and connecting the core network and the internet access, and one should expect to use a lot of time on discussions over IRC. It is worth to notice that Tech:Net have been at Vikingskipet from the Saturday before TG starts to implement the network earlier years.

During TG they split in three teams and are, in cooperation with the two other Tech crews, responsible for maintenance and support on the internet access and the core network. After TG has ended their only task is disassembly of the network.

Those who apply for Tech:Net will, among other things, be given the opportunity to work in the core of one of the world’s largest temporary networks. It is expected that those who apply have good knowledge of networks, are willing to work hard and efficient. Tech:net also have a (highly unofficial) blog at http://technet.gathering.org.

If you have any questions, contact Daniel[at]fnutt.net

Tech:Server

Tech:Server is the crew for you if you are interested in setup and maintenance of servers and services. Among the services Tech:Server is responsible for are the more traditional ones, such as DHCP, DNS, SMTP, etc.

However, they are also the brains behind some of the more creative services, that for instance enables you to play LAN games with everyone in Vikingskipet. Tech:Server is also responsible for making sure that all the streaming and downloading of Events videos are working as it should, that sites like gathering.org is online and the technical maintenance of the IRC channel #TG on EFNet.

Those who are accepted will gain experience in configuring and managing systems for 5000+ users in what the crew themselves describe as “A particularly active and unrestrained environment with a high hack factor.” The applicants are expected to have some experience from server maintenance, they should know a bit of programming and must above all be creative and skilled at learning new stuff fast, even though it’s 5.00 AM

NB! Tech:Server has nothing to do with game servers, that’s Event:Game's responsibility.

Tech:Support

Tech:Support is the crew for you if you are technically adept, interested in networks and are willing to put in good effort to make sure that TG is as good as it can be for the participants. Before the party starts Tech:Support are responsible for nearly all the cabling in Vikingskipet, which includes running cables from the core switches to the table switches.

During the event Tech:Support cooperates with Tech:Net on the maintenance and support of the network. In addidion to this, they also perform general support to the participants to make sure that the time they spend behind their computers at TG is as good as it can possibly be. After the participants have left, and TG is over, one task remains for Tech:Support, together with the other Tech crews: they are responsible for the disassembling of the network gear and –cables and the sorting and packing of that equipment.

Those that are accepted can expect a lot of exciting work, to gain new experience and to have a lot of fun during a fantastic week with many new and nice people. In return, a nice mood is required, you work efficiently and have good knowledge in networks, OS’s and common PC usage.

Photos: Håvard Staub Nyhus and Vetle Halvorsen

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