Re: [Server-devel] CCCS XS deployment
Thanks for the Info, but we ended up going a different direction. We segregated the wireless networks for each building into different VLAN's and created a unique SSID for each building, we then made the XS the gateway to our main network for each VLAN. This limited the number of users per XS to 350 total and more like 100 concurrent. So far it seems to be working. The kids only see other kids from their own building but that was fine by us since there are different grades in each building. FYI we are running this XO network on our Procurve Wireless Edge Service module and it has been working like a charm. I didn't know if you knew anyone else who has tested this system so I thought I would let you know. Thanks for the help -Original Message- From: Martin Langhoff [mailto:martin.langh...@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 3:47 AM To: jvo...@shaw.ca Cc: Josh Totoro; server-devel@lists.laptop.org Subject: Re: [Server-devel] CCCS XS deployment On Mon, Oct 12, 2009 at 2:50 AM, Jerry Vonau jvo...@shaw.ca wrote: When I set up the first XS server back in march (0.5.1) there was a lot more info on the Wiki about setting up multiple XS servers in one network. Does anyone have any of this info available still or does it no longer apply? I removed the info because we don't really support multiple XS servers in one network. That model is old, from the days when we thought we would strongly recommend active antennas. If you have a really large school, the model is: - Build a network with many APs, all connected to a network backbone (one or more switches). The network backbone must connect to eth1 on the XS. - Only one XS. If you have many users, just aim for a high-spec machine for the XS role. - If the traffic is too much even for the high-spec machine you have as XS , you can setup machines for specific roles -- this will need minor changes in the config of the main XS. For example: - If postgresql load is significant (mainly in disk IO, memory), the pgsql-xs process can be moved to a different machine -- just a vanilla Fedora server running postgresql. - If the http proxy load is significant (disk IO, memory), the squid process can be moved to a separate machine. - If the Moodle (apache/php, affecting memory and cpu) load is significant, move it to a separate machine. Now... the heaviest load on the XS will be Moodle (Apache / PHP / PostgreSQL); and I have a lot of experience with large scale moodle installs for up to 120K users, with concurrent use peaking at a couple of thousand. There the answer was a small cluster of x86 mid-range servers. The very largest schools we are targetting for OLPC deployments have have around 3K users. At most you'll see 500~800 concurrent users(*) and that will probably melt the network before it even gets to the server. And any mid-range server of the current generation (multi-core, maybe 8GB RAM using PAE, some reasonably fast SATA disks) will handle that and laugh in your face while it cooks some pasta for your dining pleasure. * Not concurrently connected, but requesting a page within the same 5s window. cheers, m -- martin.langh...@gmail.com mar...@laptop.org -- School Server Architect - ask interesting questions - don't get distracted with shiny stuff - working code first - http://wiki.laptop.org/go/User:Martinlanghoff This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee(s) only and may contain privileged, confidential, or proprietary information of Chester Community Charter School (CCCS). If you have received this message in error, please e-mail administrator at postmas...@chestercommunitycharter.org, then delete the e-mail and destroy any printed copy. CCCS reserves the right to retain, archive, use and disclose any emails that are sent from or to this email address. Thank you. ___ Server-devel mailing list Server-devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
[Server-devel] CCCS XS deployment
Hey all, We currently have 350 xo's on our network and 1 xs server running. We just purchased 300 more xo's and will purchase 300 more in a month or so. When I set up the first XS server back in march (0.5.1) there was a lot more info on the Wiki about setting up multiple XS servers in one network. Does anyone have any of this info available still or does it no longer apply? Should we set up all XS servers the same way and let them run individually from each other? I am worried about conflicts with using the same name schoolserver.cccs.org, should the next one be schoolserver2.cccs.org or will that prevent things like ejabberd from working. Should I keep the same release on all XS servers, I am afraid to upgrade the one that is working since it took a big effort to get it running. If so I will just install 0.5.1 on the new ones as well. Any help would be appreciated. Josh Totoro Charter School Management Inc. 302 E 5th St. Chester, PA 19013 (610) 447-0400 x329 jtot...@chartersmi.com www.chartersmi.com This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee(s) only and may contain privileged, confidential, or proprietary information of Chester Community Charter School (CCCS). If you have received this message in error, please e-mail administrator at postmas...@chestercommunitycharter.org, then delete the e-mail and destroy any printed copy. CCCS reserves the right to retain, archive, use and disclose any emails that are sent from or to this email address. Thank you. ___ Server-devel mailing list Server-devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
