[K12OSN] Question on diskless vs diskfull clients & how to get them

Eric Harrison eharrison at mail.mesd.k12.or.us
Fri Mar 19 08:11:47 UTC 2004


On Thu, 18 Mar 2004, Chris Kacoroski wrote:

>Hi,
>
>We are considering a LTSP project and am wondering the following:
>
>1.  If there is any difference to how LTSP is set and configured if you 
>have a diskless or diskfull client.  Does it make a difference on the 
>network load?  Server load?  With a diskfull client I am assuming you 
>could cache some stuff on the disk.

A diskless client will usually use more bandwidth than a "fat" client.

The rule-of-thumb I usually use is to recommend a 1Gbps uplink from
the server (the clients are just fine at 100Mbps) if you have more than
30 clients on a single server with a "normal" usage pattern. If you are
doing lots of video or games or "tuxtype" type applications, you may
want to lower that down to 20 clients per server requiring a GigE nic
in the server.

>2. Options for getting clients.  So far I am looking at:
>
>a) buy diskless workstation terminals like the Term 150

Absolutely silent and small. Low heat, no moving parts.

>b) buy parts and have the local kids build small form factor diskless 
>workstations

Certainly an option.

>c) use old macs (of which we have a lot).  concerned about maintenance 
>issues here

I'm hoping that bill_c (of ppc-ltsp fame) will be at LFNW next month!

>d) donated pc's.  concerned about variability and viability here.

Mixed bag. Sometimes wonderful, sometimes a bigger pain than it is 
worth. I know Mike in your office has experience with marginal donated 
hardware...

Donated HW works great if it is easy for you to get rid of the junk that
is just not worth the effort to get running.

-Eric





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