[K12OSN] Christmas Upgrade

[j.w. thomas]

Those are good thoughts.  I'll see if I can scare up a switch with a 
gigE uplink.

The old server was 64-bit, and I am running EL5-64 on it already.  The 
new one had better be a 64-bitter as well, or I think the 6G will be 
50%+ more memory than it can use.

Terrell Prude' Jr. wrote:
> I kinda doubt it's the server, but that 100Mbit network you mentioned 
> does raise a flag.  Does that also include the connection to your server?
> 
> About 6 years ago, I had a dual-Athlon MP, 1.4GHz box with 3.5GB DRAM 
> serving 24 clients daily, with simultaneous OpenOffice.org and Firefox 
> sessions open (school computer lab), and that server had no problems 
> with it.  Response (for that era) was snappy, and the K12LTSP server was 
> not overloaded.  The difference was that I had a Gig-E connection to the 
> server.
> 
> Never, ever say no to a more powerful box!  I envy you.  :-)  If that 
> server has built-in Gig-E, which I suspect it does, then make sure you 
> have a Gig-E port on whatever switch you're connecting it to.  This is, 
> as Joe Biden would say, a big...umm...deal.  :-D  Seriously, though, 
> this is.  The clients can be 100Mbit, no problem, but the server should 
> hook up to Gig.
> 
> I'm assuming that the CPU's are also more powerful than your current 
> server.  Is this is 64-bit server, perchance?  If so, then you can run 
> 64-bit K12LTSP 5EL on it, but there are a few things to be aware of, 
> especially with regard to Firefox and plugins.  Let us know, and again, 
> congrats!
> 
> --TP
> 
> j.w. thomas wrote:
>> I've been running a K12LTSP 5EL for a couple of years, and have just 
>> been donated a newer server.  It has something like 6G of ram compared 
>> to 2G on its replacement, and a massive SATA drive vs a tiny IDE.
>>
>> The clients will remain unchanged - 10 year-old Gateways with 256M 
>> RAM.  We have six of these.
>>
>> A parent at our school donated the server.  He was inspired to do this 
>> because late last year the students had prepared some ooimpress 
>> presentations, and had ten of them running on the six terminals (four 
>> of them were minimized).  It was dismal.
>>
>> I don't think that a new server was the solution, but he could not be 
>> dissuaded.  My guess is that running OOo on the clients would be a 
>> better approach to solving the bottleneck.
>>
>> The network is 100Mbit, via an unmanaged switch.
>>
>> I plan to bring the new server online over the Christmas break.  Is it 
>> possible to set this up for running an app locally with EL5?  I am 
>> terrified of upgrading to something newer, especially in light of the 
>> age of the thin clients.
>>
>> What should I do with the old server?
>>
>> Advice solicited and appreciated.
>>
> 
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-- 
Jim Thomas            Principal Applications Engineer  Bittware, Inc
jthomas at bittware.com  http://www.bittware.com    (603) 226-0404 x536
A great mind thinks alike.