OK, I read the syntax of this sideways. +1, binding, from me.
On Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 12:26 PM, Urs Lerch <m...@ulerch.net> wrote: > Hi > > There is, at least in my opinion, a very clear statement regarding the > licencing: > > = Source and Intellectual Property Submission Plan = > > ALOIS is currently under a GPL licence. Since there are only two > contributors so far, both from the same company, there is no problem > to re-licence the code and contribute it to Apache. The commitment of > the company's owner has been granted. > > The names of the two contributors are listed elsewhere in the proposal. > Do you think that ain't enough? > > Best > Urs > > > Am Donnerstag, den 26.08.2010, 12:17 -0400 schrieb Benson Margulies: >> I don't see anything explicit in here about relicensing from GPL to >> ASL. Perhaps that was hashed out before I joined the PMC? >> >> I'm +0 tending toward -1 without an explicit statement that the >> copyright owners are known and on board with the license change. >> >> On Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 12:09 PM, Urs Lerch <m...@ulerch.net> wrote: >> > Hi, >> > >> > I would like to call a vote for accepting "ALOIS" for incubation in >> > the Apache Incubator. The full proposal is available below and on the >> > proposal wiki page (http://wiki.apache.org/incubator/AloisProposal). We >> > ask the Incubator PMC to sponsor it, with Scott Deboy volunteering as >> > Champion and Mentor. Additional mentors are warmly welcome. >> > >> > Please cast your vote: >> > >> > [ ] +1, bring ALOIS into Incubator >> > [ ] +0, I don't care either way, >> > [ ] -1, do not bring ALOIS into Incubator, because... >> > >> > This vote will be open for 72 hours and only votes from the Incubator >> > PMC are binding. >> > >> > Thanks, >> > Urs >> > >> > >> > -------------------------------------------- >> > >> > >> > = Preface = >> > >> > ALOIS is a log collection and correlation software with reporting and >> > alarming functionalities. It has been implemented by the Swiss company >> > IMSEC for a customer about five years ago. GPL-licenced, implemented in >> > Ruby and completely based on other OSS-licensed components, it was >> > designed for the open source community right from the start. Now that >> > the software has shown its functioning over several years in production >> > with the one customer and one IMSEC-internal installation, it seems to >> > be the right time to open it to a wider community. >> > >> > >> > = Abstract = >> > >> > ALOIS stands for „Advanced Logging and Intrusion Detection System“ and >> > is meant to be a fully implemented open source SIEM (security >> > information and event management) system. >> > >> > >> > = Proposal = >> > >> > While almost all other SIEM software, be it closed or open source, >> > concentrate on the technological part of security monitoring, ALOIS is >> > aimed to monitor the security of the content. It intends to be >> > pro-active in the detection of potential loss, theft, mistaken >> > modification or unauthorized access. ALOIS works on log messages and >> > thus contains all the basic functionality of a conventional SIEM, as >> > centralized collecting, normalizing, aggregation, analyzing and >> > correlating of all log messages, as well as reporting all security >> > related events. Therefore it can be used as any other SIEM. >> > >> > ALOIS consists of five modules interacting to ensure a scaleable >> > functionality of a SIEM: >> > >> > * Insink is the message sink, which is the receiving entry point for >> > all the different log messages into ALOIS. It is partly based on the >> > syslog-ng software. Insink listens for messages (UDP), waits for >> > messages (TCP), receives message collections (files, emails) and >> > pre-filters them to prevent from message flow overload. >> > >> > * Pumpy is the incoming FIFO buffer, implemented as a relational >> > database tables. which contain the incoming original messages (in raw >> > format). In a complex system setup, there may be several insink >> > instances, e.g. for a group of hosts, for specific types of messages, or >> > for high-avaliablity. >> > >> > * Prisma contains logic to split up the text of log messages into >> > separate fields, based on regular expressions. Actually, "prisma" is a >> > set of "prismi", each one prisma for one type of log message (apache, >> > cisco etc. Several prismi can be applied to the same message. This >> > allows for stacked messages, i.e. forwarded log messages contained in >> > compressed files contained in e-mail messages. The data retrieved form >> > the log messages is stored in a database called Dobby. Due to prisma >> > being written in Ruby, prismi can be applied interactively (when having >> > system access). >> > >> > * Dobby is the central log database. It should be separated from the >> > Pumpy