Bristol Wireless Wiki

Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP)

Though we are an organisation that tries to improve people's lot through wireless technology and recycling old hardware, providing LTSP suites has become a big part of both our charitable and commercial work.

LTSP is an add-on package for Linux that allows you to connect lots of low-powered computers (thin client terminals) to a Linux server. Applications run on the server and accept input and display their output on the thin client display. LTSP is available as a set of packages that can be installed on any Linux system.

(image courtesy of www.k12ltsp.org/)

LTSP allows one server, which needs to be a fairly high specification machine, to run terminals on very old machines; we find anything from a 90 Mhz Pentium I upwards makes a very fast client. The boot time on these is quick and the user experience excellent.

Having no hard drives or floppies, the clients are very maintainable and so for many boxes the only moving part is the power supply fan; for others there is also a processor fan. This keeps everything low-powered - an important consideration given rocketing energy prices.

CD-ROMs can be added and accessed by the user, as can USB keys, pen drives or cameras. They are easily accessible via the desktop and automatically pop up there.

In shared community spaces, where a number of workstations can be collocated and accessed simultaneously, Bristol Wireless can roll out a low-cost, highly efficient, environmentally friendly thin client solution.

This enables the use of very low power, low specification machines to boot and connect via a network to a powerful central server. Each of the clients runs applications on that central server, rather than locally. Software updates, anti-virus protection and system security are all managed centrally.

Plus, since all the LTSP software and Linux itself are open source, the costs of operating system licenses and upgrades are also reduced or even eliminated.

We have a number of pages that relate to this topic:

IsLinuxForMyOrganisation Is Linux right for my organisation
NotesOnLTSP4.2 - How to upgrade an old install to 4.2
PCMCIABootGPXE - Funding for getting PCMCIA support into our favourite open source boot code
KdmLtsp - Examples of KDM setup for LTSP suites.
LtspExampleCosting - A costing for a 180 seat LTSP suite.

Another review of LTSP http://desktoplinux.com/articles/AT3124052951.html