[Computerbank] The Do-It-Yourself Thin Client Server

[Nicolas Pettiaux]

Hello 

A comment from the other site of the world.

Yes LTSP is a way to easily set-up a network of light 
X-clients around a strong server. 

We have (as many other have also in other part of the world) installed a 
pilot site in a classroom in Brussels, and this has helped to convince the 
minister to go further: there is a plan to install 5 computers in each 
classroom of about 600 schools (altogether about 40000 clients). 
This can be quoted to your authorities.

These clients will be refurbished old computers while the servers will be new 
computers, and most of the work will be done by local social workers. 
(hence my name on the computerbank page !)

We are building a prototype to industrialise the installation, and have 
developed a way to even simplify LTSP: automatic installation recognition of 
the clients once they are plugged and booted. But this had the price: some 
work (not yet finished enough to be released say the developpers ...) and 
another configuration file than LTSP. We plan to add our work to other (see 
below)

For the time being there is also the simple solution ABULEDU (now only in 
French for those who understand) from our friends from Bordeaux.

With 2 CD and 2 diskettes, you can nearly without work automatically install 
a server with a classroom setting. 

Everything can be downloaded from www.abuledu.org 

I suppose help in translating to other languages would be welcome . 

Please do not hesitate to try and report your experience.

In the future, much experience could be exchanged between you and us.

Best regards,

Nicolas

PS please note that I'll be on holiday from July 14 till August 8.

LTSP is a well done solution, 
For those who understand French, there is even a simpler solution
than caring to install LTSP on a Linux distribution. 
Try Abuledu (from our 
Le Jeudi 12 Juillet 2001 04:51, Michael C White a écrit :
> Is this the do it yourself tool that will make our 486's and low
> end pentiums
> when connected to a decent server running this software really
> get up and fly?
> I'm not very good at linux yet so can't really evaluate it,
> but it strikes me if we could go to a school and say with this
> free software,
> and this hard ware from computerbank
> you can have a network to equal anything around, virtually free,
> then maybe we would get a fair bit of interest.
> How about if we offered the headmaster say a low end pentium
> with linux on it to evaluate..
> In another life I was appointed to the remote area Education
> committee of the NSW Government by the Premier,
> under the then Minister of Education.
> Maybe there is a way we can make reccomendation to them.
> Any one else on these lists have any connection with Government?
> Regards Michael
>
> Linux Terminal Server Project 2.08
> http://www.zdnet.com/eweek/stories/general/0,11011,2780551,00.htm
> l
>
> LTSP brings Linux to X Window desktops
> Roger Hartje, eWEEK Labs
> July 2, 2001  12:00 AM ET
>
> Providing an economical migration path to back-end, server-based
> computing and centralized administration, Linux Terminal Server
> Project 2.08 is a stable open-source offering that converts
> virtually all major distributions of Linux into an X Window
> terminal server for thin clients.
>
> http://www.ltsp.org/index.php
> Linux makes a great platform for deploying diskless workstations
>           that boot from a network server.  The LTSP is all
> about running
>           thin client computers in a GNU/Linux environment.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> computerbank mailing list
> computerbank at lists.linux.org.au
> http://lists.linux.org.au/listinfo/computerbank

-- 
Nicolas Pettiaux
Avenue du Pérou 29
B-1000 Brussels