Linux Terminal Server Project - Huge Hardware & LAN Savings!
If you have been exploring ways to deploy low-cost hardware and Local Area Networks with minimum hardware requirements, then you have to explore LTSP or the Linux Terminal Server Project. According to Wikipedia, LTSP is an add-on package for Linux that allows many people to simultaneously use the same computer. Applications run on the server with a terminal known as a thin client handling input and output. These thin clients are also known as X terminals. Generally, they are low-powered, lack a hard disk and are quieter than desktop computers. This is because they do not have any moving parts.
This technology is becoming popular in schools as it allows the school to provide pupils access to computers without purchasing or upgrading expensive desktop machines. If the school does not have enough computers, new thin client machines are less costly than standard computers. If the school does have enough computers but they are a few years old, they may be able to extend the useful life of obsolescent computers by converting them into thin clients, since even a relatively slow CPU can deliver excellent performance as a thin client. Some examples of distributions using LTSP are K12LTSP, Skolelinux, AbulÉdu, Edubuntu, The Cutter project and Deworks.
In addition to the possibility of getting more performance for less money by getting one high-end server and turning their existing computers into thin clients, an educational institution may also gain more control over how their students are using computing resources by switching to a thin client configuration. If you believe LTSP is for you, visit the project’s official website here.
December 23rd, 2006 at 11:03 am
[...] Thin client hardware and applications continue to be the leading investments in the IT hardware sector promoting Linux Terminal Server Project LTSP. [...]