Powys County Council
& Open Source Software

Linux operating system

We started using linux in 1995, and have built up a lot of experince with the Slackware distribution.  Slackware Linux forms the basis for the vast majority of our work with Linux.
www.slackware.com

We now run over 160 Internet web sites using Apache and this is also our standard intranet web server.

PHP is a companion product to the Apache web server and lets programmers develop interactive web content drawing from information held in databases, directories, networked file systems, in fact anything you can think of! PHP is used to provide interactive content on all our web sites. See PowysWeb for one example. PHP is also at the heart of our NGfL systems.

MySQL is a SQL database server that has rapidly established itself in delivering web services. Connection via ODBC or native applications for Windows clients provides great flexibility in the intranet environment.

MARS provides a linux server with many of the file and print sharing services of a Netware 3.12 fileserver. We use MARS to let Windows clients have easy-to-use access to their files on linux web servers so that they do not need to learn to use FTP to maintain their web site.

Used in NGfL system 2 to provide the option of Windows-NT style shared file services.

A UK-developed open source product from University of Cambridge. We use this for all mail delivery services for schools and community organisations and with a number of economic develment projects.

This implementation of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol provides email directories for Council staff, schools and other organisations

This lets us build indexes to our web sites allowing the kind of searching that is possible using the major web search sites. The PowysWeb site uses htDig to provide a search system dedicated to information relevant to Powys web sites, with over 400 sites currently being indexed.

Following several months evaluation work during 2003, the Council has settled on the Typo3 Contenet Management system, and will be converting the majority of its Internet and intranet web sites to use Typo3.  The main council site will be moved to Typo3 late in 2004.

A system using PHP and MySQL to provide a web-accessed bulletin board system.

Excellent tools for letting people who manage web sites know how their site is being used. Produces useful statistical analysis and graphs and charts of key information.

........And many others
Our thanks to the Internet community for making these valuable applications available to us.