Well since we have started to play around with Linux Terminal Server we have also discovered that they actually work quite well as Terminal Server Clients for that. All we needed to do was install a software update to the thin clients and there we go! They just worked, which was fantastic and totally unexpected.

The thin clients that we are using are NCD ThinSTAR 200s.  Although NCD went out of business a few years ago some of the employees are still running what looks like basically a consulting firm to support all the thin clients that are already out there.  On their site you can download the software and manuals that you need to upgrade the software on the thin client.  Because of the small amount of RAM in the ThinStar we had to only set it up with two clients, so we did the Windows Terminal Server client and the Linux X Connection client.  The upgrade was simple to the new configuration (It was actually so simple that I ended up accidentally upgrading ALL of our thin clients with it one day instead of just our two test ones when we had a power outage and they all reboot with the thin client manager PC running on the network.)

These thin clients are now configured to connect to our Windows Terminal Server as well as our Linux Terminal Server which is great.  We have still not started to use Linux Terminal Server as a production server since I don’t have the hardware to run it, but the potential is definately there.

I have seen more of these thin clients come up for sale on eBay and other used computer sites around the web.  I reckon that would be the way to go, especially if you can pick them up in pallet size orders as was one deal I saw in the UK.  With a dozen of these, a terminal server, a switch, a dozen LCD monitors and a satellite connection you would have a pretty neat little package to send to a remote location.  The LCDs and thin clients wouldn’t even use that much power so it wouldn’t be impossible to run the whole thing off of a portable generator.

Other Links:

• NCD
• Linux NCD mini-HOWTO

At the time we were running a primarily Windows Terminal Server network, which has been working really well for us and has greatly assisted us in cutting back our maintenance because we only have to manage a few servers instead of a couple of dozen workstations. For most applications this works really well.

One of the challenges that we have being a non-profit organization is meeting our budgets, while still providing the tools that are needed to get our work done.  This is where the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) could greatly assist us in cutting costs.  We would be able to save about $300.00 per user by using LTSP with OpenOffice over the Microsoft Terminal Server and Microsoft Office alternative.  We have even been able to get LTSP to authenticate to our Windows Domain, which is a big step in moving over to this sort of archecture.

The official Linux Terminal Server Project site is here, http://www.ltsp.org/.

First: Stop the “Reboot on system failure”
– Start the computer and press F8 just before the windows screen appears (just after POST)
– Press F8 again to get more startup options (if only one option is shown – read screen for instructions)
– Select the option “Disable Reboot on System Failure”
– System will then try to boot and halt on the blue screen of death, which contains your error message

ERROR c0000128 – Registry Error
– My error was related to a Software entry on the Registry, to fix it I followed the instructions on the Miscrosoft Support website. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

xp error c0000128, xp error loop, windows XP, XP blueverror screen

Here is the link for more information:

http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx?rdpath=1&prid=11274&gprid=500921

Source: SharePoint Solutions Blog

So how do I install OS X when the dvd drive is broken?

1. Connect the two Macs by firewire cable. One will be the host for the DVD drive and one will be the target which you will install OS X onto.

2. Start up the target computer you plan to install OS X on in target mode by holding down T when you restart the computer. This will mount the target computer as a hard drive on the host computer.

3. Put the OS X installation disk into the Mac that is your host computer.

4. You can now either open the installer on the DVD which will prompt you to restart the host computer. Or you can simply restart and hold down C which will force the Mac to startup from the DVD.

5. Once you have started up from the installer DVD follow through the normal steps. You will then arrive at the option to choose the destination. Select the hard drive of the target computer. You will probably have to change the options if you are not doing an upgrade.

6. Once you have finished the installation shut down the host computer and disconnect the firewire cable. You can now restart the target computer which will startup with a newly installed OS X.

*Note: If you are installing OS X 10.3 (panther) or earlier you can not use an intel based mac to use as the host computer. Both the target and host computers will need to be powerpc based and vice versa if you are installing on an intel based mac.

This new version comes with more than 200 new features, 3D implementation with Compiz, NetworkManager 7 and a redesigned installer. If you are new to Linux give it a try by downloading a Live CD (bootable) and try it without having to install anything on your computer.

To read the the full blog post go to http://news.opensuse.org/2008/06/19/announcing-opensuse-110-gm/

To download the 11.0 release of openSuse go to http://software.opensuse.org/Technorati Tags: opensuse, linux, novell, open source

We got Error Code -1712 when we tried to run Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection on one of our staff’s Macbook.

To diagnose this error in more detail we opened up the “Force Quit Applications” with command + option + esc. The program that I was trying to open was already open (RDC), so I force quit it in the list.

After force quitting the offending application I was then able to start it again, without coming up against the “Error code -1712″ error again.

Technorati Tags: error code 1712, mac, rdc

Spashtop is an instant-on Linux OS that manufacturers can implement into their motherboards giving the user an option to instantly use internet and skype without having to boot up a full OS.

Up to now only top-end Asus motherboards had this feature but after good feedback from costumers it’s reported that Asus will go mainstream with Splashtop, this new fature is called by Asus the Express Gate. You can read more about it on Asus Global Sfficial Statement (Exclusive feature 4) or on Splashtop’s official blog.

I have been reading about Nagios for a while and so decided to give it a go. I haven’t put it to full production yet but the trial has already impressed me.

Some of the many features of Nagios include: (extracted from Nagios Documentation)

• Monitoring of network services (SMTP, POP3, HTTP, NNTP, PING, etc.)
• Monitoring of host resources (processor load, disk usage, etc.)
• Simple plugin design that allows users to easily develop their own service checks
• Parallelized service checks
• Ability to define network host hierarchy using “parent” hosts, allowing detection of and distinction between hosts that are down and those that are unreachable
• Contact notifications when service or host problems occur and get resolved (via email, pager, or user-defined method)
• Ability to define event handlers to be run during service or host events for proactive problem resolution
• Automatic log file rotation
• Support for implementing redundant monitoring hosts
• Optional web interface for viewing current network status, notification and problem history, log file, etc.

Windows hosts will be monitored via a client (NSClient++) installed on the host which talks to the Nagios server. Network devices like managed switches can be monitored to different degrees depending on it’s model and maker. Linksys seems to provide more info to Nagios than Netgear but that is not set in stone, it’s just something I experienced on my tests and haven’t inspected any further.

Nagios has a nice web front end but lacks an Admin interface, all settings have to be done manually on raw text files so if you come from a Windows background you will scream. To compensate that, Nagios seems to be the best documented OpenSource system I’ve come across. All the documentation is available on its website and also on you Nagios web interface.

Installation is very easy and very well documented. I’ve installed it so far under OpenSuse 10.1 and under a Debian based distro, both went really well.

If you are interested in implementing Nagios I would recommend this book:

Building a Monitoring Infrastructure with Nagios
by David Josephesen

1- as root #apt-get install php5-imap (a blue screen will ask if you want to install it without maildir support – if all you need it for is SugarCRM click yes)

2 – restart Apache – #/etc/init.d/apache2 restart

See painless! For other distributions, just search for php imap on your Package Manager like Yast or Synaptic.