> I am a little confused here. You set LOCAL_APPS=true in lts.conf? > Whoch programs does that force to be run on the client instead of the > host? > > I was under the impression that I needed to install the program > locally and then do "ltsp-localapps firefox".
According to the latest manual, you have to set LOCAL_APPS=true in lts.conf to use localapps. I haven't tried not doing that. Of course, you only want to do this if your local machines have enough computing resources to make it worthwhile. Most of the machines around here don't bother because they run much faster as clients than as regular computers. But, some of our work involves heavy data analysis, often with heavy graphics, so we made a little cluster designed to make those tasks easy for the folks who do them. For those computers, local apps are worthwhile in some circumstances. The LOCAL_APPS=true in lts.conf doesn't force anything to be run locally. Doing that merely instructs the ltsp server to allow apps to be run locally if the person so desires. You have to install the program you want to run locally in the chroot for the client image. If you only need programs that you can install using something like "apt-get" or "yum install", then it's a pretty trivial procedure (see link below for Ubuntu). If you need programs that can't be installed that way, and if your client has sufficiently different hardware from the server, and if you need the programs installed for all similar clients, then you will also want to look up "LOCAL_APPS_EXTRAMOUNTS" because you'll need to have a mount point you can write to (you can't write to the image running your client). I can elaborate if need be. Anyhow... assuming you get the software you want installed in such a way that it is visible to the rather restricted chroot-based environment delivered to the client, then you can run apps locally. The default chroot is very limited -- on purpose. You don't want your client bogged down by a huge image. So, for example, if I try "ltsp-localapps firefox" from my command line, I am quietly returned to the command line without having started firefox. If I open an "ltsp-localapps xterm", and say "firefox" in the new xterm, I learn the reason is "bash: firefox: command not found". However, the "ltsp-localapps xclock" works because that's a standard part of the X package. So, your chroot probably won't have firefox installed by default. BTW, I find localapps is more likely to work or give useful errors in general when called from an "ltsp-localapps xterm". To change what's in the chroot using apt-get in ubuntu, see below. I used it (or something equivalent) with 11.10, and it seemed to work. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuLTSP/UpdatingChroot But, do keep in mind that you don't want to bloat the client image. Only install local programs into the chroot if you need to. There is an alternative. Our apps are mostly scientific software, so we install them into an "extra mount", where it doesn't grow the image, but can still be used as a local process. So far, I've been able to compile the programs using the client image but setting the install location to the extra mount. I hope that keeps working... Just curious: are you on GigE ethernet or 100? That can make a big difference in speed, particularly with graphics. > Where there specific things that made you choose XFCE over LXDE? I > don't know which to choose =) I think it was about a week ago when I finally got the system stable enough that I could force myself to start using it regularly. By "stable," I mean I only break it once or twice a day now... :-) I knew xfce from a decade or so ago, so tried it. It worked well. A few days ago, I heard about lxde and thought "that sounds interesting." So, I installed it. But, I haven't had the luxury of making comparisons yet. Based on Rolf's statements, tho, I might try it out some more. I have seen what might be instabilities in xfce, but, here on the bleeding edge, it can be hard to tell which bit is actually misbehaving. -- :-) Lachele Lachele Foley CCRC/UGA Athens, GA USA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cloud Services Checklist: Pricing and Packaging Optimization This white paper is intended to serve as a reference, checklist and point of discussion for anyone considering optimizing the pricing and packaging model of a cloud services business. Read Now! http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfnl/114/51491232/ _____________________________________________________________________ Ltsp-discuss mailing list. To un-subscribe, or change prefs, goto: https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ltsp-discuss For additional LTSP help, try #ltsp channel on irc.freenode.net
