Melbourne Linux Users Group

How I converted my office to Linux

Background

For a long time I've been using Linux at home and work.  I use Linux for my TV, notebook, development (work & hobbies), electronics and thin clients.

I first worked with thin clients about 4 years ago, starting from scratch using FreeBSD.

I'm a programmer at heart and although I do a lot of administration at work I try my best to minimise this with the use of technology be it hardware, software or scripts.

What we had to start with

Mixture of large noisy desktops

Running Windows XP

100Mbps 24port switch

6 Staff, with requirements for 10 desktops (display screens, boardroom, casual employee and test computers)

Always have a safety net

Safety net

I had many safety nets as I was migrating:

- Backups

- Switch between old HD & PXE boot

- Virtualisation of old system

- Slow step by step migration - Clone drive before upgrades

Technology which helped me

 - SSDs  - Ruby  - Atom motherboards  - LTSP project  - CrossOver Linux   - VirtualBox OSE (Open Source Edition)

How I started

- Installed Open Source apps under Windows XP(OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird)

- Centralised services for Data using Samba on a server

- Centralised printer server using CUPs

The Journey was long,

but very worthwhile

CrossOver Linux

Isolate applications which cannot be replaced by open source applications.

Use CrossOver Linux to run applications that the user relies on which are Windows based.

If apps don't work under CrossOver Linux look for apps which do the same job and work under CrossOver Linux.

Refer: http://alternativeto.net

Server

With the server I made sure of the following:

- Plenty of RAM

- Plenty of CPU power (quad-core, hyper-threaded).

- Fast disk access and random read/write

- 1Gbps network (1Gbps switch).

Virtualisation

- Migrated users Windows system into a VirtualBox - I use VirtualBox as it's easy to use and to get started.

- Keep old system in the machine as a backup

PXE boot

- Swap over to PXE boot (through the BIOs)

- Keep HD inside computer whilst migrating for easy reverting

Thin client

- Low powered

- Silent

- Small

- Low maintenance

- No moving parts

- Professional looking

- Atom based

Benefits

- Centralised Administration (data management, backups) - Easy support (iTalc, FreeNX) - Scripting- Management without downtime - Lower costs (running and growing the system)

- Break free of the proprietary upgrade cycle

- Low licensed software, if any (CrossOver Linux)

Benefits cont...

- Power Saving (Automate shutdown/wake up), Thin clients

- Powerful monitoring tools from the command line or GUI(htop, gkrellm, vnstat, ...)

- Better control over security

- Lower viruses

- Automatic printer installation

- Compatibility throughout the office

- Move forward towards a better system

Converting can be complex

Problems I experienced

- The ATO

- Mostly government services such as AusKey and CiscoVPN

- Upgrading firmware on devices such as phones. (It's getting better with Android phones).  TomTom devices can be done but it takes a bit of work through the command line

- Running Localapps on LTSP thin clients

My advice

- Get quality hardware which is compatible and fast

- Always think about user experience

- Look at long term cost savings, not immediate cost savings

- Don't force a conversion just lead by example

- Use a common platform such as Ubuntu to simplify things

- Don't convert everyone at once - start small

Conclusion

We started the migration about 9 months ago.  I'm happy with the way things turned out.  It takes less time for me to do system admin and staff can work faster even when in a virtualised environment. We are saving money, time and have greater functionality and flexibility.   We are not tied down to a contract or license and upgrades are easy and free.