One login for multiple machines

[Brian Fahrlander]

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NoOp wrote:
> On 03/08/2007 02:00 AM, H.S.Rai wrote:
>> I am setting up a lab, and proposing to have dual boot, ubuntu and
>> MSXP. For Ubuntu bases setup, I want student should able to sit on any
>> machine, get authenticated from remote server (thus not need to create
>> user on every machine), gets his home directory served from some
>> server, able to run applications from local machine with data accessed
>> and stored from his remote home directory.
>>
>> May you suggest me what need to be installed on Server, and how client
>> need to be configured (may be with some additional softwares.)
>>
>> Simple advise and pointer to article, howto or tutorial will be more
>> than enough.
>>
>> Thanks in advance,
>>
> 
> You might want to have a look at XDMCP, see:
> 
> http://easylinux.info/wiki/Ubuntu:Edgy#Remote_Login_via_XDMCP
> <http://mparise.wordpress.com/2006/03/01/using-xdmcp-with-ubuntu-or-any-other-gdm-running-distro/>
> [http://preview.tinyurl.com/yryhkm]
> http://www.google.com/search?q=ubuntu+%2BXDMCP

    I considered this; it's part-n-parcel of what makes LTSP so usable.

    This requires a local, high-speed network; 10base-T, especially if
it's poorly configured or there are bad wire-joins will only allow for
about 12 workstations before it's unusable.  And if any one person uses
an interesting screensaver, all suffer a great deal.

     And a biggie around here; sound.  Sound is an integral part of
watching a movie, listening to the collection, or playing games. When
you're using the XDMCP, *everything* runs on the host, other than the
code to translate keyclicks and mouse-clicks. It also means the sound
plays on the host; probably not what you're looking for.  ESD was
supposed to solve this problem, but there's work left to do.  You'll
understand when you put it into practice.

    But understand that I came to this conclusion because XDMCP, NIS,
and X-terminals didn't give what I needed, nor were they really simple
or reliable. So I bit-the-bullet and started reading about LDAP.

    Sharing /home and /shares offloads a lot of this; I'm using P2's
mostly, since they're capable of showing video. They're also DIRT CHEAP
since Microsoft requires power for the facade of virus protection, etc.
I got one machine, a nice little Compaq Deskpro for $30 at the salvage
place.

    It's not very complicated, really; it's easier than NIS for example.
 Only a handful of changes turns a standalone machine into an LDAP
client, and setting up LDAP (at least in Ubuntu, anyway- Fedora sucks)
is easier than setting up an email server...or even Apache, at times.

    The cpu requirements are *light*. The networking, too.  And it's
very rugged; other than creating a users once-in-a-blue-moon, it's
required nothing whatsoever in 2-3 years. I'm very happy with it.

    ...and willing to share notes, if a HOWTO that's understandable to
you isn't available. (I don't think there are 'good' or 'bad' technical
docs- just those that you can deal with, or those you can't.)  Find
something you're comfortable with, and drop me a line if you get stuck,

- --
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 Brian Fahrländer                 Christian, Conservative, and Technomad
 Evansville, IN                              http://Fahrlander.net/brian
 ICQ: 5119262                         AOL/Yahoo/GoogleTalk: WheelDweller
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