LIcence free alternatives...

[johnny]

Hi,

 

I consider setting up ubuntu 'terminal' servers and have our 250 students dual-boot up to some kind of linux thin client software with their private notebooks.

 

The client should be able to run the openoffice apps and a web browser sufficient compatible with IE with regards of features and display.

 

Furthermore the teacher should be able to check that all students in his classroom actually run the client software and not use their notebook's xp to do 'other tasks'...

 

Having said this, what options do I have? What are you guys using in similar scenarios? Does it exist a reliable dual-boot option to let the students use their xp os at home but be forced to use the client at school?

 

Also have any of you used *nux terminal servers? How many students should we count per server?

 

I want (if possible) to get rid of M$ and licence fees for the students (have enough with all the employees etc ;-)

 

Thanks for comments and suggestions

 

regards

 

johnny

[Ric_]

Check out Edubuntu at http://edubuntu.org/ - comes with OpenOffice, Firefox and much more. Support for running as LTSP are also there.

 

On the clients you could dual boot or PXE boot to Thinstation (see http://www.thinstation.org ).

 

I don't use Linux terminal servers but my windows servers can easily handle 30 concurrent users a piece running the memory hog that is IE.

[CyberNerd]

On the clients you could dual boot or PXE boot to Thinstation (see http://www.thinstation.org ).

 

Thinstation won't boot LTSP, it will run a remote X session, FreeNX or VNC though.

 

I don't think LTSP is the way forward here for the following reasons:

they are private machines, hence all different hardware.

laptops = wireless, LTSP = high bandwidth

need to boot by PXE.

 

Probably your best bet is something like http://freenx.berlios.de/ or http://www.nomachine.com/ (commercial, better management and monitoring). I think its a closer match to what you want to do, you can publish specific applications, bandwidth is lower than LTSP. You could wrap it all together with Suns Taretella server (not free). NX could run from dual boot thinstation (again potential hardware problems) or from the windows client. Downside of NX is that apps can't use the clients processor (can with LTSP) and encryption increases processor usage, but if apps are published you probably use less resources anyway.