Open Source Tools

The ZIM strategically uses open source products wherever stable solutions are available and supports the use of open standards and licences.

The following list gives an overview of open source software used.

An Apache web server is a cross-platform free open-source software whose task is to establish a connection between a server with the stored web pages and the browsers of the Internet users. An Apache server can process several HTTP requests at the same time and in this way provide web pages for several users at the same time. In addition to retrieving web pages, the Apache web server can allow users to download files, such as audio files, movie files or PDF files. In addition, extensions or modules, such as password authentication and digital certificates, are provided to extend the functionality of the server.

Page: N/A (external https://httpd.apache.org)

HelpWiki pages: N/A (only brief mention on https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Projekt:Installation)

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Instructions on video portal: N/A

bcfg2 is a configuration management tool. It helps system administrators manage their server infrastructure and provides documentation, visualisation and reporting tools to support daily management tasks. Using this application, administrators can review and manage configuration patterns in their environments. It helps administrators manage the configurations of individual servers and ensures that configurations are consistent across servers in a defined group.

Page: N/A (external http://bcfg2.org)

HelpWiki pages: N/A (only brief mention on https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Projekt:Installation)

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Instructions on video portal: N/A

BigBlueButton is a video conferencing system with a participation capacity of up to 150 people per video conference. This service is particularly suitable for lectures, talks, seminars or similar activities that require a higher number of participants simultaneously. Participation in a conference is possible as a viewer or as a moderator. As a viewer, it is possible to communicate with the moderator and the other participants via chat, audio or video. For the moderator, it is possible, among other things, to impose admission restrictions on microphones and/or webcams, to record or share the screen, to distribute roles and rights, to conduct surveys, to divide students into groups for tasks using breakout rooms, to manage public or private chat rooms, or to use the whiteboard function for interactive drawing or note-taking.

Page:
https://bbb.uni-paderborn.de
https://open-bbb.uni-paderborn.de
https://como-bbb.uni-paderborn.de
(external bigbluebutton.org)

HelpWiki pages:
https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/BigBlueButton (also available in English)
https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/FAQ_zu_BigBlueButton
Mention as a permissible tool for oral exams on https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Videokonferenz-Tools_für_mündliche_Prüfungen
https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Empfehlungen_für_mündliche_Prüfungen_mit_BigBlueButton_(como-BBB)
Mention on https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Digitale_Tools_für_die_Lehre (also available in English )

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
Mention as preferable system and listing of requirements and functions on https://www.uni-paderborn.de/universitaet/bildungsinnovationen-hochschuldidaktik/e-learning/webinare
Mention of own servers on www.uni-paderborn.de/lehre/corona-lehre/digitale-tools

Instructions on the video portal: https://videos.uni-paderborn.de/channel/BigBlueButton-Anleitungen/14

The e-mail server Cyrus is an open-source project of Carnegie Mellon University, which was originally developed for the campus mail system of this university and is now used in many other organisations. It supports both POP3 and the preferred IMAP protocol. Cyrus can be operated together with various SMTP servers under Linux/Unix. Cyrus is best known for its speed, security and efficiency.

Page: N/A (external https://www.cyrusimap.org)

HelpWiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
brief mention of using Cyrus IMAP in the PDF "Mail Service in IMT - Technical Documentation" linked to https://imt.uni-paderborn.de/en/uni-mail and https://imt.uni-paderborn.de/uni-mail on page 5: https: //imt.uni-paderborn.de/fileadmin/imt/e-mail/uni-mail/MailServiceTechnik.pdf

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Etherpad is a web-based text editor for collaborative text editing. With the help of this application, several people can work collaboratively on a text at the same time. The text is automatically synchronised for all co-editors while it is being written. The changes made by the different editors can be differentiated by colour. Another convenient function is the option to chat in the editing window while editing text. Etherpad can be integrated into Moodle instances via a plug-in.

Page:
https://etherpad.uni-paderborn.de
(external https://etherpad.org )

HelpWiki pages:
Instructions for use in PANDA: https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Kurs:_Etherpad_Lite (also in English)
Short description: https: //hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Kollaborative_Texterstellung_für_die_digitale_Lehre_nutzen (also in English )

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
Mention on https://www.uni-paderborn.de/lehre/corona-lehre/digitale-tools/ under "Collaborative work".

