Re: Servers as appliances

["Bill Stephenson" <bill@bransonlive.com>]

Title: Re: Servers as appliances

I really like this idea. I've discussed this with an instructor here in Missouri but I don't think they really got the concept.

Running apps through a browser would be easy then.

Bill Stephenson

----------
From: Tonnesen Steve <tonnesen@cmsd.bc.ca>
To: k12linux-admin@terlinux.cmsd.bc.ca
Subject: Servers as appliances
Date: Sat, May 22, 1999, 8:19 AM


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> [Okay, I'll admit that I cross posted this to a few different lists.  If
> you want to discuss this topic, let's do it on seul-edu.  Subscription
> information at http://www.seul.org/edu/]
>
>
> My goal is to have a server setup that can be used like an appliance.  The
> box is popped into the school, and is all set up and ready to go.  No need
> for the teachers in a school to start mucking around with setting up
> shares for the administration software, library software, home
> directories, etc.  Not to mention security auditing, status monitoring,
> data backups and all that other important but oh-so-boring stuff.
>
> Is this feasible?  Is it possible to come up with a single server setup
> (or even a limited number of configurations, like elementary/secondary)
> that could satisfy the needs of the teachers in all schools? 
>
>
> My current setup consists of the following shares, which I currently
> provide through netatalk and samba, but which could also be provided to
> Linux workstations through nfs or coda:
>
> Home Directory
>   User's personal home directory.
>
> Applications
>   Word Processor, spreadsheet, educational games, etc.
>
> Library
>   Library database software.
>
> Administration
>   School Admin software.  Accessible only to schooladmins group.
>
> CDROMS
>   this share is where staff can copy the contents of a cdrom, and new
>   shares are automatically generated for the contents of the cdrom so that
>   it can be mapped to a drive or mounted on the desktop, depending on your
>   desktop OS of choice in the school.
>
> LocalGroups
>   This share contains a folder for each group created by the school staff
>   through k12admin.  The folder is accessible only to members of the group
>   and contains a public read/write folder, a class folder where teachers
>   can read/write, student are read-only, and a drop box where students can
>   submit assignments.  Groups can be classes, extracurricular groups, etc.
>
> HTML
>   A link to the root web server directory.  Accessible only to members of
>   the webadmins group.
>
> DefaultHome
>   Files in this share are used as skeleton files for creation of new home
>   directories.
>
> Rebuild
>   Stores images of windows and mac workstations for rebuilding.
>
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