hi all!

I was thinking of setting up a few computers up with edubuntu for my mother's kindergarten so the kids could have some computers to play around with... and what better than edubuntu's gcompris... besides it would be a nice introduction to linux for them! I also want to keep the costs as low as possible.

So, what I was thinking of is setting up one computer with sufficient hardware resources to be an X server and then having a few (around 5 to 8 maybe) diskless X terminals (booting from floppy) where the kids can log into and have the Gnome environment and be able to use the Gcompris suite. I might even throw in a printer connected to the main computer so they can print out what ever it is they want from the X terminals.

I would like some pointers as to what kind of hardware I would need for the main computer (X server) and for the X terminals. I think I can handle the cabling and networking. Are there any HowTos, guides or tutorials on how to get a setup like this going?

I would say I have an average knowledge in linux. I have been a linux user (Mandrake and then Mandriva) since 2004. I have have been using Ubuntu since Dapper Drake was released and I would like to continue using Dapper Drake because it is LTS so I wont have to make any big changes soon.

Any ideas, links, advice, anything is most welcome!

Thanks in advance.

lib.

The Edubuntu Handbook is being worked on right now (and help would be greatly appreciated!), but Edubuntu doesn't need a lot of docs to make it work.

Basically the server should have two network cards: one for the thin client network and one for connecting to the Internet or main network. Attach one card to the switch that the server shares with the thin clients/desktops. Install Edubuntu, and then set the desktops to boot from the network in their BIOS. You will see the desktop pick up an address from the Edubuntu server and automatically display the Edubuntu login screen. That's it.

The desktops just need to be able to boot from the network, so anything with a modern 100Mbps network card is fine. Assume the server needs at least 32Mb RAM per user. Remember that you also need some kind of backup device to backup the files on the server (tape, DVD-RW or something).

If you get stuck either ask on the mailing list, or on the #edubuntu IRC channel - everybody is pretty friendly.