On Sat, Feb 07, 2004 at 07:16:32PM -0500, Andy Firman wrote:
I have always wanted to do this. How do you have the 486s run an
X server without an OS?
Basically you have the 486 boot off the network; newer BIOSes can do this, but a 486 will either require a boot prom in the network card or a boot floppy.
The small amount of information on the floppy or on the NIC ROM calls out on the network looking for a dhcp server. A dedicated server answers with an IP address, then the 486 calls out again for a tftp (Thin FTP) server (which is usually the same as the dhcp server). (Using a boot floppy, the dhcp and tftp information, including the kernel, can possibly be on the floppy.) The tftp server gives to the 486 a kernel to boot, and from there the 486 boots more or less normally, only instead of looking to a local hard drive for the OS and applications, it looks to the "remote hard drive" which is the "terminal server". Since the 486 doesn't have a local OS/apps, and is a client to the terminal server, it's called a "thin client". Knoppix has this capability built-in (although it requires tweaking in some cases). You can also find info at: http://www.ltsp.org/
-- Kent
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