[K12OSN] K12LTSP wireless?

Tue Nov 22 16:23:14 UTC 2005

Yes, you can, but first you have to turn off the DHCP server on the K12LTSP box and add 
some parameters to the DHCP server on Windows server.  The key piece is the 
'next-server' setting, as it tells the the Linux clients where to get their kernel and 
root file system, etc.  Read this thread and search the archives for 'next-server':

https://listman.redhat.com/archives/k12osn/2004-August/msg00716.html

Dan Hopson wrote:
> Thanks for your help Petre...I was just looking for a shortcut from 
> having to run UTP to all the stations in the lab.  As I was reading your 
> response, another question came to mind.  Presently, I have access to a 
> Windows-based lab of 16 stations that are all plugged into a 24-port 
> 10/100 switch.  A single 100 Mbps UTP line, connected to our school 
> server, comes into the 24-port switch.  I would like to attempt to boot 
> these stations to the K12LTSP server to see how it will handle the 16 
> stations simultaneously.  Here's my question:  Can I simply plug the 
> K12LTSP server (both eth0 and eth1) into two of the free ports on the 
> switch and it still function as an on demand server whenever the lab 
> stations are booted with a K12LTSP floppy?  If this is possible, I can 
> still boot to Windows via the hard drive on each lab station.  I teach 
> Introduction to Networking in high school and this would allow me to 
> teach both Windows and Linux networking.
> 
> Thanks again to the group!
> 
> Dan.
> 
> 
>> From: Petre Scheie <petre at maltzen.net>
>> Reply-To: "Support list for opensource software in schools." 
>> <k12osn at redhat.com>
>> To: "Support list for opensource software in schools." 
>> <k12osn at redhat.com>
>> Subject: Re: [K12OSN] K12LTSP wireless?
>> Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 07:58:59 -0600
>>
>> Doubtful.  I think the consensus these days is that one should use a 
>> gigabit card for eth0.  Using a 100Mbit card for eth0 will work for up 
>> to perhaps 10 or 15 clients, but even that assumes you are using a 
>> switch which keeps each client's traffic separate from all others.  
>> Wireless is shared bandwidth, and loses more of its bandwidth to 
>> overhead.  Even with 802.11g and proprietary compression, you won't 
>> get anywhere near fast ethernet's 100Mbit (which doesn't really 
>> deliver 100Mbit either).  If you want to do wireless, I'd suggest 
>> having a few clients connect via wire to an access point that is in 
>> bridging mode, and have one card in the server for each access point, 
>> and put each AP/wireless-card-in-server pair on a different channel.  
>> There are 11 channels to choose from but they overlap, so to get 
>> enough 'space' between the channels, you really only can use channels 
>> 1,6, and 11.  That means you can support three APs.  That's using 
>> 802.11g which operates in the 2.4Ghz band.  Then if you repeat that 
>> setup using 802.11a equipment, which operates in the 5Ghz band, but 
>> isn't as commonly found, you should be able to add a few more.  I'm 
>> doubtful that you'll get to 25 clients, though.
>>
>> I'd start small, with say five clients and then work up from there.  
>> Oh, and having the clients work directly with a wireless card will be 
>> hard.  The client boot image only supports one or two cards, and 
>> hasn't been updated for a while.  You'll have more success if you run 
>> a wire from the client to an access point which then connects to the 
>> server.
>>
>> Petre
>>
>> Dan Hopson wrote:
>>
>>> OK...I guess what I am wanting to do is have a wireless NIC only on 
>>> eth0 and wireless NICs in the terminal machines...is this feasible 
>>> with 25 terminals?
>>>
>>> Dan.
>>>
>>>
>>>> From: Petre Scheie <petre at maltzen.net>
>>>> Reply-To: "Support list for opensource software in schools." 
>>>> <k12osn at redhat.com>
>>>> To: "Support list for opensource software in schools." 
>>>> <k12osn at redhat.com>
>>>> Subject: Re: [K12OSN] K12LTSP wireless?
>>>> Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 07:53:48 -0600
>>>>
>>>> Perhaps but not necessarily; there are a lot of cards out there.  
>>>> Since you reference eth0 and eth1, are you thinking of putting 
>>>> wireless cards in the server?  I see two problems with that plan: 1) 
>>>> wireless bandwidth, which is shared, won't handle many client 
>>>> connections before it gets saturated; 2) running a wireless card in 
>>>> the server suggests you want to try wireless clients, which isn't 
>>>> very feasible at this point.  A package was made a year or two ago 
>>>> that would work with some wireless client cards, but the list is 
>>>> quite short.  It's kind of a catch-22: to talk to the wireless card, 
>>>> there has to be support for PCMCIA, but to do that you have to have 
>>>> a kernel loaded, but to load a kernel you have to have networking 
>>>> working which means supporting PCMCIA, and so on.
>>>>
>>>> More information on what you want to do would be helpful.  Tell us 
>>>> what you have in mind.
>>>>
>>>> Petre
>>>>
>>>> Dan Hopson wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I am just getting started with Linux networking.  Will K12LTSP work 
>>>>> with all wireless NICs on both eth0 and eth1?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks, Dan.
>>>>>
>>>>>
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