LinuxWorld.com: How to install Linux over a network (for networks of X terminals)

“The PC X terminal does not need the latest version of
Linux. In fact, it is often better to step back two or three years
and choose a release designed to install on the hardware many
people were using to experiment with Linux at the time. One of my
more recent acquisitions was a stack of P75 machines. Each has 8
megabytes RAM, hard drives between 300 and 500 megabytes, built-in
S3 Trio64 video adaptors with 1 megabyte of VRAM, a single 3.5-inch
floppy drive, and a tape drive that remains useful for plugging
what would otherwise be a hole on the front panel. Network adaptors
had been removed before they came into my possession.

These machines became available for the asking when a local
agency upgraded from Windows 95 to Windows 2000. A bit short of
RAM, perhaps, but otherwise ideal for use as X terminals following
the installation of a $1 NIC from a cache I keep on hand. A good
operating system to power these machines? Slackware 3.5.

Follow along now as I describe the basics of installing
Slackware 3.5 on one of them. You will find that the network
installation of Linux doesn’t differ greatly from a standard
installation that uses a local CD-ROM, and you will find that it
meets our twin criteria of Cheap and Easy. Cheap, because it
eliminates redundant hardware. As for Easy, well, keep reading and
find out for yourself.”

Complete
Story