[K12OSN] Server/Client Performance

Tue Nov 30 00:00:42 UTC 2004

Mark Cockrell wrote:

> Hello all,
>    I'm hoping to set up a very small K12LTSP deployment for a local 
> church in the near future using donated (trashed, actually) hardware 
> and I have a question regarding performance.  I've got a pretty 
> low-end PC here that I want to use as the server: a P-233 with 256MB 
> RAM.  What kind of performance can I expect for 2 clients connected to 
> this machine for use as a Web Browsing/Word Processing cluster?  Is it 
> a safe assumption that the clients would perform these tasks about as 
> well as the server itself?
>

Abysmal, I'm afraid.  I've run both FreeBSD and GNU/Linux with KDE + 
OpenOffice.org on a K6-2/450 with 512MB DRAM ("full workstation" mode), 
and it felt "acceptable".  I could use it as a daily workstation, but I 
wouldn't use it as a LTSP server of any sort.  For LTSP, and therefore 
K12LTSP, DRAM is your first friend, followed immediately by CPU oomph.  
I'd go with nothing less than an 800MHz box for two clients with a bare 
minimum of 512MB DRAM.  An AMD Athlon box of practically any speed with 
512MB or more DRAM and 100Mbps Ethernet should do it for two clients 
rather nicely.  Make sure that you're on a 100Mbps mini-switch instead 
of a mini-hub, though.  You don't want to mess with hubs with any LTSP 
architecture.  Eight-port 100Mbps mini-switches can be had for $50 if 
you shop decently.

On the other hand, that P-233 would make a very good thin client.  I use 
old P-166's and P-233's for this purpose, and they're very nice in this 
mode.  If you need to actually install an operating system on that 
P-233, then consider Damn Small Linux (www.damnsmalllinux.org).  It's 
been optimized to run in full workstation mode on slower hardware.

Do you foresee the need for more than two thin clients in this church at 
any time within the next year or so?

--TP
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