Welcome
Welcome to the world of Edubuntu. Edubuntu is Ubuntu Linux customised for schools, containing additional applications for young human beings, administration tools for school management, and a built-in terminal server. Besides the standard software available on the Edubuntu CD, you will also find a world of software in the Edubuntu Universe, an on-line repository containing more than 10GB of community contributed software.
This guide will attempt to explain the basics in setting up a thin client computer lab using Edubuntu. You should also be able to use it for other kinds of setups, as alternative options will be touched briefly as well. We will cover the installation of Edubuntu, and some basic administration.
For more information on free software, please refer to the Free Software Foundation website.
Downloading Edubuntu
If you are reading this, you have already taked the first step towards the world of Edubuntu. Now it's time to take the next step, and obtain the Edubuntu CD image file. This is available from http://releases.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/6.06/. There you will find filenemas that end with i386.iso, amd64.iso and ppc.iso. The file that contains the i386 CD image is meant for Intel (x86) based machine, use this if you're unsure. Use the PPC CD image if you have an Apple computer, and the AMD64 CD image if you have a 64 bit AMD CPU.
Once you've downloaded this CD image using your favourite download manager, you will need to burn it. Your CD burning software should contain an option to burn an ISO image. Select this option and open this file. For the best reliability, burn the CD at a low speed. We recommend burning the Edubuntu CD at 8x speed.
When your CD is good and ready, you need to ensure that your PC is enabled to boot from the CD-Drive, and insert the CD. Reboot, and proceed to the installation.
Installation
When the CD starts up, you will be greeted by a friendly options screen.
The first option "Install to hard disk", will install a terminal server. Use this option if you'd like to boot from diskless thin clients into this machine. Note that a terminal server requires at least 150MB RAM per client that will be logging into this server. The server will also need a powerful CPU, such as an Intel Xeon processor. To install a terminal server, simply press ENTER here.
The second option, "Install a workstion", will install a single workstation. This is essentially the same as the first option, except that it doesn't include the terminal server setup, or any other server side software (such as Schooltool). Use the arrow keys to navigate one level down, and press ENTER.
The third option "Install a server", installs a minimal setup, where you can install additional components yourself.
"Check CD for defects" will scan the installation CD for any defects that might have been caused during downloading or burning the CD. It's advised that you do this first before continuing with the installation.
"Rescue a broken system" contains tools for fixing your Edubuntu system when things go wrong.
"Boot from first hard disk" allows you to boot to your hard disk, useful when you've accidentally booted from the CD.
If you need to change any of the default settings, such as language or display settings, you can do this by pressing the appropriate function key as listed on the bottem of the screen. Once your options are set, choose the installation option you would like to persue. The Edubuntu installer will then start, you should see some text messages flash by for a second or two. You will then be greeted by the language selection screen:
Select your language with the arrow keys, and press ENTER. Then, choose your location:
Choose your keyboard layout. Note that this is different to your language selection.
Edubuntu installer will now detect your hardware, and then prompt you for an I.P. (Internet Protocol) address. This address identifies your computer on the network. If you're installing a terminal server, and you are unsure what to enter here, use "192.168.0.254". If it's a workstation setup, ask your network administrator for your network details.
Next, you need to enter the netmask. This should generally be "255.255.255.0".
Next, choose the default gateway. If you don't currently have one, use the same address you used for your server IP address:
The same applies to the nameserver address:
Next, enter your proxy server address. If you don't have a proxy server, leave this field blank by simply pressing ENTER.
The next step is partitioning. This is where you choose how much of your disk space you would like to assign to Edubuntu. If you'd like to use your entire disk, simple choose the option that contains "Erase Entire Disk". The Edubuntu installer will then automatically calculate your partitions. If you currently have another operating system installed, the installer will also provide you with an option to resize your current system, making space for the Edubuntu system.
Next, confirm that the partitioning by choosing "Yes":
You will then be prompted to enter information for the first user that will be added to the system. This user will have administrator rights to the system. If this installation is a terminal server setup, it's advised to keep the administrator name generic, such as "Lab Administrator". If it's your home Edubuntu system, you could choose your own, real name, such as "Arthur Dent".
Next, enter a username for this user. This must be a single word, containing only lowercase letters and no spaces, such as "admin" or "sysadmin" or "arthur" or "adent".
