How We Did It

We originally started with two Windows based computers in a sixth grade classroom. (These were not provided by our school, but at our own expense.)

Since we are bearing the entire cost of this technology, we need to keep costs down.

For the 2003-2004 school year we have increased our network to a total of NINE workstations in our classroom, giving us about a 3:1 student-to-computer ratio!

Since the entire expense is ours and not the school's, we had to be creative to keep costs reasonable.

Fortunately, the hardware requirements of a Linux “Thin-Client” network are much lower than a Microsoft network.

Some definitions: A Microsoft based network consists of a server and “Fat-Clients” (each workstation requires a licensed copy of Windows and all of the memory, hard drive space, licensed individual copies of programs and the processing power needed to run Windows XP)

Windows networks are expensive, harder to maintain and virus prone. A “Fat-Client” is a fully functioning stand alone computer.

Our Linux Network takes a different approach.

We have a “Thin-Client” network. It consists of one robust computer (the Server) and nine “Thin-Client”workstations.

All of the computing power resides on the server. One copy of the operating system- Linux- (free!), one copy of Open Office (free!).

The workstations act as terminals, providing the students with simultaneous access to the internet, word processing, presentation software (with the capabilities of Power Point) and many other software capabilities (chess, word games etc.)

Since all of the computing power and the student's data resides on the server, the workstations don't have to be advanced (expensive) computers.

The workstations don't have or need hard drives or CD-ROMS! They only need 64Meg of RAM and a floppy drive, a keyboard, mouse and a monitor!

Four of our workstations were old Dell Optiplexes, only capable of running Windows 95. We got these, used, for only $28 apiece! (They had 2 Gig hard drives and slow CD-ROMS which we removed! We acquired 4 – 15" used color monitors for $50 ea.

The other workstations and monitors we retrived from a dumpster at a company that was upgrading their computers. They thought the old ones were obsolete! They were obsolete for Windows – they were PERFECT for Linux workstations!

The heart of our network is our server. It is the only “real”computer in the bunch. It was built by a computer-geek friend for about $600!

All of the "heavy lifting" is done on the server. All of the software and data resides there.

It is a 2.4Ghz Pentium 4, with 1Gig of RAM and a 13Gig Hard drive. It has a CD “burner” for backing up the student's work.

We have the usual network cables, 2 network switches -an 8 port – 10/100 ($70) and a 5 port 10/100 ($50).

Each of the workstations has a $10 network card inside.

We will also be able to provide each student with a copy of Open Office that runs under Windows, to use at home (for free).

Part of the allure of Linux, is that it will run on computers that Windows thinks of as obsolete. This keeps them out of landfills and helps us bridge the digital divide.

Our printer is my old HP Laserjet 4P that became available when I upgraded a newer laser printer that I use at home. Any workstation on the network can print through the laser printer.

We removed the hard drives from the workstations and boot the workstations from the floppy. A special Linux floppy disk talks through the network card and connects the workstation to the server. (The software for connecting the workstation with several popular network cards resides on the server)

Each student has their own folder on the server and can log in from any workstation, and access only their own data. They each have their own login name and password assigned by the teacher.

Most of the parts for the server were purchased online at http://www.tigerdirect.com

We are running the server "headless" (without a monitor). We can access the server from a workstation.

Our workstations cost less than $100 each. You cannot create a Windows workstation for that price!

The most important factor for network performance is RAM (memory). You need about 50Mb per user and 256Mb for the server.

By that formula we can easily support our nine workstations with our current configuration.

If we wanted 15 or 20 workstations, we would only have to increase the amount of RAM in the server. With more than 10 users we would also switch to a faster (SCSI) hard drive for about $300. Our current server can support up to 3Gig of RAM.

Maybe we will have a bake sale to raise money for more workstations.

One of the big advantages of using Linux is that, now when people upgrade and donate their old equipment, we can actually use it!

In a Windows based network, this equipment would be useless. Our workstations could not run Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 or Windows XP!

Since the software is free and doesn't require a license, Linux is an ideal cost-effective solution for schools.