Hi Krsnendu,
I'm having similar things to think of. Haven't gotten around to getting
things done yet, but I can share some things I've considered.
Krsnendu Dasa wrote:
The number of client computers connected to our K12LTSP network keeps
increasing. It is currently 14 clients soon to increase to 20 or more
with the addition of a new classroom. Most clients are very similar
Compaq Deskpro DPENS P2 or Celeron 350 or 400MHz.
Perhaps some things can run locally? If they've got disks, you might
perhaps consider local swapping.
Our current server hardware is AMD 2500XP Desktop, 2GB RAM, 160GB SATA
HD, GigaLAN
RAID? AFAIK, you'll do quite OK with SATA and RAID. If you get a good
RAID card, you can also consider what way to use it - only for speed,
safety or both. *Do* check in advance that you get a RAID that runs with
the Linux system you want (drivers etc.)!
Each of the 3 (soon to be 4) classrooms has their own 10/100 switch that
feeds into a 100/1000bit switch that connects to the server. All are
unmanaged switches. There are also a few windows computers that connect
to the system and authenticate against the K12LTSP server using SMBLDAP.
The K12LTSP server also acts as a file server for the windows computers.
During a newspaper production project, when we had more than ten clients
running simultaneously using Scribus and OpenOffice or Firefox, things
slowed down a bit and we had a few crashes. Increasing RAM from 1 GB to
2 GB seemed to help somewhat but not completely.
Except Scribus and the other software you mention, I guess Gimp might
also be used in the same context. I think more RAM wouldn't hurt if
you'll have more simultaneous users.
BTW: how did you fare with Scribus? We happen to have similar plans
here, but noone has gotten around to testing open source layout software
(or making the scanner work via LTSP).
I am thinking that I will have to upgrade the system somehow to
accomodate the new clients, and generally to be able to deal with higher
peak usage.
Below are some options I have thought of. Which would be the best
option? Any other suggestions?
1.Upgrade from a "desktop" computer to a server specific motherboard/CPU
including SCSI drives etc. This seems expensive, and I am not sure of
the real benefit of a "server" over "desktop" at the same CPU speed etc.
If you get a dual (or more) CPU motherboard, at least that might bring
benefits. They can often accomodate more RAM too.
2.Add another similar desktop box and use load balancing as explained in
WIKI.
3.Add another similar desktop box and use it as an application server
for openoffice/ firefox etc.
Haven't read the WIKI, but one thing we've considered is separating file
server from application server.
4. Enable local applications for firefox and openoffice. Could also be a
solution for sound problems (Mplayer) too.
5.???
Step up the network and switching to 100 Mbit client <-> switch and 1
Gbit switch <-> switch/switch <-> server(s), to get at least closer to
100 Mbit simultaneous usage all the way from client to server(s)?
Other things at least we may have to think of is cooling, since the room
where the server is today gets rather hot.
BR,
Gudmund
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