Enter a password for the user. Avoid using weak passwords such as "admin" or "password", or any other words you might fight in a dictionary. Also avoid simple passwords or patterns on your keyboard. A strong password contains lots of mixed alphanumeric characters, such as "l8eM5piiMr2" or "pt0-3f!steE".
You will need to confirm the password by typing it again in the password confirmation dialog. Following that, the Edubuntu installer will start installing the base system. From here on, the installer will do most of the work. This is the part where you can make some coffee, sit back, and relax.
If you'll be watching the package extraction (which is a bit like watching paint dry), and if you chose to install a terminal server, you will also notice it building the "LTSP chroot". This is another Linux system that will be installed within Edubuntu. This is the system that the thin clients will boot from, which we will often refer to as the "thin client environment" or the "LTSP chroot".
You will also notice the following dialog, which installs the rest of your Edubuntu system in addition to your base system.
The installer will now require some user input again. Select the resolutions that your display / card is capable of. If you're unsure, simply press ENTER, the installer should detect the correct capabilities of your hardware.
The installer will then complete the Edubuntu installation, and you will be prompted to reboot. Remove the Edubuntu CD-ROM and press ENTER to reboot.
Congratulations, the Edubuntu installation will now be complete, and you should be able to boot into your system.
Configuring Diskless Thin Client Booting
In order for your workstations to boot over the network, you might have to do some additional hardware and software tweaking. This sections will walk you through it.
The minimum requirements for a thin client computer is a Pentium II with 48MB RAM and a 2MB display card. Recommended specifications is at least a Pentium II/300 with 64MB RAM and a 4MB display card. You will also need a method to boot over the network. Most newer motherboards (and network cards) have built-in PXE software that allows you to boot from the network. If it doesn't, you can create a network boot floppy or CD from http://rom-o-matic.net. Keep in mind that you need to enable PXE emulation when creating the boot media.
An Edubuntu lab network has a star topology. This means that each workstation has a direct link the the networking switch via 100 megabits per second. To increase network throughput, the server is connected to the switch via a 1000 megabit per second link. For security purposes, a firewall is used, which can be connected to either the server directly, or to the switch. Connecting the firewall the the server directly is recommended, since it saves one point on the switch, and it is easier to configure if the entire lab is running from LTSP. Below is an example of the physical layout of an Edubuntu thin client lab:
Once your hardware is set up, you might need to adjust your server settings. If you chose "192.168.0.254" (or any IP address ranging from 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.0.254 for your server), you would not need to adjust the boot settings. If you chose an IP address in another range, such as 10.0.0.254, then you would need to adjust your dhcpd.conf file. To do this, log in as your administrator user. Once you're logged on, press ALT+F2, and then enter the following command: gksudo "gedit /etc/ltsp/dhcpd.conf"
You will then be prompted for your admin password, enter this, and press ENTER. The text editor will then present you with the following file:
authoritative;
subnet 192.168.0.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
range 192.168.0.20 192.168.0.250;
option domain-name "example.com";
option domain-name-servers 192.168.0.1;
option broadcast-address 192.168.0.255;
option routers 192.168.0.1;
option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;filename "/ltsp/pxelinux.0";
option root-path "/opt/ltsp/i386";
}
In this example, we'd like to change all occurences of "192.168.0" to "10.0.0". To do this, hit ctrl+H and enter the information in the fields:
Exit gedit, and choose to save the file. If you altered the dhcpd.conf file, you need to restart the DHCP server. To do this, open a terminal by clickin on the Applications menu, pointing to Accessories, and clicking on Terminal.
Then type: "sudo /etc/init.d/dhcp3-server restart", and enter your password. Note that nothing will be displayed while entering your passowrd.
The last message must display an [ ok ] tag at the end of the line. The first tag may say [ fail ] if the server is not started yet. This is normal.
Your thin clients should now be able to boot to the server. If you run into any problems, subscribe to the edubuntu-users mailing list at http://lists.ubuntu.com.
Fine-tuning the thin client setup
You might want to alter the setup of some of the workstations. For example, you might want to disable or enable sound, or you'd like to change the display resolution, or even the keyboard layout. The Edubuntu server has the option of a configuration file to fine-tune your thin client settings. This file is available at /opt/ltsp/(ARCH)/etc/lts.conf. Replace (ARCH) with your architecture, for example, if you installed the i386 version, you'll find this file at /opt/ltsp/i386/etc/lts.conf.
See here for an example how to use an lts.conf file.