“A Linux Terminal Server offers any business an elegant and cost-effective way to integrate the power of open source. In this article, I review some basics of network topology and offer suggestions about how to install a prototype server. I top it off with some tips for business-specific installations and configuration.”
Simple desktops.
The Linux HPC-High performance clusters are a excellent examples of real scalable administation and real scalable manageability. It’s real easy to setup and install a 10,100,1000, 10000, 100000 or even millions of computers, in a few minutes, hours.
It’s no secret that the same HPC cluster technolgies can be used to build any, high performance, high availibilty desktop cluster i.e.
1 the thin-client desktop for i.e. a call-center cluster
2 a marketing department desktop cluster,
3 a development front-end for the devel-department.
4 isp’s managing their customer accounts/desktops
http://www.k12ltsp.org
http://www.ltsp.org
Build on X Windows, which has a stability record envied in computing and has been stable for 18 years, with real excellent scalable administation and manageability. It gives the early and late majority of users what they really need, a simple desktop that works.
The future will bring zero installation desktops, just netboot, like cable modems from the network, boot via powerlines, boot via wifi. People can get every desktop they like and run uberOffice from the net. The early and late majority off users just like it very simple, and get the simple desktop, browser, mailclient, maybe some wordprocessing running on an very energy efficient fast low-tech computers with a multimedia ARM or Conexant net-cpu.
Running the application-software on very powerfull server virtual-machines (Xen,VMware), or the real thing real uberware virtual machines from IBM, Unisys MCP’s and Bull Nova’s. (nova – means ‘don’t work’ in spanish 🙂
A big advantage for the early+late majority is they don’t need to buy and pay the next generation energy guzzling antiquated cpu/os combination and safe a lot on the electricity bill. Connecting 1 billion Chinees with the unsophisticated ‘commercial hit’ technologies of today they have to build some several Three Gorges Dam ( 18 billion Watt ), Hoover dams ( 2 billion Watt ) more , or get some free oil and democratize Iran
Edited 2006-06-28 20:45
Linux terminal servers and thin clients for any business that is easy to use:
http://edubuntu.org/
This is a pretty good article on using LTSP though.