| 1 |
> I've been in the same situation a short time ago. |
| 2 |
> Finally I decided to buy a cheap notebook (ASUS AMD 1GHz, 8 Gb RAM) |
| 3 |
> for 265 Euro, only -- running Gentoo, of course. |
| 4 |
> I've installed a private wireless network. |
| 5 |
> So my wife can sit anywhere and she can still connect to our "family |
| 6 |
> server" if she likes. |
| 7 |
> |
| 8 |
> If I had to buy a monitor, graphics card, keyboard and a better |
| 9 |
> power supply, that would have beeen more expensive. |
| 10 |
> Furthermore the notebook solution is more flexible. |
| 11 |
|
| 12 |
If we're comparing hardware cost vs. hardware performance and |
| 13 |
flexibility, the cheap notebook could win. The #1 priority for me is |
| 14 |
minimizing sys admin duties though. I would need a Gentoo system for |
| 15 |
duties like router and firewall anyway, and if I build the multiseat |
| 16 |
capabilities into that same system, I have at least 6 workstations and |
| 17 |
zero systems to administrate because of them. |
| 18 |
|
| 19 |
- Grant |
| 20 |
|
| 21 |
|
| 22 |
>> >> I'd like to have multiple users working from separate monitors, |
| 23 |
>> >> keyboards, and mice, but all connected to a single Gentoo |
| 24 |
>> computer. |
| 25 |
>> >> The main purpose is to minimize sys admin duties but hardware and |
| 26 |
>> >> power requirements would also be minimized. |
| 27 |
>> >> |
| 28 |
>> >> Apparently this is called "multiseat" and native support in Xorg |
| 29 |
>> might |
| 30 |
>> >> not be ready for primetime: |
| 31 |
>> >> |
| 32 |
>> >> http://wiki.x.org/wiki/Development/Documentation/Multiseat |
| 33 |
>> >> http://vignatti.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/multiseat-roadmap |
| 34 |
>> >> |
| 35 |
>> >> There is a configuration tool for Xorg multiseat called MDM: |
| 36 |
>> >> |
| 37 |
>> >> http://wiki.c3sl.ufpr.br/multiseat/index.php/Mdm |
| 38 |
>> >> |
| 39 |
>> >> but from what I've read it isn't ideal. Besides Xorg multiseat |
| 40 |
>> I've |
| 41 |
>> >> read about LTSP and a few others: |
| 42 |
>> >> |
| 43 |
>> >> http://www.ltsp.org |
| 44 |
>> >> http://www.thinstation.org |
| 45 |
>> >> http://automseat.sourceforge.net |
| 46 |
>> >> http://www.openthinclient.org |
| 47 |
>> >> |
| 48 |
>> >> There are also a lot of proprietary options. Is LTSP the way to |
| 49 |
>> go? |
| 50 |
>> > |
| 51 |
>> > It may be, but as with all thin client models you would need a |
| 52 |
>> terminal |
| 53 |
>> > computer for each user. |
| 54 |
>> > |
| 55 |
>> > If you only have one machine and monitors, keyboards and mice for |
| 56 |
>> each user |
| 57 |
>> > then you'll need multiple video cards (and a strong power supply) |
| 58 |
>> for your |
| 59 |
>> > only PC. In this case something like |
| 60 |
>> http://automseat.sourceforge.net may be |
| 61 |
>> > more appropriate. However, I have not used anything like this set |
| 62 |
>> up to offer |
| 63 |
>> > an opinion on performance. |
| 64 |
>> > |
| 65 |
>> > At work we use thin clients running Debian to serve MSWindows |
| 66 |
>> server |
| 67 |
>> desktop |
| 68 |
>> > and apps to users. This setup uses the Citrix ica protocol, but |
| 69 |
>> I'm |
| 70 |
>> thinking |
| 71 |
>> > that FreeNX coupled with VNC or relevant KDE or Gnome remote |
| 72 |
>> desktop |
| 73 |
>> > implementation would probably work nicely and offer LAN and remote |
| 74 |
>> connection |
| 75 |
>> > security at the same time. |
| 76 |
>> > -- |
| 77 |
>> > Regards, |
| 78 |
>> > Mick |
| 79 |
>> |
| 80 |
>> If I throw out installing a separate OS on a separate machine for |
| 81 |
>> each |
| 82 |
>> workstation and all of the proprietary thin-client protocols, I think |
| 83 |
>> I have 3 options: |
| 84 |
>> |
| 85 |
>> 1. Connect monitors, USB keyboards, and USB mice directly to a server |
| 86 |
>> with multiple video cards. I found a motherboard with 6 PCI-E slots: |
| 87 |
>> |
| 88 |
>> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128508 |
| 89 |
>> |
| 90 |
>> 6 video cards could be installed for 6 workstations if the server |
| 91 |
>> goes |
| 92 |
>> headless, and even more if multi-headed video cards are used. Xorg |
| 93 |
>> requires some special configuration for this but this discussion from |
| 94 |
>> 2010 sounds like it's something that is actually done: |
| 95 |
>> |
| 96 |
>> http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-836950-start-0.html |
| 97 |
>> |
| 98 |
>> These guys got it working in 2006: |
| 99 |
>> |
| 100 |
>> http://www.linuxgazette.net/124/smith.html |
| 101 |
>> |
| 102 |
>> 2. Set up a separate thin client for each workstation and run LTSP on |
| 103 |
>> the server. This seems inferior to #1 because it requires setting up |
| 104 |
>> and maintaining the LTSP server and client configuration, NFS, |
| 105 |
>> xinetd, |
| 106 |
>> tftp, dnsmasq, and PXE-boot. Bandwidth would also be limited |
| 107 |
>> compared |
| 108 |
>> to #1 and hardware and power requirements would be much greater. |
| 109 |
>> |
| 110 |
>> 3. Run a Plugable thin client for each workstation: |
| 111 |
>> |
| 112 |
>> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PXPPNA |
| 113 |
>> |
| 114 |
>> This likely requires running "Userful Multiseat Linux" on my server |
| 115 |
>> which is only packaged up for Ubuntu. The Plugable thin client |
| 116 |
>> connects to the server via USB 2.0 which makes me wonder if it could |
| 117 |
>> be made to work without Userful Multiseat Linux as a USB video card |
| 118 |
>> and input devices, but I imagine drivers for the video card and |
| 119 |
>> bandwidth over USB could be a problem. |
| 120 |
>> |
| 121 |
>> I think #1 is the way to go but I'd love to hear anyone else's |
| 122 |
>> opinion |
| 123 |
>> on that. Has anyone here ever set up multiseat in Xorg? |
| 124 |
>> |
| 125 |
>> - Grant |
Archives