database for availability and performance reasons. The current >> > implementation is based on MySQL. >> > >> > * The Analyzer contains the two sub-systems Lizard and Reptor. Lizard >> > is the analysis engine and user interface of ALOIS, implemented in Ruby >> > on Rails using AJAX. It allows for interactive browsing through the >> > collected data, exclusion/inclusion/selection of data, data sorting, >> > data filtering, creation of views, ad-hoc textual and graphical >> > reporting. Reptor allows for automatic activation of views and >> > comparison of these views' results to a predefined result (pattern >> > matching). In case of mismatch, Reptor sends the result to predefined >> > e-mail addresses. >> > >> > Its modular design guarantees ALOIS to scale from little to large >> > organizations. Since there exists a Debian package, it's easy to build a >> > test system or even a productive system for small environments. >> > >> > Although the software has been in productive use for a few years, there >> > is still a lot of desired functionality missing. The plugability of new >> > connected systems is given, but needs some revision. It is a given goal >> > of the project to allow modules in other programming language. >> > Furthermore, it has been discussed if parts of the existing >> > implementation may be replaced with other proven open source software, >> > e.g. the correlation engine or the web frontend. The other way round, it >> > has been discussed that the filter creation engine would make a good >> > tool for any kind of structured data, and thus could be separated from >> > ALOIS and standardized as a stand-alone tool. >> > >> > >> > = Background = >> > >> > It's not simple to know what happens in a bigger network. There's a >> > multitude of applications, services and appliances working together. >> > Many of them provide some kind of events or state information. The >> > network administrator needs to get hands on all of them. But they come >> > in many different flavors and multiple canals. Therefore, it's hard to >> > get the big picture. Furthermore, we have learned that it's impossible >> > to protect a system against all malicious attacks and to keep all the >> > possible faulty handling away. A monitoring of the systems to guarantee >> > a pro-active handling is therefore needed.. >> > >> > Therefore, more and more organizations collect and analyze all logfiles >> > in a centralized system, called a SIEM (security information and event >> > management). The technology provides two major functions for security >> > events from networks, systems and applications: log management and >> > compliance reporting (SIM – security information management) and >> > real-time monitoring and incident management (SEM – security event >> > management). >> > >> > >> > = Rationale = >> > >> > Why another security information and event management system? It's true, >> > there's already plenty of them. While the proprietary software is way >> > too expensive for smaller to mid-sized companies, we find that the open >> > source solutions are either too simple or not completely open. For >> > example, behind each of the well known systems “OSSIM” and “Prelude”, >> > there is a company that either closes central functionality for its own >> > business or has dual licensing and therefore asks the full copyright for >> > all contributed code. >> > >> > ALOIS is aimed to be totally free and open for all contributions. The >> > openness provided for other programming languages is certainly proof of >> > this. The plug-ability - yet to be further developed - is meant to >> > guarantee that individual needs can be realized without stressing the >> > whole system too much. In our opinion, the Linux kernel is a good >> > example that this can work very well. >> > >> > Since we are in accordance with „the Apache way“, we would be very >> > pleased if ALOIS could become part of the Apache community. In Addition, >> > the Apache Logging Services would be a perfect home for the software. >> > Furthermore, it's not the intention to compete with the already existing >> > log viewer and analyzing tool „Chainsaw“. Since Chainsaw is a relatively >> > easy tool, it meets a rather different need. Nevertheless, if the two >> > projects use synergies, both can profit. >> > >> > >> > = Initial Goals = >> > >> > When this project started ins 2005, there was no proven SIEM open source >> > software and the commercial tools were way too expensive for the needed >> > environment. Therefore, we decided together with a customer of ours to >> > implement an open source SIEM tool from scratch. Now the software has >> > run in a production environment for several years and has proven its >> > functionality and reliabilty. >> > >> > >> > = Current Status = >> > >> > == Meritocracy == >> > >> > As already mentioned, ALOIS is already