Quote:
Originally Posted by JMJ_coder
I'm curious as to the hardware setup of these $150 systems? Are they thin clients or full-fledged desktops?
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Full-fledged, diskless desktops. Our original Linux desktop setup was a hybrid (diskless with the ability to run apps on the server via remote X), but it bogged down the network and had a bunch of other issues. But we were able to use P2 266 MHz systems to start with.
Then Weyerhauser and Seanix donated 1000 Via 800 MHz systems to the district, and we moved to a strictly diskless setup. We continue to use those systems in the elementary schools.
In the secondaries (and for staff stations in the elementaries), we use the following:
- slim desktop case
- BioStar motherboard using nVidia chipset (GeForce 6100 graphics)
- AMD Sempron 1.8 GHz CPU (socket AM2) (the latest batch this summer include 2.0 GHz CPUs)
- 512 MB RAM
No floppy, no harddrive, no optical drive. Onboard graphics are good enough for accellerated 3-D (including Beryl effects), onboard 5.1 sound (they use headphones), onboard NIC (10/100 including Wake-on-LAN), USB 2.0.
The elems use 15-17" CRT monitors. The secondaries use 17-19" CRTs and 17-19" LCDs (depends on the school and the area).
Running Debian Linux 4.0 (Etch) on the server, with a Linux-VServer for the client software. That way, we can update client software without affecting server setups, and update server apps without affecting client setups. The base server is 64-bit, the client VServer (and hence the clients) is 32-bit.
When a client has hardware issues, the school unplugs it, plugs in a spare (each school has 5 spares), calls the helpdesk to have the client activated in DHCP (no dynamic ranges), enters a hardware workorder request, and sends the defective unit to maintenance for repair and/or replacement. No fussing with drivers, no mucking with software installs, no worries about lost data. Just plug and play.