Instructions on the video portal:
https://videos.uni-paderborn.de/video/LernPause-13-November-2018-Teil-1-Etherpad-und-Wikis-kollaboratives-Arbeiten-mit-PANDA/7fa80695e60973e2b925541c38764527
videos.uni-paderborn.de/video/LernPause-13-November-2018-Teil-2-Etherpad-und-Wikis-kollaboratives-Arbeiten-mit-PANDA/e4830fe143b562775406d719b81d6af1

Gitlab is a management tool for Git repositories. With this web application, the user can manage and control projects. Git is a distributed version control system that is provided as open source software. The main task of Git is to store and document all changes to files so that these changes can be tracked and traced at any time. Continuous versioning ensures that all changes are logged and that work is not lost or accidentally overwritten. Gitlab adds user, group and rights management, issue tracking and build pipelines to this basic catalogue.

Page:
https://git.uni-paderborn.de
(external https://about.gitlab.com )

HelpWiki pages:
https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Gitlab_beantragen
https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/GitLab
no really detailed instructions, reference to git.uni-paderborn.de/help

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
short description https://imt.uni-paderborn.de/versionsverwaltung-gitlab (also in English https://imt.uni-paderborn.de/en/version-management-gitlab)

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Graylog is a log management system (LMS) for collecting, indexing and analysing both structured and unstructured data from almost any source. Graylog offers the function of analysing every incoming log message in real time. In addition, triggers and alerts allow you to react to events at an early stage. With the help of a web interface, Graylog offers both user management and a customisable dashboard for visualising the data. Graylog is easily extendable and also enables a variety of additional functions, which are offered in the form of extensions. For storing and searching log data, Graylog uses Elasticsearch and MongoDB.

Site: N/A (external https://www.graylog.org/products/open-source)

Help wiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Tutorials on the video portal: N/A

HAProxy is a load balancer that can be connected upstream of several servers (e.g. web or mail servers) to take over certain previously configured processes. One of the biggest advantages of HAProxy is its stability and speed. Various tasks that would otherwise have to be taken over by the web server can be upstreamed to it. For example, this application can intercept requests that are harmful to the web server or avoid overloading the web server by excluding incoming requests.

Page: N/A (external https://www.haproxy.org)

HelpWiki pages: N/A no instructions
(indirect mention that the load balancer used is HAProxy on https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Cloudcomputing_Kochbuch_Load_Balancer_as_a_Service_(LBaaS)).

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Horde Webmail is an open-source web application with all the necessary functions to manage emails, appointments, contacts, tasks and much more. With Horde Webmail, the ZIM of Paderborn University offers its users a central mail service. With the help of this web application, users can process their e-mails on the servers of the University Computer Centre without having to install and set up a mail programme. All that is required is the use of a web browser.

Page: webmail.uni-paderborn.de
(external https://www.horde.org/apps/webmail/ )

HelpWiki pages: Collection of instructions at https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Mail especially the instructions which are marked with the keyword "Webmail".

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
general overview on the keyword "Uni-Mail": https: //imt.uni-paderborn.de/uni-mail with links to docs (10/11 years old) and Hilfewiki

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Icinga is an easily scalable open source application for network and system monitoring. Icinga monitors a network and keeps track of the data generated in a database. This allows the administrator to react to developing problems before they seriously affect the network. Icinga provides administrators with easy access to network data and immediate alerts to problems as they occur. Several database solutions, including MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL and Oracle DBMS, are available to store and manage the data generated by monitoring. A graphical user interface is offered for visualising the data and results. Both ready-made and customised extensions can be easily integrated into the web interface.

Page: N/A (external https://icinga.com)

HelpWiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
Short description https://imt.uni-paderborn.de/systemueberwachung-icinga (English: https://imt.uni-paderborn.de/en/system-monitoring-icinga/)

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

The Jupyter Notebook web tool allows users to create and share digital documents that can contain source code, text, mathematical formulas and media such as images, graphics or videos. Any source code can be executed directly in the application. The created Jupyter documents can be exported as HTML, PDF, Markdown or Python documents, among others, or alternatively shared with other users via email, Dropbox or the in-house Jupyter Notebook Viewer.

