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).
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 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)
- [ ] George S. Henry Secondary School (Toronto, ON)
Other Organizations:
- [ ] Westminster United Church (Orangeville, ON)
What is Edubuntu?
Edubuntu is the "educational version" of the Ubuntu Linux distribution. This distribution comes "bundled" with educational-based software.