How to setup a Linux Terminal Server

How to setup a Linux Terminal Server : 

How to setup a Linux Terminal Server By Gamal Joseph

Purpose of LTS : 

Purpose of LTS A terminal server can be used for many reasons including: Deploying computers Running thin clients Sharing files and applications across many computers

What hardware is needed to setup server: 

What hardware is needed to setup server Minimum Requirements Server based computer preferred Atleast 100 GB hard drive (enough space to deploy image on each client) 512 MB of ram Two Network interface cards (NICs) Stable server based operating system What our PC has Dell Power edge 650 Combined 600 GB hard drive 8 GB of ram Two 10/100 intel NICs OS Centos 5

Overview of OS : 

Overview of OS CentOS is an Enterprise-class Linux Distribution derived from sources freely provided to the public by a prominent North American Enterprise Linux vendor. CentOS conforms fully with the upstream vendors redistribution policy and aims to be 100% binary compatible. ( CentOS mainly changes packages to remove upstream vendor branding and artwork.) CentOS is free.

PowerPoint Presentation: 

What needs to be installed ? DHCP Dynamic host configuration protocol NFS Network file syste m pXE Preboot execution environment Tftp Trivial file transfer protocol

Setting up NFS and Directories: 

Setting up NFS and Directories The first step is to create a NFS server. The client OS file system is stored on that NFS server. As part of the PXE boot process a host with a PXE boot enabled network card, will issue a broadcast for a an IP address, and the IP address is assigned by DHCP server. The host the retrieves its files and configurations from the NFS share configured in this section

Installing and Configuring DHCP: 

Installing and Configuring DHCP To configure a DHCP server, you must create the dhcpd.conf configuration file in the / etc / directory. DHCP also uses the file / var /lib/ dhcpd / dhcpd.leases to store the client lease database. Once the initial configuration is complete the following line must be inputted in order for PXE environment to work. allow booting; allow bootp ; class " pxeclients " { match if substring(option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = " PXEClient "; next-server 192.168.1.20; filename " linux -install/pxelinux.0"; }

Installing TFTP : 

Installing TFTP Trivial File transfer protocol or TFTP uses client and server software to make connections between two devices. From a TFTP client, individual files can be uploaded to or downloaded from the server. TFTP uses UDP for transporting data. To ensure that xinetd and tftp are installed on the DHCP server use the following commands. # yum install xinetd tftp -server Then ensure both services are setup on the DHCP server. # chkconfig --level 345 xinetd on # chkconfig --level 345 tftp on

Understanding PXE boot: 

Understanding PXE boot Pre-boot Execution Environment or PXE is a method of booting up a computer over the network. The network card's firmware searches for a PXE redirect, which passes this information along from the DHCP server, which then points it to NFS server. It then downloads via TFTP the boot file path into memory, and continues to execute it. Ultimately the OS will boot up from memory. Most new network cards support PXE right out of the box, and it's just a matter of turning it on in the BIOS, or by accessing a utility menu from the network card.

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Once everything is setup on the Server start the client computer. You will need to change how the computer boots by entering the BIOS. Now the computer will startup and begin to search for DHCP server. At this time PXE will startup and the process will be passed to the NFS server. When this finally happens the client will receive the Linux image. Congratulations you have now started your computer without needing a hard drive