LTSP is not the only terminal solution. I rolled my own for my OpenMosix
gentoo boxes and it was really easy (mainly because of how Gentoo
installs). I just made a folder and installed Gentoo in to it (more than
just folling the docs install though) and from there, the clients boot
up, grab their DHCP leases and then d/l the kernel from the tftp server,
from there on, it's just an NFS filesystem like the LTSP stuff. There
are a few things that have to be configured manually, but /fastbook for
instance, is nothing too difficult.
I'm sure you can do this with other distros, I don't mean to preach
Gentoo, but Gentoo is what I know best and what works best for me in
this situation.
LTSP is like a distro, all the tools are out there free and you can do
it your own. LTSP is just a glue between the programs.
I'd recommend searching for info on making your own thin client setup
online. Also, there's some info in Gentoo's docs about using Gentoo to
do just this, or maybe that was another article online. Check it out,
have fun, learn.
On Thu, 2004-07-01 at 09:44, Jeremy C. Reed wrote:
> My thin-clients are plenty fast enough to not use xdm to run the X apps on
> the LTSP server.
>
> But LTSP doesn't provide configs nor packages (or tarballs) for providing
> a good window manager (twm is included in the
> ltsp-x-core-4.3.99.901-0-i386.tgz).
>
> A simple change for the configs is to run real startx (after making sure X
> is configured) instead of X querying XDMCP.
>
> Also, since not using xdm, it would be good to have a non-root user for
> the user's login. (In this environment, I don't need any XDM logins since
> there won't be different users nor different profiles nor any saved data.)
>
> And LTSP doesn't provide mozilla or firefox.
>
> I know the normal way is to just have the window manager and mozilla
> installed and ran on the LTSP server, but I'd prefer that it all be
> installed to the /opt/ltsp/i386 hierarchy and available via NFS so it is
> ran on the thin-client.
>
> One idea is to use ltspacp (contrib) to copy apps to the LTSP tree. But
> this means you install the software on the server first and then the files
> aren't registered for easy cleanup. (I need an easy solution so others can
> easily update the /opt/ltsp/i386 software.)
>
> I'd prefer to not have my LTSP server be a XDM server or to run any X
> clients.
>
> I'd prefer to use a real packaging system so I can easily add, remove and
> query installed packages. (I am using LTSP 4.)
>
> Also, the busybox tools often have limited functionality. I'd prefer to
> use the real (coreutils, etc) versions instead.
>
> Does anyone have any comments or advice on any of the above?
>
> Should I use a different solution that LTSP 4?
>
> Is there a ready-to-install window manager for LTSP 4?
>
> Is there a ready-to-install firefox (or mozilla) for LTSP 4?
>
> Are there ready-to-install replacements for busybox tools for LTSP 4?
>
> I recall seeing LTSP discussion on this list, so I am asking here before I
> look at the real LTSP list(s).
>
> I am considering just using pkgsrc (which is a package build framework)
> for creating my own LTSP alternative. Basically, the only parts I need to
> copy from LTSP or recreate are: pxelinux and some simple booting configs.
>
> Anyone here interested in helping or testing a new thin-client solution?
>
> Jeremy C. Reed
> BSD News, BSD tutorials, BSD links
> http://www.bsdnewsletter.com/
>
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--
Bryce C <
Plug@BryceCo.Net>
CoBryce Communications
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