LTSP Linux terminal server in school
After various comparisons, tests performed on existing installations, thanks to the opportunity offered by a school in Reggio Emilia, we were commissioned to install a LTSP (Linux Terminal Server) server in the lab used by the pupils
Network structure
The computer lab has a structure composed of 15 computers networked with a Fast ethernet switch (100Mb/s)
The user stations are Pentium4 PCs with 1GB of RAM, the network cards, despite being dated, support Gigabit connectivity (1000Mb/s) for the majority and PXE boot, which is necessary for booting as Linux terminals
Hardware Choice
The choice of server hardware, is certainly very important, since all calculations and processes are performed by the central machine.
For this reason, an oversized solution to the current need was adopted, which can support the addition of new client PCs and speed up user usage.
In detail, the characteristics of the server are as follows:
- Intel Core i7
- 16GB RAM (8GB was recommended)
- Solid-state SSD drives
- 2 Gigabit network cards
Distribution choice and installation
The distribution chosen was Ubuntu Mate amd64, to provide a user friendly, lightweight environment that is uniform with other installations in the province, which are already using this environment or Gnome 2
Server installation
The first step was the complete installation of Ubuntu with ad-hoc partitioning for the needs of the LTSP and saving files by users (using a separate partition)
Unfortunately, the installation manual is outdated and reports an automatic server installation technique that was not available in our case: when booting the installation CD/USB select LTSP
After completely upgrading the distribution, we then installed everything manually with this sequence:
- installed the ltsp- package.server
- launched the installation script for the clients with i386 archiecture
- generated the client images
- configured the interface to the LAN with static address
- configured the DHCP on the internal (LAN)interface
- rehabilitated the tftp that was not staying on at boot
- installed epoptes for control by the classroom teacher
- created 15 users for the machines and added to the fused group for using USB sticks
- Using the client with the most common hardware configuration we tested
- Starting from the network
- Login of some users
- Audio
- Internet browsing
- PDF, videos, spreadsheets and text
- created the backup script, via in cron, to external USB disk
Installation in the lab
Installation at the school, did not take long, we configured all the clients to boot PXE, creating a subnetwork with the server as the gateway
Because the central machine was able to do the booting of the clients, no configuration changes were necessary and we tested the booting and installed the printer, which is shared on all the clients
Final Considerations
The LTSP System is definitely a robust environment, tested and is used in thousands of schools and universities around the world
This notoriety is due to the savings resulting from the need for less investment in purchasing new hardware by institutions and the free and opensource nature of the software.
The interventions, although requiring more expertise than the alternatives, are less frequent and the problem of viruses (very frequent on Windows) is solved at the root.
The centralized management of the classroom is possible with a variety of workstation control programs, allowing the teacher to control the pupils' machines remotely, and thanks to the free nature of the software there is no need for additional outlay for the purchase of licenses.
Other special features not to be underestimated are, the possibility of keeping the original system usually windows, on teachers' and students' computers, to make a less drastic transition, which sometimes creates difficulties and the easy activation and deactivation of the system, by shutting down the main Linux machine or by simply swapping two network cables
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