Open Source Migration Project

2009 Open Source Migration Project

Our project will hire a Linux consultant to set up two of our existing C@P sites with Linutop and EEEpc Desktop systems in order to determine which works best and prepare a case study for a system-wide migration towards open-source.

Linutop or similar devices are small, compact Linux-based computers with no moving parts. They run on solid-state flash drives which are very secure and very robust.

Resetting a device to its original state is as easy as pressing the reset button. This eliminates all need for system-wide Linux technical training.

When compared to traditional CPU’s these small systems are incontestably better. All moving parts prone to failure have been removed, no files can be saved locally (have to use usb), and while CPUs traditionally use 250 watts, an EEEpc is rated at 11 watts and a Linutop is only 8 watts.

Before replacing computers network-wide, we’d like to take the opportunity over the winter to retrofit two cap sites with Linutop or EEEpc stations as a pilot study.

This will help us develop the training material needed to implement these across our network and will identify bugs and problems while still in its infancy.

The computer itself may vary. For the purposes of this project we are referring to the Linutop and the EEEpc (Laptop or Desktop Edition). However, hundreds of these exist, ranging in cost from 150$ to 400$ each. The Linutop is the most popular worldwide for use in public access, though the EEEpc Laptop is the most locally available and has been tested extensively by HRCA since April.

In addition to setting up two pilot sites, we will have a small promotion campaign highlighting our use of open-source, lost cost systems.

In summary, our project will: employ a student with a strong knowledge of Open-Source; retrofit two sites with Linux based stations (selected according to need and expression of interest), monitor the deployment of these sites, chronicle each challenge, complaint or successes, promote the need for system-wide migration, and prepare costing models for large-scale retrofit of our network.

Please contact us at admin@hrca.ns.ca for more information.

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