What are, or will be, the desktops running? Are they NT4/2000 desktops
or will they be Linux desktops? Are you using LTSP? If they're Windows
desktops you could run SASI on a NT4 or Windows 2000/2003 server,
placing SASI shortcuts on the desktop. Where I last worked we ran
SASIXP on NT4. If they're Linux desktops and/or LTSP clients you could
run a Windows 2000/2003 terminal server and use rdesktop to open a
Windows terminal session on the Linux desktop. Place the required
icon(s) for SASI on the terminal server's desktop or start menu.
The Windows terminal server gives you compatibility options if you need
to run some Windows software such as Office or encyclopedias. You'll
need Windows terminal server licenses and licenses for the any other
proprietary Windows software. I wouldn't want to run any database
directly on the terminal server, so plan on 2 servers for this approach
and Windows 2000 terminal specs out as maxing at about 50 clients under
"normal" load. Windows 2003 is supposed to do better. Your mileage may
vary.
I haven't done this myself but the people on the K12LTSP mailing list
could probably help you out with rdesktop. Please report back on your
progress? The sad fact is that you may never be able to get away with a
pure Linux solution for some problems for the near future, at least not
while the decision-making is out of your hands.
On Mon, 2003-12-01 at 08:18, Paul Tietjens wrote:
> The powers that be in our district in New Mexico, USA have decided to
> purcahse sasiXP to replace our againg and inadequate M$ Access-based
> student management system. Now that they have decided this, it is up to
> us poor technolgy folks to help recommend how this is going to happen.
> The problem is, we are in the middle of migrating our remaining NT 4.0
> servers to Linux - and I am extremely wary about the vague solutions (I
> think DB4 files instead of a real database server - shared from Samba, I
> presume) that have been offered by NCS. I know that any incompabitily
> will meet with the "Well, it runs fine on Windows 2000" excuse.
>
> My question for the list: Is anyone running sasiXP in a Linux-served
> environment? How has that gone? Specifically, how many piles of data
> do you end up with in a WAN (fractional-T1 type stuff) and what kind of
> problems can we expect to have with this software?
>
> We are meeting with administrators to discuss the implentation, and to
> be honest, I have nothing but trepidation, but no solid arguments to
> offer other. I would hate for one application causing our entire Open
> Source software drive to backslide and end with an M$ School Agreement,
> and them looking for a new sysadmin. ;)