Hey,
Okay, so all this talk of linux and the LTSP (Linux Terminal Server Project) has gotten my attention, and I would like to try to set something up here for our internet cafe. However, I have never touched linux. I was thinking that I would just send Bill an email and ask him how to do things, but then I figured maybe others would be interested in inputing and getting input on the topic as well.
So the question is where do I go from here? I have a machine ready to install on, but I have no idea where to start... Any help would be greatly appreciated, I dont need to to authenticate to AD specifically, but I do need it to have a user group to authenticate by and such.
Thanks in advance
Comments
What we used to get LTSP up and running
Hi Steven,
Here are links to some of the resources that we used to get going:
Ubuntu to Authenticate to AD
Linux Terminal Server Clients
Running Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP)
Ubuntu: Thin Client How To"
LTSP Breezy Test
Edubuntu
Edubuntu is suitable for both desktop and server use. Edubuntu 5.10 also includes a built-in Linux terminal server. The current Edbuntu release supports Intel x86 (IBM-compatible PC) and AMD64 (Hammer) architectures.
Edubuntu Installation Note
By default Edubuntu installs a one classroom LTSP Thin Client server.
Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE instead of Gnome)
LTSP is available on many different Linux distributions, Ubuntu is just the one that we have been playing around with lately. The first one that I used was from the LTSP site, which uses Fedora. The one that I would probably look at using now would be Edubuntu. Some people however have commented that using KDE is a lot easier for Windows users, so if that's the case you could have a look at Kubuntu.
We have not spent a lot of time working with the IBM thin clients and LTSP we have been using our older NCD thin clients. I have also not been able to find an easy Windows thin client, or even better a web based client for it. If there was a web based client out there that would be very sweet...
some piece of information
Hi,
I've got some piece of information, just in case you don't know already.
The LTSP.org homepage...
I would recommend to install Debian as server OS.
If you do so, here is the download site for the Debian OS or if you prefer here as BitTorrent (each about 180MB). Both links are for donwload from the Australian server, should be the fastest for you.
This is just for a minimal installation, everything else you need you just grab directly from the internet instead of downloading everything (about 4 or 5 CDs) including the stuff you'll never need.
There is also a Wiki related to Debian on the LTSP.org site.
If you need help with the Debian installation, let me know, then I come by.
Edit:
Bill, you've been faster.... Well, Ed/K/Ubuntu should be the easier installation then the way with setting up everything with Debian. However, Ubuntu is a Debian derivative. I use Kubuntu myself so even if by all means I'm not an Linux expert I can help you with that a bit as well.
Also, if you want to have a look at the Kubuntu Desktop first let me know.
Greetings from the MatriX,
neo
installation
Okay, so keeping in mind that I have never touched linux before, I did manage to download the latest iso image for kunbuntu, and have installed it on a box. That all went relatively well, however now I am in trouble. I thought, okay ill try to install firefox just for fun and found that I have no idea how. I downloaded the tar.gz from the site and am kinda stuck.
Also what would the next step be in getting it to act as a terminal server? I figure its in some sort of downloading a "package" or something like that...
the adventure continues...
Steven
Re: installation
Help is on the way. Try to find me at lunch....
Greetings from the MatriX,
neo
firefox works...
I could help Steven with Firefox and how to install programs in general. However, it would be great if someone who has done that before could help out with the LTSP. We installed some, but what 's next?
I would be interested myself how that works....
Is it actually necessary to have a X-Server installed for the Terminal Server? If yes, why??
I just thought if it's not needed, that would save some resources on the machine.
Greetings from the MatriX,
neo
Synaptic Package Manager
Synaptic is your friend. This connects to an online repository of software & downloads & installs whatever kind of program you need. Downloading a .tar.gz is only needed when you're unable to find a program because it's unavailable in the repository. A .tar.gz requires you to extract & then compile the program. So, I'd say learn to use Synaptic Package Manager. It'll really save you a lot of time!
