What are "Thin Clients"? / What is LTSP? / What is Edubutu?

What are "Thin Clients" ?

Diskless-clients are just one method of connecting computers together to form a network (lab).

Workstations are referred to as diskless-clients or "thin-clients" since most of the processing is performed by the server, and routine tasks (like accepting input from mouse & keyboard and displaying graphics on monitor) are performed just in the thin client's internal memory (RAM).

A newer configuration option is to configure a lab to use diskless fat-clients. This allows the processing power to be distributed to the workstations (within their internal memory or RAM).

Advantages of Using Diskless Workstations:

• Save money on hardware (use older machines as workstations, purchase one powerful central server)
• LTSP is distributed under GPL (Gnu Public License) and will always be free
• Ease of upgrading or installing software on central server instead of creating and installing images on multiple machines...
• Thin client workstations are reliable (I have seen this with my own eyes)
• Reduced vulnerability from viruses

What is LTSP?

LTSP stands for (Linux Terminal Server Project). Here is a link to their website: ltsp.org

LTSP is a free application to connect older (legacy) machines to act as "workstations" which are connected to a central computer... The technology was developped by Jim MacQuillan, who is the inventor and current project leader of LTSP. I actually had the pleasure of meeting Jim when he accepted my invitation to speak at Seneca's Open Source Symposium several years ago (Know referred to as FSOSS).

I still maintain that the LTSP irc is one of the most user-friendly IRC channels on the Internet...

Seneca College's Involvement in LTSP

Since 1998 one of my colleagues at Seneca College, John Selmys, experimented with a technique to cost-effectively connect old "junky" computers that did not have a hard disk drive to a more powerful computer server. When that computer department moved in 2005, it was discovered that those "ancient" machines were still being used by students to work on their assignments / perform homework...

Seneca College, over the past 6-7 years have supported Seneca staff to start projects to donate, install, and support several high-schools in the Toronto area that are in need of affordable networking solutions. I was one of the people involved in this project. I also have volunteered to help set up a Linux lab for a church in Orangeville, Ontario...

Here are some pictures of the Linux Computer Labs we helped to set up:

Highschools:

• [ png ] Emery Collegiate Secondary School (Toronto, ON)
• [ jpg ] Parkdale Collegiate Institute (Toronto, ON)
• [ N/A ] George S. Henry Secondary School (Toronto, ON)

Other Organizations:

• [ dir ] Westminster United Church (Orangeville, ON) [ Westminster Computer Lab WIKI ]

What is Edubuntu?

Edubuntu is the "educational version" of the Ubuntu Linux distribution. This distribution comes "bundled" with educational-based software, ranging from Kindergarten to College and University (for free of course).

Edubuntu is designed to provide educators with the resources to set up an inexpensive computer lab. One of the versions (Alternate Edubuntu CD) comes with LTSP automatically installed, so it is not necessary to install and setup LTSP after installation...

Here is a link to the Edubuntu webpage (for more information):

http://edubuntu.org/