[Ltsp] Re: K12LTSP efforts

[John Hebert]

--- Michael Murray <mmurray at i-55.com> wrote:
> I spent most of Sunday afternoon rearranging my home
> office to 
> accommodate a second desk, then installing a P3
> 450MHz terminal server. 
> My first installation attempt was v4.1, but I had
> difficulty with the 
> thin client: it was returning a "screens not found"
> error and halting. 
> I understand this to mean the video chipset on the
> IBM 300GL thin 
> client may not be supported in Fedora 2. Lacking the
> rudimentary skills 
> needed to resolve the problem, I installed the v3.12
> Red Hat 9-based 
> version and everything worked as advertised. So now
> I have a 
> functioning system to fiddle with. The server has
> 448MB RAM  but only 
> an 8GB IDE drive. Still much configuration work to
> do when I have 
> someone competent at my elbow.

Michael,

Congrats on getting a test server up. Note that I've
CCed: ltsp at brlug.net in this reply. Recommend strongly
that we move our discussion to the ltsp at brlug.net
mailing list, which will require that you subscribe to
it:
http://www.brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/ltsp_brlug.net

> My problematic experiences attempting installations
> on several 
> dual-processor servers suggest that typical
> mainstream hardware is 
> likelier to work than my old PII IBM Netfinity 5000
> and similar 
> servers. Maybe we'll be better off setting up small
> systems with a P3 
> like the above and four or five terminals: just
> enough for a typical 
> classroom. Even if we succeed in configuring the
> older servers, we run 
> into bandwidth issues on the available ethernet
> switches. A 24-port 
> 10/100 switch with gigabit uplink ports ($180
> education pricing: 
> http://amer.com/catalogue/asr24g2.html ) is ideal,
> but we're lucky to 
> get a 10Mbps switch with 100Mbps uplink ports (this
> is what I'm using 
> now). Since we have no funding at all, we can only
> scale up to our 
> hardware constraints.

Gotcha. I guess we will take what hardware we can get!
:)

As a group sees what kind of return an LTSP lab can
give, I think it will be easier for that group to
devote funds to it to scale it up.

> It occurs to me that a viable business might be
> built around leasing 
> fully configured K12LTSP labs to schools. Systems
> could be configured 
> with proper servers (dual 3GHz Xeon with 4GB RAM)
> and adequate 
> switches, yet still enjoy the economy of thin
> clients and open source 
> software. Remote administration would be a snap, and
> a support contract 
> would be included in the lease (a percentage of each
> contract to the 
> administrator, who could work from his home). The
> overall contract 
> would be so low-priced (by comparison to what most
> are spending per 
> screen now) that it would be damn near irresistible
> if one could only 
> overcome political issues. No limit to where this
> might go, and I 
> suggest that such a commercial endeavor might better
> benefit Louisiana 
> schools than our pro bono undertaking. Still, I
> maintain my enthusiasm 
> for the work at hand, as it really is a noble
> effort. And it's a 
> prerequisite to any commercial ambition.

Sure, that could work. I would also like to point out
that $ could be made in the simple labor it requires
to set up and maintain hardware for LTSP systems. Even
non-profits require funds to operate.

> I put in a call this afternoon to David Grant at
> CACRC and was told he 
> was out for the day because his grandmother had
> passed away.

David emailed me a few days ago to ask about Knoppix.
Gave him some answers but hadn't heard from him since,
so this sad news would explain that.

> My week is fully scheduled and I won't have more
> time for the LTSP 
> project until Saturday at the earliest. I have an
> auction to attend in 
> Montgomery, then a huge load to bring in from a
> previous sale. I'm best 
> reached on cellphone for this week.

Again, I recommend that you subscribe to the
ltsp at brlug.net mailing list so that more people can
join in on the discussion.

John



		
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