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How to set up a computer lab for a school?

rated 0 times [ 5] [ 0] / answers: 1 / hits: 8086 / 2 Years ago, mon, february 21, 2022, 3:31:57

folks.

I was recently given the task to remove Windows XP from some 15 computers in a primary school, install Lubuntu 12.10 on them (all too old for Gnome/Unity) and set up Scratch so the students can start learning coding in a month or two.

The problem is: although I've been using Linux for a decade now, I've no idea of how to set up a "master" computer to deal with the updates and maybe even broadcast whatever is happening on its screen to all the "slave" computers in the lab.

The only useful answer I found here was this one regarding the use of "squid-deb-proxy" to deal with the updates in an efficient way.

Any how tos, tutorials or tips from someone who's done something similar?

Much appreciated. Thank you.

theguilster

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erranbe

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answered 2 Years ago umplegitimat · Accepted Answer

Below are some of my "best practices" thoughts about it. Ask a specific question about the individual options, it's too broad to dive into the details of all of them in this single Q&A, I think.

Manage them in a centralized way.

You have several options here: Puppet, Landscape and Chef are just a few examples.

Preseed the installation.

This will avoid manual ask/answer question in the installation and allows you to install it automatically in your central management from the item above.

Consider PXE booting.

In case of issues and you want to completely restore the original state of the system, this will make it a lot easier to reinstall from scratch. Consider this to be automated as well, so you can let users do it themselves if they don't trust the current state of the system (security wise).

Alternatively, you can even run of a customized (updated) Live environment in a diskless set up by using a central NFS server. Users can then store files on their USB flash drive or you can configure it to have the homes on a network share.

Surveillance on the machines.

I'm not sure if you're asking about viewing the screens of the individual machines or to view the screen of the "master" PC on the individual ones.

Several options here as well. The easiest way I think it is to enforce the start of a VNC server on each machine (using the central management) and then find a client application being capable of tiling 15 of those on the desktop of the teacher. The other way around is quite easy as well: just pre-configure a VNC client on those machines or even add a shortcut on their desktops.

Install a central proxy.

If you expect the users to use the Internet in a similar way (visit identical web pages), a proxy like Squid can help you reduce the bandwidth usage on the link to the ISP as well as an improvement in speed. The squid-deb-proxy package is useful for package updates, yes, but a regular Squid can do more than that.

"cluster" SSH commands

I really recommend avoiding this, in favour of the first item (centralized management). However, if you need to run commands from a central location, PSSH or Cluster SSH can help you out in scripting. But really, look into options in Puppet/Landscape/Chef first.