Thursday, February 7, 2008

And so, it begins

I've never been one for blogging, and I'm unsure as to how long I'll keep this up, but for now, I may as well just chronicle the work I'm doing and things I'm thinking!

My aim for this blog, is to create (yet another) insight into the world of LTSP computing, specifically when using Edubuntu.
Before I get into the chunky information, some background:
My name, is Daniel Hunt.
I'm 24 years old at the time of writing, and I'm also the technical contact for my old secondary school. As a result of the relationship I've built up with the computers teacher there, I installed (and currently maintain) their Windows network.

Now, here's some information on the current setup in the school (which will remain unnamed for the time being) that may or may not end up running an Edubuntu LTSP network:

Server 1:
Windows 2003 Server (DHCP, Domain Controller, Login Server ... basically, everything)
Specs to follow.

Client 1:
30 machines
Windows 2000
P4 2Ghz CPU
1 Gig RAM

Client 2:
15-20 machines
Windows 98 / Windows 2000
P3 1Ghz CPU
512 Mb RAM

Client 3:
5-10 machines
Windows 98 / Windows 2000
P2/3 700Mhz CPU
256-512 Mb RAM

So, as you can see, there are 60-70 machines (give or take a few that work whenever they feel like it), and every one of them are running some form of the Windows OS.
Given that over half of the machines would be considered "low-spec", and that the cost of upgrading or replacing these machines (and the monitors that they're using) would be far too high for any normal public secondary school, I've been considering the move over to Linux.

LTSP is an absolutely fantastic technology, in theory. And I'm very interested in finding out how well it works in practice.

I've just managed to get my hands on Server 2, which outranks the Server 1 on the specifications level (but not by a whole lot) - I'll post them in an update in the coming week or so, and I'm hoping to install Edubuntu on it, and then (and here's the hard part) convince the computers teacher in the school I help out that its the right thing for them.

*edit*
Server 2:
No operating system installed
Dual Processor - 933Mhz
1 Gig RAM
4 x 9 Gig SCSI Disks

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