Antony P Joseph on 21 Oct 2007 19:49:05 -0000


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Re: [PLUG] Meeting Topic Request


Hi

    There is a fouth option
        VNC (a variation of thin computing, easy to configure compared
to LTSP)

With regards
Antony
Matthew Rosewarne wrote:
> On Sunday 21 October 2007, Jeremy Kister wrote:
>   
>> I'm interested in learning more about multiseat capabilities of linux
>> these days.
>>
>> if anyone would be interested in doing a presentation, i'd be the first
>> to sign/show up.  i'd love to consolidate my kids' 7 computers into one
>> PC with 7 seats (kvm+sound).
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiseat [old, outdated]
>> http://www.linuxtoys.org/multiseat/multiseat.html [logout kernel oops's]
>>     
>
> Being a bit more serious, there are a few ways to do this, each with pros and 
> cons.
>
> 1. Get several PCI video cards, monitors, USB keyboards, USB mice, and USB 
> sound cards (if sound is needed).  Modify xorg.conf to run as many sessions 
> as you need, each with one video/keyboard/mouse.
> 	+ Cheap, standard hardware
> 	+ No additional software needed
> 	- All seats must be very close together (1-3m)
> 	- Requires manual configuration
>
> 2. Use a special hardware device, like the NComputing products.  These are 
> designed for Windows, since UNIX/Linux can run multiple desktops without 
> special hardware.  There is a very good chance that these will be problematic 
> for Linux, since they require special (usually proprietary) drivers.
> 	+ Seats may be slightly further apart (5-10m)
> 	- Limitations on display resolution (probably 1024x768 maximum)
> 	- Non-existant or poor drivers !
> 	- Not very well-tested
>
> 3.  Use the Linux Terminal Server Project (ltsp.org) software with thin 
> clients.  The LTSP has become the preferred choice for running multiple 
> desktops on one Linux machine, particularly in schools.  On your desktop 
> machine, you can either install the LTSP software (on Debian, ltsp-server) or 
> use a pre-configured distro, such as SkoleLinux.  For the clients, you can 
> either use old PCs or thin client machines.
> 	+ Free/Open source software
> 	+ Probably easiest to set up
> 	+ Old PCs can be gotten from an e-recycling center
> 	+ Thin clients are small, power efficient, and inexpensive
> 	+ Clients don't have to be close to each other
> 	- Network-intensive
>
> Hopefully that info should help you figure out what fits your situation best.
>   
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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___________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --        http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
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