in production use in two >> > organizations. All the code has been written by two persons of the same >> > company in a paid employment relationship. It is obvious that this is >> > way different from the open source approach within Apache. But >> > nevertheless, the two developers have always worked as a team and the >> > decisions were made in consensus whenever possible. But it is no secret, >> > that these developers have to learn to behave in an open community. >> > Understanding this potential problem, they already got support by a >> > freelance consulter, who has the corresponding experience and knowledge. >> > >> > == Community == >> > >> > Until today there is no real community, because the project hasn't been >> > published officially, although it had been completely published on the >> > web site for a couple of months (until a server relaunch). Convinced by >> > the concept and design of the software, we are open and hope to reach >> > many contributors and users. We think that it is realistic, because the >> > SIEM issue has yet not been resolved in the OSS space. >> > >> > == Core Developers == >> > >> > ALOIS was developed by Simon Hürliman and Flavio Pellanda, both employed >> > by the company IMSEC. Concerning Design and Architecture, Marcus >> > Holthaus, owner of IMSEC, gave his input as security specialist. Since >> > the beginning of this year, Urs Lerch, a doctorate on the subject of >> > commercial open source software development, supports the team with his >> > knowledge. Simon Hürlimann has left the company three years ago, but is >> > still active in the OSS environment (although not for ALOIS). Current >> > employee Daniel Lutz (a Debian Developer) has also contributed to the >> > project. >> > >> > == Alignment == >> > >> > Besides that we strongly believe in the „Apache way“, we think that >> > although that Apache hosts the Logging Services and different security >> > projects, there is a gap when it comes to a superordinate security view. >> > We therefore think it a good idea to add our SIEM project to the Apache >> > repository. On the other side, Apache would become an even more complete >> > software repository. >> > >> > >> > = Known Risks = >> > >> > == Orphaned products == >> > >> > Since the software is only maintained by employers of one company, there >> > is a severe risk of being orphaned. But, on the one hand, the company >> > has a sustained interest in keeping the project alive, because there are >> > plans to offer services on top of ALOIS, and IMSEC uses the software for >> > SIEM on their own systems. For this reason there exists a budget for the >> > development and support of ALOIS. On the other hand, we believe that >> > ALOIS is of great interest for other people and companies tied to IT >> > security. Therefore, our step to the Apache incubator is also a step to >> > a bigger community. >> > >> > == Inexperience with Open Source == >> > >> > While ALOIS has always been licenced under the GPL, access to the source >> > code, bug tracker and version control system has been restricted to >> > internal users for most of the time. But the company has a strong >> > believe in the open source movement and therefore engages its employees >> > to take part in the community. Furthermore, it is also a strategic >> > decision to build services on top of linux. >> > >> > We understand that the Apache Incubator is a great opportunity for us to >> > get assistance, when it comes to specific questions on the open source >> > development. Even more, the company has created a part time position for >> > the open source community work. >> > >> > == Homogenous Developers == >> > >> > Although ALOIS has been developed by employees of only one company, >> > there is a thorough openness. The company is designed to stay small and >> > therefore works with several independent partners. Furthermore, its >> > employees work in geographically different parts of the country. >> > Therefore, it is no new experience for the developers to work in a >> > distributed environment and argue rather than to command. Already today >> > the employees are enforced to document all face-to-face communication in >> > the internal wiki. Sketches are photographed and stored in the project's >> > digital folder. >> > >> > == Reliance on Salaried Developers == >> > >> > Until today all the development of ALOIS has been made in a paid >> > emplyoment. Therefore we know that this brings a significant danger. >> > Since it is our stated aim to encourage participation and recruit >> > commiters, we hope to eliminate this risk as soon as possible. >> > Furthermore, the employees of IMSEC are all open source enthusiasts and >> > are in one way or another active in the community. Although we have no >> > certainty, there is good indication that the current commiters would >> > continue their work