Site:
a.o. prog. cs.upb.de:8000/hub/login and https://itc.cs.upb.de:8000/hub/login
(external https://jupyter.org)

HelpWiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: N/A no instructions
PANDA course for sharing about Jupyter: https: //panda.uni-paderborn.de/course/view.php?id=15514

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Kerberos is a network protocol that is mainly used in open and insecure networks. This protocol is used for authentication and authorisation of users or systems. Kerberos supports single sign-on, so that a user only has to log on once to a central Key Distribution Centre (KDC) and can then use all available network services without any further interaction with the user. With Kerberos, mutual authentication takes place. Both user and server verify each other's identity. The KDC uses symmetric encryption and can authenticate a user for multiple services. In addition to encrypting secret data, Kerberos prevents eavesdropping or falsification of the keys or data.

Page: N/A (external https://web.mit.edu/Kerberos/)

HelpWiki pages: https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Grundlegende_Informationen_zum_Single-Sign-On
Overview of instructions: https: //hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Single-Sign-On_einrichten

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

LibreCat is a system that emerged from a collaboration between the universities of Ghent, Lund and Bielefeld. It is primarily used to manage and catalogue files and associated user data, especially in the context of scientific publications. LibreCat is used for this purpose at Paderborn University in the "Research Information System" (RIS). It forms a flexible basis with various available plug-ins and offers a variety of tools for managing users (authentication and authorisation) and data (import/export, metadata, indexing, backup, versioning, etc.).

Page: ris.uni-paderborn.de
(external https://librecat.org )

HelpWiki pages: https: //hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/RIS

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

LibreNMS is a free network management system for monitoring IT networks. The tasks of LibreNMS include service and traffic monitoring, device management as well as status and configuration monitoring. In addition to the web interface, the monitoring can also be accessed via Android/iOS app. LibreNMS has an automatic alert system that can use many channels, from email to IRC to Slack. It offers integration with many authentication methods (including LDAP, Active Directory and Radius) and various tools to better manage the network, such as configuration backups. LibreNMS works with a wide range of network hardware (e.g. Cisco, HP, Linux, Juniper, FreeBSD, Foundry, ...), but only supports use as a Unix/Linux server.

Page: N/A (external https://www.librenms.org)

HelpWiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Liferay Portal is a free open-source software that is used in organisations as a communication and business process-oriented portal. With Liferay, information, data and applications can be unified and personalised under a single user interface in the organisation member's browser, thereby electronically supporting business processes, such as customer care or knowledge management, within the organisation.

Page: N/A (external https://liferay.dev/-/portal)

HelpWiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

LimeSurvey is a survey tool that makes it possible to create and publish online surveys quickly and intuitively without programming knowledge and to record the results in a database. LimeSurvey is a web application, i.e. the creator of a survey does not have to install any software on his computer, but can create and edit surveys directly via the browser. The user can then generate, design, release and complete a survey. LimeSurvey provides several predefined layout and design templates as well as various question types. Surveys can either be made publicly available or individually accessible to each participant through login details. This survey tool is easily accessible for survey participants.

Page: umfragen.uni-paderborn.de
(external https://www.limesurvey.org/de )

HelpWiki pages: List of various instructions under the keyword "LimeSurvey" on hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Webanwendungen

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
https://imt.uni-paderborn.de/umfragen-erstellen-limesurvey
data protection declaration imt.uni-paderborn.de/fileadmin/imt/Limesurvey/Datenschutzerklaerung_LimeSurvey_final.pdf

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Linux is an open source operating system. The high scalability and flexible adaptability make Linux particularly interesting for use as a server. For private users, it is particularly interesting that Linux distributions are often available free of charge and support a wide range of free applications. Due to its strong configurability, Linux can also run very smoothly on older desktop PCs and laptops. At the Centre for Information and Media Technology Services (ZIM), the Linux distribution Ubuntu is primarily used.