Re: [Server-devel] Installing XS on server for School District need some help
I didn't mean to reply just to you, I put everyone back on the cc. Ok that all sounds good, when we get back from break on Monday we will give the 0.5 a shot. As for the network, we have a meeting set up with our HP vendor and our cabling company to do a site survey on the 9th. We currently have all HP Procurve switches and will be using their Wireless AP's and controller. Thanks for the advice I will be sure to mention that when we meet. FYI the 1100 XO's will be split up into 3 buildings on the West Campus, so that will make it a little easier for placing our AP's since they are not all condensed into 1 building. Over the winter break we will try to squeeze in setting up the first building, so when the kids return they will be ready to go. That should give us a chance to work out all the bugs with only 325 XO's online. From: Martin Langhoff [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 5:29 PM To: Josh Totoro Subject: Re: [Server-devel] Installing XS on server for School District need some help You replied only to me -- was this on purpose or accidental? If on purpose, do forward this bit of conversation to the public list :-) On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 7:40 PM, Josh Totoro [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Thanks for your reply, I actually had the .4 version so I am dl-ing the .5 now Good start :-) The installer was not able to see the disks at all(I think) so I will try what you suggested. I am almost positive that the raid card is ok since the windows was running fine before I tried the XS install. Some raid cards might have drivers for Windows in the standard Windows install media, and yet they don't have drivers on the stock standard Linux install disks. Dell is getting better at picking hw with good drivers for all OSs... You said it is tricky to set up multiple XS servers. We currently have 2 campuses running on separate subnets connected by 2 t-1's with point to point routers. We also plan to Vlan all the XO traffic directly to their perspective server do you think this will make it a little easier to set up. As long as they are in separate subnets, they'll be fine. Note that the XS wants to handle its own subnet - handing out dhcp leases and acting as the main router to the WAN/internet, and the XOs expect to be in a network managed by the XS. Have a read through the docs and have a play with the 0.5 release to see what this means. One thing I forgot in my earlier msg was that you'll want a good number of access points to support 1100 machines. We're recommending careful planning on this - a site surve to understand the RF properties of the place, is important. A rough estimate is 1 AP for every 50 laptops if the usage is going to be moderate to high. You also need to consider wiring and switches. cheers, m -Original Message- From: Martin Langhoff [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 4:15 PM To: Josh Totoro Cc: server-devel@lists.laptop.org; Samuel Klein; John F. Hedrick Subject: Re: [Server-devel] Installing XS on server for School District need some help 2008/11/25 Josh Totoro [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Hello, I am a Tech Specialist for a school district in PA. There are 2 of Welcome to the list! Even if there's a bit of developer chatter, this is the place to be. A couple of initial ideas that might help: - Are you using the XS 0.5 installer? If not... do! I's done and released, but I haven't sent out the release announcement formally. This page has all the rght links: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XS_Release_Notes - The Dell server you have looks plenty! Two things could be going amiss... - One is that the installer has a preset indicating how it will format the drives, and it defaults to overwriting existing Linux partitions, but preserving existing Windows partitions. So when it offers the how to partition the drive dialogue, go in and tell it to nuke Windows. - Second - some hardware raid cards don't have drivers built in into Linux. That can be a bit of a pain -- if that's the case, the installer won't find any disk to list. If you think that that's the problem, the fix is to figure out what the exact model of card it is (if possible drill down to exact chipset), and how to get it going with Fedora 9. If the issue is with the RAID card, it might be a better idea to play with the desktop machines in the meantime. Or plug a simple PCI SCSI card, or even a SATA card in there (you'll need SATA disks...) We plan to have 1500+ XO's on our schools network in the coming year, what specs would you recommend for the servers? We were planning to have 1 server on each campus, and about 1100+ XO's on the West and 400 on the East. Can 1 server handle 1100+ XO's if it has top of the line specs? Cool - we're starting to use (and tune) the XS in scenarios with many laptops. In fact, this development cycle (from now to new year) is focused on exactly
