[ale] building a Linux lowend web browsing station

Greg runman at speedfactory.net
Thu Jan 23 17:38:00 EST 2003


ok, as per a favorite sig " in the beginning was the word and it was "text"

yes, I know some things about SAMBA administration - especially since I
recently converted my RH samba/print/file server to act as a PDC.  I would
like to help.

I just got directions and will be there Sat at noon.

Greg Canter


-----Original Message-----
From: ale-admin at ale.org [mailto:ale-admin at ale.org]On Behalf Of Watson F.
To: ale at ale.org
McKeel
Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2003 3:08 PM
To: ale at ale.org
Subject: RE: [ale] building a Linux lowend web browsing station


Greg,
To tell the truth, I have a second project at Free Bytes that I need some
help with. Do you know anything about Samba administration? I am on the tail
end of building a fault tolerant Samba server, and I am at a loss when it
comes to server administration.
If you want to help, drop by on a Saturday around noon. Call Free Bytes for
directions: 404-846-8414.
Thanks,
Watson


----------
From:   Greg
Reply To:       ale at ale.org
Sent:   Wednesday, January 22, 2003 9:12 AM
To:     ale at ale.org
Subject:        RE: [ale] building a Linux lowend web browsing station
Well, first off , try not to post using HTML.  I have changed it.  Some
dudes are running non-GUI mail clients, bless their little CLI hearts.
Configuring for different NICs and modems too means that you cannot burn one
single image and install it (ghost it).
I know that Suse will give you a bare-bones system.  I think that slackware
& gentoo will do this also.
All Linux will run on lowend systems (I am running on Pentium 90's to 233's
and even some 486's), but the more flash and glitz you want (X Windows), the
more strain it will put on the system.
BSD's are good too.
Network installs and a script will work to a degree.
A ghost will work too (that is what I do at home). But you will still need
to configure it for different NICs/modems, though maybe it could be
scripted.
If you need help, then send me some info on who to contact on volunteering.
Greg Canter


-----Original Message-----
From: ale-admin at ale.org [mailto:ale-admin at ale.org]On Behalf Of Watson F.
To: ale at ale.org
McKeel
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 8:46 AM
To: ale at ale.org
Cc: Director at freebytes.net (E-mail)
Subject: [ale] building a Linux lowend web browsing station


Hello all,
I do volunteer work for a local nonprofit, and we have a BIG task that has
been set before us. We are going to build 500-700 computers that will serve
as web browsing stations. We want to use Linux to do it because it is so
configurable.
The hardware involved:
        many different makes and models
        Pentium 90 to 133MHz
        32 MB RAM
        500-800MB HD
        sometimes NICs, sometimes modems
        printer
We don't want these boxes to do anything other than surf the web and print.
My questions:
What distributions should we look at to get started on this? Are there any
out there that pride themselves on their ability to run on lowend systems?
Also, I do not relish installing anything 500-700 times, even if it is
Linux. Any tips on how to do mass installs (like a generic disk image of
some kind, or maybe network installs)?


Any thoughts at all are greatly appreciated,
Watson McKeel    -volunteer at Free Bytes
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