on ALOIS, even if they wouldn't be paid for it. >> > >> > == Relationships with Other Apache Products == >> > >> > The Apache Logging Service would be a perfect home for ALOIS as a >> > centralized logging collection and analyzing tool. Furthermore, we think >> > that we could share part of the code with the Chainsaw subproject, since >> > both need similar functionality in the web frontend. Since it is our >> > statet aim to replace our own code with proofen open source libraries, >> > we are open for any collaboration with other projects. For example, the >> > replacement of the MySQL with a NoSQL database might be useful for >> > performance reasons; therefore HBase is a good candidate. >> > >> > == An Excessive Fascination with the Apache Brand == >> > >> > The Apache brand is in fact for its own a very good reason to join the >> > Incubator. But much more our desire to become part of the Apache >> > Incubator is our strong believe in open source software in general and >> > in the „Apache way“ in particular. We would love to learn from the >> > experience and knowledge of the foundation's members and participants, >> > which is an important part of the brand as well. The foundation has >> > shown many times, that it has the processes and people to succeed in >> > launching a project. We would be very proud to be part of this success >> > story. >> > >> > >> > = Documentation = >> > >> > The documentation is rather weak and scattered. It has mainly been >> > maintained on a wiki and is open to improvement. Since we are totally >> > aware that this is a killer for a successfull open source project, we >> > have already started an internal project with its own budget to improve >> > this shortcomming. Once the project has been launched, writing a blog or >> > open a forum are other possibilities we already thought of. >> > >> > Furthermore, as the employees are used to work in a geographycally >> > distributed environment, a lot of the internal communication happens in >> > a chat. Thus, opening a new chat channel for the community is scheduled. >> > (To document the discussions for all those who were off-line, we would >> > send the logs daily to the mailing list.) >> > >> > >> > = Initial Source = >> > >> > Although the initial source comes from a project for a customer. it has >> > an open source licence since the beginning. Therefore it doesn't have >> > any propriatary code in it. A thorough revision before releasing it to a >> > public repository is recommend and is also in planning. >> > >> > The initial source will be a snapshot of the version control system, >> > accompanied by a related debian package. >> > >> > >> > = Source and Intellectual Property Submission Plan = >> > >> > ALOIS is currently under a GPL licence. Since there are only two >> > contributors so far, both from the same company, there is no problem to >> > re-licence the code and contribute it to Apache. The commitment of the >> > company's owner has been granted. >> > >> > >> > = External Dependencies = >> > >> > So far, no external dependencies are known. As mentioned before, a >> > thorough revision of the codebase is in planning. There it can be >> > controlled, that no other licence is affected by the code. >> > >> > >> > = Cryptography = >> > >> > ALOIS does not involve cryptographic code. >> > >> > >> > = Required Resources = >> > >> > == Mailing lists == >> > >> > The following mailing lists will be required: >> > >> > * alois-private >> > * alois-dev >> > * alois-commits >> > * alois-users >> > >> > == Subversion Directory == >> > >> > https://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/incubator/alois >> > >> > == Issue Tracking == >> > >> > JIRA ALOIS (ALOIS) >> > >> > == Other Resources == >> > >> > We would like to open a chat channel. If this isn't possible within the >> > infrastructure of Apache, we would love to do this in our own already >> > existing infrastructure. >> > >> > >> > = Initial Commiters = >> > >> > * NAME EMAIL AFFILIATION CLA >> > * Flavio Pellanda flavio.pellanda at logintas dot ch IMSEC no >> > * Urs Lerch mail at ulerch dot net IMSEC no >> > * Daniel Lutz daniel.lutz at logintas dot ch IMSEC no >> > * Marcus Holthaus marcus.holthaus at imsec dot ch IMSEC no >> > >> > >> > = Sponsors = >> > >> > == Champion == >> > >> > * Scott Deboy <sdeboy at apache dot org> >> > >> > == Nominated Mentors == >> > >> > * Scott Deboy <sdeboy at apache dot org> >> > >> > == Sponsoring Entity == >> > >> > The Incubator PMC (requested) b >> > >> >> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe, e-mail: general-unsubscr...@incubator.apache.org >> For additional commands, e-mail: general-h...@incubator.apache.org >> > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: general-unsubscr...@incubator.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: general-h...@incubator.apache.org
