Edubuntu Live CD

Edubuntu is the education/terminal server member of the Ubuntu family of Linux operating systems. It is designed for the education market and includes a server based computing component. The TS portion is aimed at the classroom environment running within the school LAN. More on the TS portion later.

Edubuntu is available in three flavors. On their web site they list;

"PC (Intel x86) desktop CD
For almost all PCs. This includes most machines with Intel/AMD/etc type processors and almost all computers that run Microsoft Windows. Choose this if you are at all unsure.

Mac (PowerPC) desktop CD
For Apple Macintosh G3, G4, and G5 computers, including iBooks and PowerBooks.

64-bit PC (AMD64) desktop CD
For computers based on the AMD64 or EM64T architecture (e.g.,Athlon64, Opteron, EM64T Xeon). It is not necessary for all (most) processors made by AMD -- only their 64 bit chips."

These are "Live" CD ISO images that let your load the Edubuntu OS without installing the OS on to your system. Experience what the user will see and hear without committing to an installation. I loaded the x86 and 64-bit "Live" versions on the appropriate platforms without a problem.

Edubuntu does not claim to be the ultimate Terminal Server solution. It offers a clean and simple desktop from a server to a computer that meets the minimum requirements listed below and as posted on Edubuntu's web site.

"The minimum requirements for a thin client computer is a Pentium II with 48MB RAM and a 2MB display card. Recommended specifications is at least a Pentium II/300 with 64MB RAM and a 4MB display card. You will also need a method to boot over the network. Most newer mother boards (and network cards) have built-in PXE software that allows you to boot from the network. If it doesn't, you can create a network boot floppy or CD from http://rom-o-matic.net. Keep in mind that you need to enable PXE emulation when creating the boot media."

I tested the boot process using rom-o-matic, native PXE boots on several computers from multiple vendors, and a thin client device, without a problem. This is not however, a low bandwidth solution. This solution needs to run on a local area network. One hundred megabit switches or greater may be required for all but the smallest installations.

Once the "Live" CD is loaded, it places an icon on the desktop that will load the OS on to you local drive. That is good. The bad news it does not load the Terminal server portion of the OS. To see and follow the actual setup instructions as presented in the "Getting Started" document you will have the use the Alternate installation CD that is available on the same down load site. Just look a little lower on the download page. Download and burn the ISO image as listed in the "Getting Started" document, then boot from that alternate image.

The default installation assumes that you are setting up a new installation. And that you are using a 192.168.0 address scheme with this machine as a DHCP server for this network segment. For my testing I used another addressing scheme and the "Getting Started" document explains how to change the address range and restart the DHCP server. There is additional documentation if you want to add sound, have mixed computing architectures, and/or use another DHCP server.

What about printing? For me it is very nice. Had the choice of using SAMBA or CUPS. Choose both and they both worked just fine. I may be one of the few sites in the world that has an HP printer that works with all the Linux systems but none of the Microsoft OSes on site. What printer am I using for the tests?

Is Edubuntu ready for large installations, probably not. Being limited to a single server, there is no scalability. The one server goes down and you have a problem. I stored personal data on a Network Storage Device that was accessible by multiple operating systems and could go from one OS to another and keep my personal data. But this is contrary to the idea of a simple solution for education (or any other market segment). Overall however, it is a very promising solution. A few more steps on the development path and it will be a very viable option in the Server Based Comptuing market.

This blog is about Server Based Computing and not about the applications that are executed on the SBC platforms. However, since it Edubuntu is directed at the education market I will make a comment. Wish I had this option when I was in school. Even as a stand alone OS, it is worth looking at as a desktop OS.

Families that have trouble maintaining 2, 3, or 4 personal computers at home, might find this a welcomed solution. Has instant messaging, web access, and open office suite for creating documents and presentations. The repository of available applications is extensive. However, try downloading a program that requires an installation and your are not the administrator! Not today.

As a foot note to large organizations contemplating Server Based Computing for browser based applications or SOA, you might want to book mark another of Ubuntu's family members, Xubuntu.org. Theoretical capacity with existing technology is over 400 users per server. If it can achieve 25% of that it would be very interesting. The Terminal Server portion is not there yet, but it is included in the install as an option.

Was curious as to how to pronounce Xubuntu. Found three choices.

"ZOO-bun-tu", "ZOO-boon-too", and "ZOO-boon-tuu". They all agreed on "ZOO".

Until the next post,

Steve