OSU Open Source Lab

Top 10 Milestones

The Open Source Lab is celebrating 10 years of open source hosting, development and education. Here is a look back at some of our most important accomplishments.

1. 2003 Domain name
   The domain name osuosl.org was created on October 11 at 17:25:06 UTC.

2. 2003/04 Mozilla Firefox
   The OSL began hosting the Mozilla Foundation in 2003. In 2004, the lab began facilitating downloads of the Mozilla web browser Firefox 1.0, using Bouncer. The OSL specifically created Bouncer to help facilitate the high number of Firefox downloads: over 1 million on the first day of its release. Learn more

3. 2005 Google and TDS
   In 2005, TDS donated 600 megabits of Internet bandwidth, enabling the OSL to improve its FTP mirroring services. Google also began donating to the Lab on a regular basis, ensuring the Lab’s success in contributing to the open source community. Learn more

4. 2006 First Google Summer of Code
   The OSL has been a Google Summer of Code mentoring organization for seven years running. This year, the Lab is mentoring four students that are studying in Poland, Spain and India. Learn more

5. 2007 One Laptop per Child
   When representatives from RealNetworks visited the OSL in 2007, they were impressed with the quality of work OSL students Michael Burns and Justin Gallardo had completed on One Laptop per Child and with their passion for open source projects. Burns and Gallardo credited energy drinks and pizza with aiding their efforts. Learn more

6. 2008 First Beaver BarCamp
   After attending BarCamp Portland, former OSL student employee Alex Polvi convinced Associate Professor Timothy Budd to help him create Beaver BarCamp, an open, informal conference. Now in its fifth year, Beaver BarCamp has expanded to include non-tech sessions. Learn more

7. 2010 Ganeti Web Manager
   Ganeti Web Manager is a Web application developed at the OSL that allows administrators and clients access to administer and use Google’s open source cloud infrastructure. GWM also trains students working at the Lab in software and infrastructure development.

   “It gives our students partially real-world experience working on a project, similar to what they might get down the road working for a company, where they might inherit code and have to work with what they’ve been given,” OSL Director Lance Albertson says.

8. 2011 Drupal 7
   The OSL began hosting Drupal’s servers in 2005, helping Drupal to expand along with its growing community of users. In 2011, Drupal celebrated its tenth anniversary and Drupal.org was redesigned with the help of the OSL and former OSL employees. In addition, Drupal 7 was released and Drupal.org migrated to the Git version control system. Learn more

9. 2012 Expanding with new projects: Python Software Foundation and Systers
   A growing, high-impact project used extensively at the OSL, the Python Software Foundation needed more centralized hosting and chose the OSL. Currently, the lab is moving various Python services to the OSL-managed cloud. In addition, the OSL began hosting Systers, an email community promoting women in computing, as part of the Lab’s expanding outreach efforts.

   “We encourage diversity in all forms including encouraging women in the tech industry,” Albertson says. “We wanted to ensure Systers was on stable footing to continue to grow as a project and a community.”

10. 2013 School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
    In August, the OSL joined the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Oregon State in order to enhance its ability to mentor students and promote open source education.

    In addition, the OSL began celebrating a decade of open source hosting, development and education. By focusing on three key areas—education, outreach, and research and infrastructure—the OSL is taking the lead to build the future of the open source community. Learn more