Ubuntu Linux

Administrator (root) access for computer owner default yes for owner
At a Glance
Backup none, all data must be on network shares
Configuration and setup isginf / owner
Deployment over the network via installation request form or OS Kiosk
OS installation isginf
Responsibilities
Software licensing & installation owner
Support by isginf best-effort
Supported hardware whatever Ubuntu works on
Updates & security fixes default on boot or while running, alternatively by owner
User management LDAP or local on computer

Supported Versions

Release Installation Support
18.04    
20.04   X
22.04 X X
24.04 X X

For details on the EOL dates read on here.

Managed Configuration

The following configuration is automatically managed by isginf:

  • Firewall
    • Default:
      • No incoming traffic is allowed except SSH and some other required ports.
      • Fail2ban is configured to harden SSH.
    • Options (request by ticket):
      • Add custom rules.
      • Disable firewall and/or fail2ban.
    • Options (self service):
      • Use firewall-cmd to maintain custom rules locally.
  • Printers
    • Default:
      • Follow-me-printing with card-ethz or card-stud configured.
    • Options (request by ticket):
      • Add ETH-managed printers (direct-printing).
    • Options (self service):
      • Use Gnome settings or CUPS admin interface to install custom printers.
  • Filesystem
    • Default:
      • Mounted user home directory in /home (from iiStore or ETH student home for student lab machines).
      • Notification by UI if user home is getting full.
      • Mounted scratch and project share(s) in /pub (from iiStore or ETH storage solution).
    • Options (request by ticket):
      • Switch to local user home directories (in /local/home, the shares at /home are still accessible).
      • Custom partitioning (before installation), additional SWAP space, ...
      • Add further mounts.
    • Options (self service):
      • Mount filesystems yourself using mount.
  • Packages
    • Default:
      • Automatic update of all apt and flatpak packages (on boot and once a day).
      • Notification by UI and mail on issues, if a reboot is required or if updates are required.
    • Options (request by ticket):
      • Only install critical security updates (apt).
      • Disable automatic updates (apt & flatpak) completely.
      • Adjust notification behaviour.
      • Autoamtic installation of packages (and apt repositories).
      • Automatic installation of some more complex applications:
        • CUDA
        • Docker CE
        • MatLab
        • (more on request)
    • Options (self service):
      • Check update policy and status with update-status (as root).
  • Users
    • Default:
      • All users of your LDAP-OU are known to the system.
      • Only the defined users (plus the IT coordinators and isginf) are allowed to log in.
      • Only defined users (plus isginf) have root access (by sudo).
    • Options (request by ticket):
      • Reduce list of known users to a subgroup of the OU (e.g. only staff and students, not guests).
      • Remove login restriction (so all known users are allowed to log in).
      • Restrict login to a (self-maintained) local or LDAP group.
      • Change list of defined users (with or without root access).
    • Options (self service):
      • Add local users with sudo adduser.
      • Allow login to additional LDAP users with sudo usermod -a -G localusers {username} (they must still be known to the system, so they must exist in the OU).
      • Grant root-access to additional users with echo "{username} ALL=(ALL) ALL" | sudo tee -a /etc/sudoers/local.

Page URL: https://isg.inf.ethz.ch/bin/view/Main/ServicesDesktopsAndLaptopsLinux
2025-05-09
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