DAWO: a Linux workplace for government
Almost every government laptop runs software the government itself has little influence over. Which updates arrive, what the licences cost and where data ends up: the supplier decides. DAWO shows it can be done differently. It is an open source workplace for government laptops, on Linux, with management captured as code. A Dutch municipality is testing the workplace in a pilot.
What is DAWO?
DAWO is a Linux workplace that came out of the DAWO community. The whole configuration lives as code in git. Every version is fixed and can be rebuilt. That way you know exactly what is on a laptop, and you can show it too.
The workplace has two layers. A generic base that is the same for every organisation, and a thin layer on top with what belongs to one municipality. This lets several government bodies use the same base and improve it together.
Secure from the first start
A government workplace must meet the BIO and the NCSC guidance, and it must be demonstrable. That is why hardening is switched on by default in DAWO:
- disk encryption, so a lost laptop does not become a data breach;
- a firewall that only allows what is needed;
- logging, so you can trace what happened.
Staff can still reach their existing virtual desktops. We install new laptops over the network, without a USB stick per device.
Management at scale with Sextant
Setting up one laptop is not hard. Keeping hundreds of laptops identical is. That is what Sextant is for, the open source fleet management tool under the EUPL licence. The console shows what every laptop really runs. Updates go out in rings: first to a few machines, and only then to the rest.
What does BB Open do?
We help build the workplace and are the steward of Sextant. We also built the member portal for DAWO and set up the workspace. Read more in our portfolio.
What does this mean for your organisation?
- Verifiable. Code, configuration and management are open to inspection.
- No lock-in. Everything runs on open source and open standards.
- Your own control. You decide what is on the workplace and when updates arrive.
Want to know whether a Linux workplace fits your organisation? Take a look at our Linux workplace service or get in touch. We are happy to think along.