Men Of Vision Projects

Kinshasa Computers

Introduction:

Computers were donated to the Kinshasa Missions printing operation for translation and administration purposes. Help is needed in the set up, networking, and operation of these computers. Training is also needed in the use of several software packages, and network administration. Applicants must have computer skills, must be willing to travel, and must have a desire to help those in a missionary printing operation in Congo.

Status:

Initial Assessment from Tim Kraus: An on-site assessment was made of the existing technology. The computers that support the publication operations range from Intel 80486 machines with 8 MB of RAM, 640 MB of hard disk, and running Windows 95, and Microsoft Office 95 to Pentium 300 MHZ with 32 MB of RAM, 1.5 GB of hard disk, running Windows 98 and Microsoft Office 97. All machines had an installed network adapter, although these had not been tested. There were 15 computers that had been donated two years earlier, without monitors or keyboards, which needed to be assessed. Additionally, it was discovered that roughly half of the mice that were in use were failing intermittently, and were in need of replacement.

The printer was a locally connected laser printer. When the requirement arose to print a document, the operator would place the file on a floppy disk, carry the disk to the machine with the attached printer interrupting the operator on that machine, and print the file.

There was no central location of storage for the completed translated messages. In several instances previously, a failure in one of the hard disks would result in the loss of some translated work.

The building currently housing the publication offices contains no infrastructure for a Local Area Network. The publication facility will be moved within the year to a new building. It is hoped that the infrastructure can be installed for a network prior to moving to a new building.

Power for the current building is intermittent. And there is no filtered power for the equipment. The power output for the new building is well adequate for the operation of the computers, but it will remain intermittent, and filtered power does not exist.

Re-level Resources  The computers that had been donated but never assessed were opened. The RAM and hard disks were removed from these computers as well as certain other components like floppy disk drives. The RAM and hard disks that were removed from these machines were installed into the operating computers to bring them up to a minimum of 1GB of hard disk and 32 MB of RAM per computer. Out of the 15 computers that were torn apart, there were enough components to bring an additional 5 computers to the minimum requirement, leaving the publications operation with 5 complete spares in case of total system failure.

File and Print Server Constructed  A mother board with a Pentium III 300 MHz was purchased, along with 128 MB of RAM, a Read/Write CD drive, and a 60 GB hard disk. These components were placed into an existing chassis, and Windows 2000 Server was installed and configured for networking.

Network the Systems  Network adapters were purchased for the machines where the cards failed or were too old to be of use. The networking components of Windows were installed on the machines. Cat 5 cable was purchased along with RJ45 connectors to fabricate network cables. There were three existing hubs identified. Tools were donated to fabricate and test the network cables. The staff of the publications office was left to add users to each of the workstations that were consistent with the profiles added to the file and print server.

Training  The staff identified three persons to act as administrators of the network. These were trained in the basics of network administration, adding users, creating permissions to directory structures. The users were trained in how to access files remotely, printing remotely, and the Dos and Donts of networking.

Subsequent Donations  Susan and Steven Dahl have donated TWO very capable computers that will act as excellent servers for the publications operation. These computers are being delivered, and it is hope that Brother Diyoka will be able to take these back to Kinshasa when he returns from his US trip in first part of June.

Future Needs:

The publication operation needs additional help in networking the new building.

Additional training is required for the administrators. They need training in physical networking as well as in administration and good systems management.

Shekinah Publications is ambitious with their goals to produce materials. They are looking for a digital video suite to produce DVDs as opposed to video tapes. This will allow them to dramatically reduce the cost of shipping internationally, and potentially the cost of goods per title. It was suggested that brothers from the publication operation work with brothers from Cloverdale who have recently performed assessments of this technology to determine the best fit for their specific needs.

Ongoing maintenance and upgrade of the workstations continues to be a need, as in any operation. Minimum requirements need to be established for workstations, and priorities need to be established so when new equipment arrives, the resources can be applied appropriately.

Printers are needed. Existing printers are German, with no documentation, and configuration menus that are unreadable.

Networking components are needed. A smart switch (DHCP enabled) would be important as they look to connect their network to the internet for external communications, including email. This would hopefully provide some firewall protection as well.

Software upgrades are required. The servers will need a directory structure of some sort, and will also need some firewall protection and security.

Required Action:

A team of three qualified workers are required to arrive at the new building, with components and cables in hand, and produce a working network in an estimated three to four days. As additional machines arrive, or additional resources become available, these could be applied by the administrators on site from the local assembly, given an additional block of training.