[K12OSN] Recomendation for LTSP thin clients

Wed Aug 6 14:35:46 UTC 2014

If NetTop will be equipped with internal HDD with OS - yes, NetTop can work as stand alone computer.

Please i wish to know if the nettop can work as a stand alone computer ???

On Aug 6, 2014 10:19 AM, "Radek Bursztynowski" <radek at bursztynowski.waw.pl> wrote:
Brian,

Let me share my experience. Perhaps I don't fit exactly your question, but there is my experience:

Regarding 1.

It depends on what you use thin client. If you execute any application on yout thin client locally (like a fat client) thin client performance is essential. If not, older machines used as a thin client are fine. I use d510 NetTop (with 1 GB of memory) http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/nettop-d510.html, and I can say that it is optimal machine for K12Linux. I bought theses NetTops with no internal HDD. From my poing of view D510 NetTop with K12Linux on CentOS 6.5 x86_64 servrer is optimal solution. NetTop 510 price was $178 including VAT. I prefere NetTops because owing to the NetTop with no HDD I can avoid any operating system license payment. Buying thin client machine you pay for OS placed in flash memory.

Regarding terminal memory my tests showed that d510 machine with activated 5 consoles and 5 users logged in and opened Fireox, Libre/Microsoft Office (Ctrl+Alt+F1 ... Ctrl+Alt+F5 - 2xLDM, 1xXDMCP 1xxfreerdp and 1xrdesktop) used no more than 500 MB of memory. So, for standard office user terminal equipped with 1 GB of memory is OK.

Regarding 2.

My experience says that no. K12Linux thin client images don't support all video cards with full resolution (CentOS and Fedora). You can try to add to the thin client image proper driver/module and to solve this problem (I made it for SIS chipset, but I failed with GeForce). Very important is NIC too. You shoul check is CentOS/Fedora/LTSP support terminal NIC.

Regarding 3.

I use x86_64 servers (CentOS 6.5) and all my LTSP thin clients runs using x86 images and I don't see real reasons to change it (I don't use as a LTSP terminals Intel i3/i5/i7/Xeon machines). LTSP server servs thin image to the terminal and thin client binaries runs on the terminal. So, if thin client image offers the protocols we are at home. Let me add that I tested debian 7 LTSP thin client image with K12Linux server and I can say that terminal works. I admit that I dont't tested all functionality (for example multimedia) with debian 7 thin client image, but in general - it works.

Best regards,

Radek

----- Original Message -----

From: "Brian Fristensky" <bfristen at shaw.ca>

Sent: Wed, 8/6/2014 1:08am

To: "Support list for open source software in schools." <k12osn at redhat.com>

Subject: [K12OSN] Recomendation for LTSP thin clients

I need to replace my Diskless Workstations T1420 thin client because the Eden

processor is no longer supported ie. will not boot with RHEL 6.5.

1. I am considering going with a Diskless Workstations 1600 or 1700, which uses

an N270 Atom processor, which I would assume is still supported, if they're

advertising it. I am a little hesitant to go with this processor, since it was

released in 2008. It seems likely that support for such an old processor will be

dropped in the near future.

Are there other thin client options to consider? This is a single seat thin

client at home, so price is not really an object. What I am more interested in

is ease of management and performance.

2. Should I assume that any thin client hardware that supports PXE boot will

work with LTSP (obsolescence aside?)

3. My server is a 64-bit machine running RHEL6.5 (Essentially Centos6.5). Would

I be correct in assuming that it would be better to have a 64-bit thin client?

As far as I can tell from the Diskless Workstations web sites, their Atom

processors are 32-bit. I would expect that if I did want to run some

applications as local applications, having a 64-bit TC would be simpler. As

well, 32-bit processors are, let's face it, so 1990's. I would expect a 64-bit

processor to be less subject to the fate of obsolescence that my current TC

succumbed to.

Suggestions for thin clients that are known to work with LTSP, and use recent

processors, would be greatly appreciated.

Brian

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