[K12OSN] Christmas Upgrade

[j.w. thomas]

No luck in scaring up a gigE switch, but if truth be told, I haven't 
really been looking yet (real life got in the way).  Real life also got 
in the way of installing the new server of the holiday break. The new 
server is indeed sweet: dual 3GHz Intel CPUs, 6G RAM, a hardware RAID 
with 5 SCSI disks, and redundant power supplies.

I'm downloading the EL5-64 iso again, as I have no idea where my old 
image went.


j.w. thomas wrote:
> Those are good thoughts.  I'll see if I can scare up a switch with a 
> gigE uplink.
> 
> The old server was 64-bit, and I am running EL5-64 on it already.  The 
> new one had better be a 64-bitter as well, or I think the 6G will be 
> 50%+ more memory than it can use.
> 
> Terrell Prude' Jr. wrote:
>> I kinda doubt it's the server, but that 100Mbit network you mentioned 
>> does raise a flag.  Does that also include the connection to your server?
>>
>> About 6 years ago, I had a dual-Athlon MP, 1.4GHz box with 3.5GB DRAM 
>> serving 24 clients daily, with simultaneous OpenOffice.org and Firefox 
>> sessions open (school computer lab), and that server had no problems 
>> with it.  Response (for that era) was snappy, and the K12LTSP server 
>> was not overloaded.  The difference was that I had a Gig-E connection 
>> to the server.
>>
>> Never, ever say no to a more powerful box!  I envy you.  :-)  If that 
>> server has built-in Gig-E, which I suspect it does, then make sure you 
>> have a Gig-E port on whatever switch you're connecting it to.  This 
>> is, as Joe Biden would say, a big...umm...deal.  :-D  Seriously, 
>> though, this is.  The clients can be 100Mbit, no problem, but the 
>> server should hook up to Gig.
>>
>> I'm assuming that the CPU's are also more powerful than your current 
>> server.  Is this is 64-bit server, perchance?  If so, then you can run 
>> 64-bit K12LTSP 5EL on it, but there are a few things to be aware of, 
>> especially with regard to Firefox and plugins.  Let us know, and 
>> again, congrats!
>>
>> --TP
>>
>> j.w. thomas wrote:
>>> I've been running a K12LTSP 5EL for a couple of years, and have just 
>>> been donated a newer server.  It has something like 6G of ram 
>>> compared to 2G on its replacement, and a massive SATA drive vs a tiny 
>>> IDE.
>>>
>>> The clients will remain unchanged - 10 year-old Gateways with 256M 
>>> RAM.  We have six of these.
>>>
>>> A parent at our school donated the server.  He was inspired to do 
>>> this because late last year the students had prepared some ooimpress 
>>> presentations, and had ten of them running on the six terminals (four 
>>> of them were minimized).  It was dismal.
>>>
>>> I don't think that a new server was the solution, but he could not be 
>>> dissuaded.  My guess is that running OOo on the clients would be a 
>>> better approach to solving the bottleneck.
>>>
>>> The network is 100Mbit, via an unmanaged switch.
>>>
>>> I plan to bring the new server online over the Christmas break.  Is 
>>> it possible to set this up for running an app locally with EL5?  I am 
>>> terrified of upgrading to something newer, especially in light of the 
>>> age of the thin clients.
>>>
>>> What should I do with the old server?
>>>
>>> Advice solicited and appreciated.
>>>
>>
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>>
> 
> 


-- 
Jim Thomas            Principal Applications Engineer  Bittware, Inc
jthomas at bittware.com  http://www.bittware.com    (603) 226-0404 x536
The secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse
   - Calvin's Dad