Advice on getting a computer lab server

[Uwe Geercken]

Joe,

I just built our Core2 Quad and will install it in the school tomorrow  
and do the first tests. It has 4GB Dual Channel DDR-800 Ram, Gigabit  
Network and 700 GB Samsung 16Mb Harddisk. the clients (around 20) are  
"Windows" machines which are used during normal school hours. the  
linux server is used for after school classes, which I do once a week  
with kids from 7th/8th class.

let me know when I can test something specifically for you.

rgds,

uwe


Quoting Ian Mackenzie <ianmackenz at gmail.com>:

> Joe wrote:
>
> Here's a few final questions if you don't mind.
>
> In my current lab if I try to run more than about 7 thin clients they
> freeze up just playing flash games or running tuxtyping. Like I said, I
> have 4GB of Dual Channel DDR RAM so is the bottleneck with my 10/100
> switch or my P4 CPU? Until now I've thought it was the CPU because when
> I look at the system monitor the CPU maxes out pretty quick. (maybe I
> should bring my c2d in from home and try it out to see how it holds up)
>
> If I want to use the above programs and keep my current curriculum will
> a single server with 2 dual core xeons and 8 GB RAM be fast or just
> adequate? I want the lab to be fast. (obviously I'm just asking your
> opinion here)
>
> Finally, what kind of switch should I get? Should I go all gigabit or
> is it enough to just be gigabit to the server and 10/100 to the
> clients? I do a lot of flash based reading games and stuff with the
> lower grades like starfall.com <http://starfall.com> and so I
> absolutely must have these activities perform well.
>
> --------------
>
> (From the Edubuntu web site) "If you have more than 10 users, it is
> recommended to use gigabit ethernet for your LTSP servers. Although
> normal usage ranges from 0.5 to 2mbit, clients can peak quite high
> (70mbit), especially when watching multimedia content. "
>
>
>
> So, gigabit from server -> switch and 100M from switch to client PCs
> sounds about right. I"m about to build a core2Quad to serve the
> computer lab, and see how it runs, and if there is room for expansion.
>
> Ian Mackenzie