Everything easy is hard

[Jan Wilson]

nigel.kennington at btinternet.com wrote:
> I still have concerns about the system requirements
> though, the cookbook states 2Gb RAM and an SCSI hard
> drive for the server and 32Mb RAM for each client. Is
> that really enough to run 20 Open Office programs
> simultaneously? From what I've been reading about Open
> Office, it's not the leanest suite on earth. Also, no
> mention is made of the processor, but if it's in line
> with having 32Mb of RAM, you'd be looking at a Pentium
> I (if that) yes?

I retired a year ago from a school that was using LTSP (not the Ubuntu 
variety, but very similar) for a high school/junior college lab with 36 
workstations.

We had three servers made from consumer-grade computers.  One of them 
had SCSI drives, and it was used for the Home server ... all the users' 
home directories were there.  We learned the hard way that IDE just 
doesn't cut it for that many users working simultaneously.

The other two servers had IDE drives, and they supplied the 
applications, including OpenOffice.org.  These were the servers that 
actually did the processing work for each student's computing power.

Each server had 1.5 GB of RAM, and a processor somewhere in the 2 GHz range.

The workstations were diskless, each having 128 MB of RAM and a 566 MHz 
Pentium-class processor.  This was overkill.  Since the workstations are 
really a kind of smart terminal, 32 MB and a 266 MHz Pentium-class 
processor are fine, though it might be better to have a little better 
just in case.

Based on my experience and what I've heard from others, a single server 
with a fast (at least 2 GHz) CPU and 2 GB of RAM can probably support UP 
TO 20 workstations.  If possible, get more RAM ... unfortunately, it is 
still hard to get more than 2 GB of RAM unless you go to a server-grade 
computer, and that means a lot more money.  The school where I was the 
sysadmin just got Dell servers, some with 6 GB of RAM, but they were 
REALLY expensive for developing countries like Belize.

What makes it a bit easier is that if all the students are using the 
same application, like OpenOffice.org, then a lot of the RAM is actually 
being shared.  Each user does not load a whole copy of OOo.  What will 
make it tighter is if you are running OOo AND Firefox AND a few other 
things.  So an LTSP lab will be more efficient if everyone is working at 
the same thing.

Overall I am very pleased with LTSP and I am promoting Edubuntu in 
Belize.  I am using Edubuntu on our home server and my wife uses an 
Edubuntu LTSP workstation as we speak.

I also understand about not having enough expertise in the school 
system.  There are only a handful of us in Belize who are really 
experienced enough to set up and run a lab properly.  That's why I'm 
excited about Edubuntu.  For many schools the only way they'll get going 
is if things can be mostly turnkey.  But the other side of it is that 
countries in that condition (including Belize) should be making a much 
greater effort to train their computer teachers and lab administrators.
If we can attack the problem from both sides ... making lab 
administration easier AND training personnel better ... we can make some 
real strides.

Welcome to the list!

-- 
Jan Wilson, Corozal Town, Belize