Page: N/A (external https://www.linux.org and https://ubuntu.com)

HelpWiki pages: various instructions on services available for Linux listed at hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Linux

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Tutorials on the video portal: N/A

Matomo (formerly Piwik) is an open-source web analysis tool. Among other things, it provides detailed reports on visitor behaviour on one's own website and lists information on which search engines and keywords are used to call up the website. Matomo can be set up and operated with little effort. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that statistical data is not stored with a third-party provider, but on your own server.

Page: https: //piwik.uni-paderborn.de (external https://matomo.org )

HelpWiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: N/A (mentioned in the data protection declaration for the service portal, PANDA, the HelpWiki etc.).

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

MediaWiki is an open-source software for operating a website whose content can not only be read by visitors, but also changed directly in the browser. MediaWiki was originally developed for the free encyclopaedia Wikipedia and is also used by other organisations. This management software helps organisations to create, organise and publish organisation-related knowledge. The free MediaWiki software can be customised and expanded as desired.

Page: hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/HilfeWiki_des_IMT_der_Uni_Paderborn
(external https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki/de )

HelpWiki pages: N/A
Short description: https: //hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Kollaborative_Texterstellung_für_die_digitale_Lehre_nutzen (also in English )

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
Information on reference imt.uni-paderborn.de/wiki

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Moodle is a course management system and learning platform. It is a dynamic learning environment in the form of interactive information and learning courses available online. The system not only enables the distribution of working materials, but also interactive learning and working with the help of various tools, such as forums, wikis, participant lists and messaging systems, among others. As a course management system and learning platform, Moodle supports users in managing users, courses, content, activities and the documentation of examination results.

Page: https://panda.uni-paderborn.de and https://como.uni-paderborn.de
(external https://moodle.de )

HelpWiki pages: List of instructions hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/PANDA

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
www.uni-paderborn.de/moodle-hochschultreffen

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Mumble is a general-purpose encrypted voice chat application that is characterised by its low latency and good audio quality. It runs on most of the popular desktop and mobile operating systems. . This application runs on most of the popular operating systems. Mumble allows virtual conferences and meetings to be held in what are known as channels, and any number of channels can be created and used per user.

Page: N/A (external https://www.mumble.com)

HelpWiki pages: https: //hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Mumble (also in English )

TYPO3 pages: no instructions from the ZIM
Mumble overview of the IRB cs.uni-paderborn.de/irb/dienste/mumble

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Opencast is a free open-source software for planning, recording and publishing audiovisual content, which was developed for the university context. By automating the recording and distribution, the effort of recording is kept very low. This means that lecturers do not need any in-depth technical knowledge to record events. Recorded content can be edited using Opencast and converted into a variety of current file formats with different quality levels. Flexible rights management is offered for the release of videos and it is possible to integrate the recordings into various learning platforms.

Page: N/A (external https://opencast.org)

HelpWiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

OpenLDAP is the open-source implementation of the network protocol LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) which was developed for access to information collections. LDAP itself is not a directory, but the protocol through which it is possible with a certain syntax to query and change information of a directory. With the help of this application, a directory distributed over various servers can be easily searched in a tree structure. Object-related data, such as personal data or computer configurations, can be read from such a directory.

Page: N/A (external https://www.openldap.org)

HelpWiki pages:
https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Gruppenverwaltung_Mitglied_hinzufügen
https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Gruppenverwaltung_Mitglied_entfernen
https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Gruppenverwaltung_Moderator_hinzufügen/entfernen
https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/LDAP_Gruppen_im_Videoportal_verwenden
https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/LDAP-Verzeichnis_einrichten_in_Thunderbird
hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Linux-Rechner_mit_IMT-Anmeldung_versorgen

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

OpenStack is an open source project for building cloud platforms that consists of a number of software elements and is freely available under the Apache 2.0 licence. With its wide range of components, OpenStack provides an open and modular architecture for building custom cloud infrastructures that can run on commodity hardware. CEPH is an object data store that guarantees the completeness of stored data through monitoring and replication.

Page: N/A (external https://www.openstack.org and https://ceph.io)

HelpWiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

With the help of OpenVPN, encrypted virtual private networks (VPNs) can be set up via SSL/TLS and individual clients or entire networks can be connected to each other. To establish the connection, the OpenVPN software must be available and appropriately configured on both sides. The server authenticates the client via a previously defined password or a certificate and the encryption and decryption of the data is carried out by the client or the server at the end points of the communication connection. The OpenVPN software can be installed on computers, servers or network devices such as routers, has a high level of stability and is supported by common operating systems such as Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS or Android.

