A MNC sales department hired my services as a software consultant to build them a web application.
This web app generates excel files based on their internal business processes.
This web application is done, and I told them I need to deploy this in a server.
Their IT department is based in another country and we spent 6 months getting the permission for a server. After much paperwork and red tape, we still see no sign of a server anywhere.
Our workaround is that the sales department will buy a 1U server on my recommendations. The sales department also secured a place in a lab on the same floor as their offices. The lab head allows us to place a 1U rack server inside.
However, we have 2 issues that I am not in the best position to answer. So I am seeking the advice of server admin experts here.
1) the lab only allows the machines to be connected to their internal intranet. My web application which can be accessed via the web browser requires a url. I was thinking of getting a static IP address, so that the sales department can access via http://some-static-ip/webapp
This means we need to get the IT department to help us. After the last 6 months of red tape, the sales department is apprehensive about asking them for a static internal IP address.
Is there a workaround that we can do on our end to avoid asking the IT department for help?
UPDATE
I will take up @MichaelHampton advice and go above the IT department about the static IP address. My focus is now on the 2nd question.
2) Let's say we have managed to deploy my web application in this server that is placed within the intranet.
We need to regularly update the web application and the OS. (We are probably going to use ubuntu 12.04 server version)
There will be no internet connection for this server as the lab it will be in is only connected to the internal network.
My code is placed on github, I am already prepared to go down every once a month to update the code base for the web app using a thumb drive.
However, I do not know what I can do to update the OS without internet access.
Is there a hardware/software solution I can consider to overcome this? I believe I can convince the sales department to pay for such a solution if it makes sense.
E.g., I buy some kind of mobile broadband dongle I can attach to the server?
Whenever I go down to the lab, I need to unhook the server from the internal network, attach the dongle to the server so that the server now will have internet access via the dongle. I can then update the server OS and codebase easily.
After I am done, I will detach the dongle and then hook the server back to the internal network.
UPDATE
I would like to take any suggestions here for the 2nd question to the IT department or to the management above the IT department.
UPDATE1
WE eventually found a way with the IT team to allow server update by opening a connection via the proxy.
Thank you.