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This post is three of 3:

1/ Installing the Linux Terminal Server (LTSP) on a stand alone network
2/ Installing the Linux Terminal Server (LTSP) on an existing network
3/ Using the Linux Terminal Server (LTSP) with a Windows Server 2003 DHCP

The following options need adding to your Microsoft DHCP to get clients to boot from the LTSP Server:

013 Boot File Size
066 Boot Server Host Name
067 Bootfile Name

The boot file size is in 512k blocks so if the image is 14mb this option should be 28.

The boot server host name should be the IP address of the server.

The bootfile name is set to the part required to find the boot file. In our install this is /ltsp/i386/pxelinux.0 - the absolute path to this file on our system is longer though it needed shortening to get the correct network path.

Once the DHCP service has been restarted you should be able to boot thin clients on your network.

Please note these changes need to be made to the local scope of the DHCP.

This post is one of 3:

1/ Installing the Linux Terminal Server (LTSP) on a stand alone network
2/ Installing the Linux Terminal Server (LTSP) on an existing network
3/ Using the Linux Terminal Server (LTSP) with a Windows Server 2003 DHCP

This install is fairly easy though there are a few considerations to be made before starting.

Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron has an option on the Alternate CD to install a stand alone LTSP server. It will work straight away out of the box as long as you install with 2 network cards. One network card will be used to connect to the outside world. In our case this was eth(0) the onboard 10/100 network card in our server. This card was connected to our network for install.

The second network card (eth(1) for us) was not connected during installation. We later connected it to a switch with the clients connected. We used a gigabit card here on the assumption that there will be more traffic on this interface. I’m afraid I don’t know if there are problems having the public and private interfaces exchanged.

Once the server hardware is in place it’s simply a case of booting the alternative Ubuntu cd pressing f2 for options then selecting LTSP, follow the on screen instructions, then reboot at the end.

Finally a network switch was connected to the 2nd network card and a thin client was plugged in. Once the thin client was set to boot from the network it simply powered up to an Ubuntu logon and desktop.

This setup is quite straight forward because all the dhcp and dns setup is done for you. It is however somewhat restrictive because it needs a seperate set of network cabling and will not work as an addition to an existing network on the same cabling. This would not be a problem for a new install in say a discrete classroom. However if you want an LTSP as an addition to your existing network you will want to have a look at Installing the Linux Terminal Server (LTSP) on an existing network

This post is two of 3:

1/ Installing the Linux Terminal Server (LTSP) on a stand alone network
2/ Installing the Linux Terminal Server (LTSP) on an existing network
3/ Using the Linux Terminal Server (LTSP) with a Windows Server 2003 DHCP

Although the stand alone installation of a Terminal Server as descibed in post 1 if relatively easy, it will not work on existing networks that already have a DHCP. To use a Terminal Server on your existing network cabling the install is almost as easy:

Start with a clean desktop install of Ubuntu 8.04.

Run all the updates.

Make sure you have a fixed IP address.

Use Synaptic package manager to install LTSP-server (NB NOT the standalone version) and openssh-server (note the terminal server seems to work without openssh-server but will not authenticate).

Open a terminal window and type:

sudo ltsp-build-client

If this finished without errors you should be good for booting clients as long as your DHCP is set up correctly (See Using the Linux Terminal Server (LTSP) with a Windows Server 2003 DHCP).

If you need to change the IP address you will need to run ltsp-update-sshkeys and (maybe?) ltsp-update-image. If you get an error reporting “This workstation isn’t authorized to connect to server” try running these 2 updates.