Linux Journal: A Computer Lab with No Windows, Part I

“Sisler High school is the largest high school in Manitoba, with
approximately 1,600 students and 120 staff members on campus. The
school offers many computer courses at different levels, ranging
from computer programming and office skills to vocational subjects,
such as trouble-shooting personal computers, networking and
advanced operating systems. In 2002, due to a letter from CAAST
(Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft), the school spent more
than $50,000 to make sure we had all the necessary licenses for our
software.

“I have been using and teaching Linux on both the high school
and university levels since the mid 1990s. I have set up a variety
of Linux servers for a variety of purposes: Web server, shell
accounts, Java/C++ programming, routers, as well as HA (high
availability) clusters and Beowulf clusters.

“In 2002, I decided to redesign my school computer lab without
MS Windows and try to teach all my courses with open-source
materials. I started with an Athlon 1GHz machine with 1.5GB of RAM
as my terminal server; 24 IBM 300PLs (a Pentium 200MHz slim-line
desktop) as workstations; and three consumer Gnet 100MHz switches
for connections. Running Linux Terminal Server Project 2.1 and
using Icewin as the default desktop manager, the lab now runs
smoothly. We never experienced any problems throughout the entire
academic year…”

Complete
Story