[K12OSN] OT: still have sluggish system

[dahopkins at comcast.net]

A BIG thanks to everyone for the suggestions.  Over the last 14 hours, I have tried/implemented most of them.  The last thing that was tried was to delele all roaming profiles from samba and let the Windows Terminal Server recreate profiles on first login.  After this step, everything is now working as expected.  However, I really appreciate all of the time that was spent on solving this issue.  Also, I want to at least answer most of the questions that were raised so that there isn't confusion.

> Now I'm confused....you're telling us that the windows server hits 100%
> CPU use when 10 users log in or 10 users start to use Type to Learn?  

Historically, the windows terminal server would reach 100% load at 10 users running this package.  This though did not affect the performance of the package and it would work.  The issue that I was having was that at 10 users running the package the system was hanging.  That has been resolved as well as the load spikes on the Linux Terminal Servers.

> So
> why are we looking at the K12LTSP box as the culprit?  Assuming you don't
> use Type to Learn or Windows Terminal Services....is everything else OK? 

Almost,  there are still some issues with gnome-screensaver starting and loading the system.  I now intend to completely disable the screensaver.

> In other words does K12LTSP work OK without using Windows TS?  

Yes, it does except for the above issue.

> Let's
> narrow it down to the machine first.  As for the dhcp configuration
> mystery....Eric simply defined it in /etc/sysconfig/dhcpd....you can
> define any file to be the dhcpd configuration file in there.  Are you
> assuming the K12LTSP server upgrade is at fault?  

Actually, I was assuming that I had somehow ended up with a hardware issue on the upgrade or an incompatibility issue with Windows Advanced Server 2000.  Since patching my systems is something that I only do during the summer (if possible), I was also looking at the Windows box as a possible issue as well. To further complicate it, the Tech Coord re-installed the package in question 'on the fly' which introduced more uncertainty.

>Did you update anything
> on the Windows server around the same time?  (I'm not accusing...simply
> walking you through a process)  I have a K12LTSP v5 setup with Samba/LDAP
> (running on a different machine...not the K12LTSP server) and a Windows TS
> with no issues.  It is entirely possible that a patch in Windows caused
> the issue.  If nothing else is a problem on the K12LTSP server....it's
> quite possible the issue doesn't lie with the K12LTSP server.  

It doesn't.  The server is behaving correctly.  What led down this path was the very high level of traffic on the switch which interconnects all of the servers.  

> I'm stumped
> as to how anything from the K12LTSP server would cause the Windows Server
> CPU to go nuts....
> Just another note of wisdom....quit patching the system all the time....if
> it's working leave it alone  ;-)  Been bitten by that bug before.  Keep
> the servers behind a firewall and you'll be fine for the most part.

I agree, I try and 'freeze' the configuration at the start of the school year.  This year though this particular issue came up.  I, and others here, were quite frantic since for 3 years this worked, and now, ... this.  
>
> One more question...and maybe this has been asked....is the K12LTSP server
> at version 5?  If so is it a fresh install or a yum upgrade or something?

It is a completely fresh install of v5.  I am very hesitant to do upgrades.  Easier to save the data and add it back.