Page: N/A (external https://openvpn.net)

HelpWiki pages: various instructions at https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/VPN_einrichten and hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Netzwerk

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
short explanation imt.uni-paderborn.de/vpn-zugang

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

OTRS is an open-source ticket and service management system that supports organisations in processing customer requests. With the help of OTRS, any type of request can be recorded, classified, stored, tracked and processed in a structured manner, regardless of the reporting channel (e.g. e-mail, telephone or web form). This web application is operated independently of the operating system via a web browser.

Page: https: //otrs.uni-paderborn.de (external https://otrs.com/de/home/ )

HelpWiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
https://imt.uni-paderborn.de/helpdesk-system-otrs/ and imt.uni-paderborn.de/en/helpdesk-system-otrs/

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

PINGO stands for "Peer Instruction for very large groups" and is the web-based live feedback system for teaching developed at Paderborn University to activate students, especially in large courses. With PINGO, lecturers can get their students out of their traditionally passive role and actively participate in the lecture. They can answer questions posed by the lecturer during the lecture via their smartphones, tablets or laptops. PINGO is offered in a German and an English version and is available free of charge to all users worldwide.

Page: https: //pingo.uni-paderborn.de (external https://pingo.coactum.de )

HelpWiki pages: no instructions
Mention on hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Chats_und_Feedbacktools_für_die_digitale_Lehre_nutzen

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
https://wiwi.uni-paderborn.de/dep3/winfo2/forschung/projektarchiv/pingo/
https://www.uni-paderborn.de/lehre/lehrinnovationen/lehrprojekte/pingo (outdated? )

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Redmine is a free, web-based project management software available in more than 45 languages for several platforms and databases. The so-called ticket management forms the core of Redmine. Furthermore, Redmine offers document storage, planning and evaluation functions, time monitoring and calendar functions, version control, access rights, document management and support for many common databases, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle DBMS, SQL Server or SQLite.

Site: N/A (external https://www.redmine.org)

HelpWiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: N/A

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

TYPO3 CMS is a content management system for creating and managing websites. To support users in performing these tasks, a variety of templates and plug-ins can be accessed. Templates support the user in designing the created website quickly and easily. Plug-ins serve to extend the website and its services and functionalities. Moreover, no programming knowledge is required to use this application. TYPO3 has a well-scaling and fine-granular rights management, which enables the use in larger editorial groups.

Site: various systems, e.g. www. uni-paderborn.de with TYPO3 backend https://www.uni-paderborn.de/typo3 (external https://typo3.org/ )

HelpWiki pages: Collection of instructions hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/TYPO3

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
Overview https://imt.uni-paderborn.de/typo3-cms
Examples for the institution of pages and content imt.uni-paderborn.de/typo3-cms/beispiele

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) for creating and managing websites. No programming knowledge is required to use WordPress. The tool impresses with its wide range of easy-to-edit design templates and plug-ins, which serve to expand the website functionalities. This makes WordPress particularly suitable for creating personal blogs.

Page: https: //blogs.uni-paderborn.de (external https://de.wordpress.com )

HelpWiki pages: N/A

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
Overview imt.uni-paderborn.de/blog

Instructions on the video portal: N/A

Zulip is an open-source team collaboration application for simple, straightforward and synchronous information sharing. This platform aims to enable fast direct collaboration in groups and projects in one central location. This application enables the independent creation of groups, the further subdivision into topics and the setting of personal preferences. Zulip can be operated on all common platforms (desktop and mobile) and supports Markdown and syntax highlighting.

Page: https: //chat.cs.uni-paderborn.de/login/ (external https://zulipchat.com )

HelpWiki pages: https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Zulip (also in English)
Mention on https://hilfe.uni-paderborn.de/Digitale_Tools_für_die_Lehre (also in English )

TYPO3 pages: no instructions
Overview cs.uni-paderborn.de/irb/dienste/zulip

Instructions on the video portal: N/A