[K12OSN] K12LTSP Over Dialup

[Petre Scheie]

Even at 200k, that's at least four times the bandwidth you'll ever get with 
dial-up.  LTSP isn't the same thing as VNC.  LTSP loads the client's whole 
operating system over the wire, whereas VNC uses a special program on an already 
running client machine to allow the server to just transmit streamlined screen 
updates.  You don't want to try LTSP over dial-up; your users won't accept it. 
I'm not even sure how you'd get the client to dial the phone to make the 
connection, as to do so would require an OS to already be loaded on the client 
to control the modem, etc. And VNC over dial-up is only so-so; it beats driving 
in on the weekend to tend to a box, but it pales compared to actually being 
there, and I doubt regular users will find it tolerable.

Petre

Jim and Kelly Younkin wrote:
> This statement makes me wonder about LTSP:
> " The whole concept of thin clients requires a fast connection to the
> server to work.  "
> 
> Here is something I read about using VNC with Linux:
> "You would be shocked at how little bandwidth is required to do such a
> thing. For efficiency disable all screen savers and set the desktop
> background to a neutral wallpaper with no fancy stuff. I run on machine
> with 120 users on it and the bandwidth used is about 200k average. X is
> incredibly efficient as long as you can keep the necessary screen
> refresh rates down by not running too much eye candy."
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: k12osn-bounces at redhat.com [mailto:k12osn-bounces at redhat.com] On
> Behalf Of Les Mikesell
> Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 11:35 AM
> To: Support list for opensource software in schools.
> Subject: Re: [K12OSN] K12LTSP Over Dialup
> Importance: Low
> 
> On Fri, 2004-06-11 at 10:18, Jim and Kelly Younkin wrote:
> 
>>I am new to Linux, but I have a project that I believe would be
> 
> perfect
> 
>>for it and my research has pointed me to K12LTSP as the distro that
> 
> will
> 
>>work best, however I have a question about running the thin clients
> 
> over
> 
>>a dialup connection.
>>
>>I plan to have about 20 remote offices set up as thin clients, with a
>>dialup connection to a K12LTSP server.  They need to be able to have
>>internet access, e-mail and office software.
>>
>>Is performance going to be unbearable over a 56K dialup?  What server
>>hardware would you recommend for this project?
> 
> 
> The whole concept of thin clients requires a fast connection to the
> server to work.  If you only have one person at each office,
> consider some other topology.  If you have several people at each
> office it would work to have a suitably sized local server and
> several thin clients at each.  If you just want to avoid
> software installs at the remote site you might run a live-CD
> linux version like Knoppix.   56k is OK for occasional email
> transfers or working in character mode.  It's not fast enough
> to run typical GUI programs over or even loading/saving data
> for everyday use.  You'll either want DSL/cable modem speeds
> for each office, or do most work locally, or special applications
> written with low bandwidth in mind.
> 
> ---
>   Les Mikesell
>    les at futuresource.com
> 
> 
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