September 2009 Archives

Syndicated from http://www.tintedgreen.net/?page=article&id=16

Mike Lovell is the owner of tintedGreen Technologies and is retained as a consultant with the Halifax Regional C@P Association with funding from the Community Access Program. This is his report. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

As this project is starting to wind down, I thought I would give a quick update.

If you would like to know more about the thinclients and the C@P perspective of the project, take a look at Dan's write-up on the C@P site.

For the last couple of months, I have been working on the software and server side of the project. Utilizing the same kind of virtualization software that will be used in the system, I have built a full working version in my home office.

Here are some features:

• The Ubuntu version of Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) is now fully operational on a virtual machine.
• The ability to boot any computer off my network and turn it into a thinclient. Computers are set to PXE boot in the bios and they automatically boot into a Linux desktop environment off the LTSP server.
• A usb key version of Thinstation Linux that boots to linux and then connects automatically to a Ubuntu Virtual Machine using No Machine NX.

Essentially, all this means is that I can take any computer, connect it to the network, and have it running off our virtual machine with a full linux desktop environment in seconds. The usb key setup means that any computer in the world with a wired internet connection (barring any network setup restrictions) can also connect to a virtual machine on our server.

I have been doing extensive hardware and software compatibility testing with the system with any computer that comes through my office (which is a lot) and I have run into very few problems. The computers and operating system are responsive. Mice, keyboards, monitors, speakers, and other peripherals work great. Programs like web browsers, word processors, and educational software work perfectly. Other fun stuff like games, music, and video also run exceptionally well.

The front of the server.

The Dell R710 Server just arrived yesterday (after a few delays). It is a beast with two Intel Xeon E5520 CPUs and 16GB of ram. For this pilot project, we know that these specs are a little overkill. However, we really want to stress test the early parts of this setup and have lots of room for expansion if/when we move this setup to more C@P sites.

Here are some pictures of the current testing setup of the system:

Virtual machine running LTSP on my computer.

The server running as a thinclient. Pretty soon it will be running the whole system. See also the fitpc thinclient we plan to use in the system (it is not connected at the moment).

An old laptop without a hard drive running as a thinclient alongside the server. We should be able to run dozens of computers on this system at the same time (once it is completed). Note that I am playing "Midnight Cowboy" on the laptop at the same time. Picture quality and sound are great, even in full screen.

This is showing that both of the thinclients are running separate user accounts. Each computer can log into individual user accounts, allowing the user to have their own desktop setup and change their desktop appearance and background.

A shot of the server internals.

The next step is to move the system onto the server and setup everything at Lake Echo. When that is done, I want to invite people to come and try it out.

At this time, I'd really like to say how impressed I am with the Linux Terminal Server Project, Thinstation, and VMware. The companies and contributors working on these products and projects are awesome and the amount of information online is amazing. The fact that anyone can build something so cool and functional on a shoestring budget says a lot about the power of the open source movement and virtual machine software.

Stay Tuned...

• Bedford Public Library
• Waverly Community Museum
  
• Waverly Legion Hall
• LeBrun Community Center
• Sackville Public Library
• Sackville Seniors & Gold