Cheers,
Chris Bischoff
YWAM Latvia, Communications
www.ywamlatvia.com
www.chrisandlydia.net
Synaptic, yes and no
I agree that sometimes it's just nice and lazy to use a tool with a graphic interface. But especially the Package Manager is pretty slow, specially on an older machine. Also, I (personaly) find it sometimes hard to find the package/program I need. And as far as I know Synaptic is not just randomly connecting to the internet but it's using the local files for the available packages. Means, like with the console you have to upgrade the information first.
So, I personaly prefer the command line specialy in case of installing software. Debian's "apt-..." for searching, installing & upgrading is really easy to use and it's fast too. Way faster than the graphical interface. When you are still starting up the Synaptic, I am already installing the software.
On Stevens (test??) machine it really took quit long to start up the Package Manager. Well, it's always depending on the processor and the RAM, but I never had problems with speed on the command line, even on older/slower machines. The only speed limiting thing is my ability of typing ;-)
Just my 0.02$
Greetings from the MatriX,
neo
You're right...
I totally agree with you. On an older machine, it makes more sense to use apt-get to get your packages. Synaptic is simply a GUI for apt. In fact, if you modify the sources.list for apt, it's directly reflected in Synaptic. The only reason I didn't mention apt is because Steven said that he was new to Linux, so I figured why bother him with command line stuff, when there's an easy-to-use GUI equivalent. However, with Linux, I think it's vital that the admin learn the basic commands of Linux.
Cheers,
Chris Bischoff
YWAM Latvia, Communications
www.ywamlatvia.com
www.chrisandlydia.net
Moving along
So, I have, with the help of Neo, managed to get Kunbuntu up and running, updated with apt in the command line, and also install the LTSP utilities. From there I ran the utilities as root or superuser (command: sudo ltspcfg) and then setup almost everything inside the configuration editor.
However I then came to my next thought, if I enable DHCP on this server, as it seems to need to operate as a LTS then will it start giving IP information to my other computers on the network as well? Or just the clients that I setup to talk to it?
I havent found an answer yet, and so I will keep looking for now.
I did manage to switch to runlevel 5 which means that I should get a graphic interface when I manage to log on with a client one day.
Its looking good and I am excited about the ease of use with unbuntu. Linux is not as scary as it was a couple days ago...
xserver
Okay, so after much playing and fighting and tears and heartache. We have managed to get a client able to start to boot off of our LTSP server. So it recieves an IP, gets the linux kernel and then loads it, however when it gets to the point of needing to logon, it cant quite do it. It seems that xserver just keeps reloading. Cause the screen on the client keeps clicking in and out like they do when they change resolution or something. So if I interupt this process then it will just give me a grey screen with an x for a mouse pointer.
We have walked through everything we can find so far about setting it all up. Any thoughts or ideas?
Could it be the Screen Resolution?
It looks like a video card setup thing or maybe a monitor compatibility...
I read something about it on a Brazilian website, based on the Kurumin Linux distro (Debian based)
[ws001]
XSERVER = auto
X_MODE_0 = 800x600 #(Resolução)
X_VERTREFRESH = 60 #(Refresh rate)
X_COLOR_DEPTH = 16 #(Bits de Color)
USE_NFS_SWAP = Y
SWAPFILE_SIZE = 32m
RUNLEVEL = 5
If you haven't tried it yet....
xserver - How is it going?
So... how is it going with your LTSP Server? Did you manage to fix the bug? Your solution might be very helpful for others, and I'm specially curious about it!
Sorry, been busy
Hey, sorry I havent posted anything more on this for a while, I have been very busy and simply havent had a chance to sit down and look at it for a while. I look forward to doing so again at some point, just cant guarantee when. :) I promise I will put up the details when I get it sorted out.
How is it going?
I have only just discovered this site and your post was 10 months ago but...
How are you doing? I have been running LTSP for 2 years now and it works v.v.v.well. Can't recommend it highly enough...
I use LTSP 4.2 from LTSP.org on top of Kubuntu 6,10 now. An Ubuntu or Debian flavour is great as the updates and upgrades are so simple and smooth.
How is it going?
Kevin